Literary Terms #3

alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds.

analogy

Comparison between two or more things that are similar in some ways but unalike in others.

anecdote

Brief story told to entertain or to make a point.

aphorism

A short pointed statement that expresses a wise or clever observation about human experience.

apostrophe

Figure of speech that directly expresses an absent or imaginary person or abstraction.

argument

Writing or speech that attempts to convince the reader to adopt a particular opinion or course of action.

aside

A character’s comment in a play, directed to the audience or another character.

assonance

Repetition of same or similar vowel sounds in stressed syllables ending with different consonant sounds.

broad generalization

A statement mostly based on limited knowledge about a large group of things, places, or people.

consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds before and after different vowels.

fable

A short tale telling a moral lesson, often with animals or inanimate objects as characters.

fallacy

Erroneous reasoning that renders arguments logically unsound.

figurative language

A phrase that stands for something other than its literal meaning, used for descriptive effect.

foil

A character who provides a strong contrast to another character.

juxtaposition

An act of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.

memoir

An account of one’s personal life or experiences.

meter

Rhythmical pattern determined by the number and types of stresses, or beats in each line.

monologue

A speech by one character, addressed to another character or characters.

mood/atmosphere

The feeling created by a literary work or passage.

motif

Recurring subject, theme, idea, etc.

onomatopoeia

Use of words that imitate sounds.

oversimplification

Description of something that does not include all the facts or details.

oxymoron

Combination of contradictory terms or words.

paradox

Statement that seems to say two opposite things, but may be true.

parallelism (parallel structure)

Two or more words, phrases, or clauses that are similar in length and grammatical form.

pun

Play on words involving two words that sound alike or have different meanings.

rhetoric

Persuasive writing.

sarcasm

Caustic language meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something.

sonnet

A 14-line poem, usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter.

soliloquy

A long speech delivered by a character alone on stage.

tragedy

A work of literature that tells of a catastrophe or great misfortune.

tragic flaw

A hero’s weakness which causes a downfall.

tragic hero

Main character who experiences a downfall.