Studied by 17 peopleepilogue
an incident or scene occurring after the end of the story or play proper; also a speech in prose or verse addressed by a player to the audience after the end of the play itself, in such speech the player might point out the moral and aid the audience in the interpretation of the play
epiphany
a sudden flash of insight; a startling discovery and/or appearance; a dramatic realization
epiphany example
Jocasta’s sudden realization that her husband is her son is an epiphanous moment in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex
episode
a group of related incidents forming a unit in the plot; usually made up of a series of incidents, a book-length piece of fiction is usually made up of a series of them
epitaph
an inscription upon a tomb; occasionally means a brief composition characterizing a dead person, and it is expressed as if the deceased himself intended the saying to be inscribed on his tombstone
epitaph example
Here lies W.C. Fields,
On the whole
I would rather be living
In Philadelphia
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)
essay
a short prose composition, either formal or informal, usually dealing with one central idea and usually expressing the personal point of view of the author
exposition
explanation or disclosure of information necessary for the reader’s understanding of the situation
exposition example
“Call me Ishmael. Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little of no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off - then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish, Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quickly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings toward the ocean with me.”
- Herman Melville’s Moby Dick
fable
a short story intended to reveal some useful truth or precept, especially a story in which animals or inanimate things speak and act like human beings
fantasy
a highly imaginative piece of fiction containing supernatural elements and accenting charm and whimsicality; something capricious, playful or fanciful
fantasy example
Barrie’s Peter Pan
farce
a kind of comedy that depends on exaggerated or improbable situations, physical disasters, and sexual innuendo to amuse the audience; many situation comedies on television
feminine ending
when a line of poetry ends on an unstressed syllable, especially one exceeding the general metrical pattern of the poem
feminine ending example
“How that might change his nature, there’s the question”
- Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
feminine rhyme
rhyme in which the rhyming words both end on unstressed syllables
fiction
an invented or imaginary story, whether novel, short story, play, or narrative poem
figurative language
unlike literal expression, it uses figures of speech, such as metaphor, simile, metonymy, personification, and hyperbole; appeals to one’s senses
figurative language example
Sweet daughter of a rough and stormy sire,
Hoar Winter’s blooming child; delightful Spring!
Whose unshorn locks with leaves
And swelling buds are crowned…
- Anna Laetitia Barbauld, “Ode to Spring”
figure of speech
a form of expression that deviates intentionally from the ordinary mode of speech for the sake of more powerful, pleasing, or distinctive effect; common ones are alliteration, antithesis, apostrophe, assonance, hyperbole, irony, metaphor, metonymy, onomatopoeia, personification, and simile
fine writing
an affected, over-careful, over-refined, flowery style
fine writing example
“The man of thought comes to the man of words; and the man of words, duly instructed in the thought, dips the pen of desire into the ink of devotedness, and proceeds to spread over the pages of desolation. then the nightingale of affection is heard to warble to the rose of loveliness, while the breeze of anxiety play around the brow of expectation.”
- Newman’s The Ideas of a University
flashback
a passage in a play or story which breaks the chronological sequence of the story to deal with an earlier event
flat character
a simple, one-dimensional character who remains the same, and about whom little or nothing is revealed throughout the course of the work; may serve as symbols of types of people, similar to stereotypical characters
focus
the center on which the author seems to concentrate the material of his literary work; the particular, whether of idea, incident, character, or setting, that the author wishes to stress; may change or remain the same throughout a piece of writing
foil
a character used to bring out, by contrast, the traits of another character; hence, the distinctive traits of both are emphasized by the dissimilarity of the two characters
foot
unit of meter in a line of poetry; can have two or three syllables consists generally of one stressed and one or more unstressed syllables
foreshadowing
a device or method for hinting at the outcome of a narrative; often increases interest by making the reader curious to see if his vague expectations will be fulfilled; sometimes done by prophet-like, supernatural, or demented characters, or by children, animals, events or natural phenomena
form
the overall arrangement and organization in a work of literature to give a general effect; style and structure are subdivisions of it
format
the shape and size of a book, or its general form of arrangement
frame
a story in it is preceded by a scene presenting the narrator, who is about to tell the story, and often followed by a scene presenting him as he ends it; sometimes, but not usually, it is interrupted by glimpses of him in the midst of his recital
free verse
poetry having no regular meter or rhyme
Note
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