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Ceasura
A pause or break in a line of poetry
Carpe Diem
Latin for “seize the day,” the name applied to a theme frequently found in lyric poetry: enjoy life’s pleasures while you are able to
Catharsis
Purification or purging of emotions (pity or fear)
Character
An imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (describes a round/flat, protagonist/antagonist, etc.)
Characterization
The method an author uses to acquaint the reader with his/her characters
Chiasmus
A scheme in which the author introduces words or concepts in a particular order then later repetes those terms or similar ones in reverse or backwards order. It involves taking parallelism and deliberately turning it inside out, creating a “crisscross” pattern
Cliché
An expression or phrase that is over-used as to become trite and meaningless
Climax
As a term of dramatic structure, the decisive or turning point in a story or play when the action changes course and, as a result, begins to resolve itself
Conceit
Elaborate figure of speech combining possible metaphor, simile, hyperbole, or oxymoron
Conceit
The struggle between two opposing forces (man v man, man v nature, man v technology, etc.)
Connotation
The emotional associations surrounding a word, as opposed to its literal meaning or denotation
Couplet
A pair of rhyming lines with identical meter
Denotation
The strict, literal meaning of a word
Denouement
The resolution of a plot
Dialogue
The conversation between two or more people in a literary work
Diction
The author’s choice of words or phrases in a literary work
Dramatic Irony
Refers to a situation in which events or facts not known to a character on a stage or in a fictional work are known to another character, the audience, or the reader
Dramatic monologue
A lyric poem in which speaker addresses someone whose replies are not recorded
Elegy
A mourning poem of lament for an individual tragedy or event
Enjambment
The continuation of a complete ideas from one line of poetry to another, without pause
Epiphany
A revealing scene or moment in which a character experiences a deep realization about him/herself
Epistrophe
Repetition of a concluding word or word endings
Euphemism
Using a mild or gentle phrase instead of a blunt, embarrassing, or painful one
Euphony
Attempting to group words together harmoniously, so that the consonants permit an easy and pleasing flow of sound when spoken
Exposition
The opening section of a narrative or dramatic structure in which character, setting, theme, and conflict can be revealed
Flashback
Interruption of the narrative to show an episode that happened before that particular point in the story
Foot
A group of syllables in verse usually consisting of one accented syllable and the unaccented syllables associated with it
Foreshadowing
A hint given to the reader of what is to come
Free Verse
A type of poetry that differs from conventional verse forms in being “free” from a fixed patter of meter or rhyme.
Hamartia
A tragic flaw, especially a misconception, a lack of some important insight, or some blindness that ironically results from one’s own strength and abilities.
Allegory
A narrative either in verse or prose, in which characters, actions, and sometimes settings represent abstract concepts apart from the literal meaning of the story
Alliteration
The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words
Allusion
A brief reference to person, event, or place in history, or to a work of art/literature
Analogy
A comparison made between two items, situations, or ideas that are somewhat alike but unalike in most respects
Anaphora
Figure of repetition that occurs when the first word or set of words in one sentence, clause, or phrase is/are repeated at or very near the beginning of successive sentences, clauses or phrases
Antagonist
A character in a story or play who opposes the chief character or protagonist
Apostrophe
A figure of speech in which the speaker directly addresses an absent person or personified quality, object, or idea
Archetype
A character, action, or situation that seems to represent common patterns of human life. Often include a symbol, a theme, a setting, or character that have a common meaning in an entire culture, or even the entire human race
Aside
In drama, a few words or a short passage spoken to one character or the audience while the other actors on stage pretend their characters can not hear the speaker’s words
Assonance
The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds in stressed syllables or words
Asyndeton
The omission of conjunctions from constructions in which they would normally be used
Atmosphere (mood)
The mood/feeling of the literary work created for the reader by the writer
Ballad
A narrative poem that usually includes a repeated refrain
Blank Verse
Unrhymed iambic pentameter, a line of five feet
Cacophony
The use of words in poetry that combine sharp, harsh, hissing, or unmelodious sounds
Hubris
In a hero, hubris refers to arrogant, excessive self-pride or self-confidence or a lack of some important perception or insight duo to pride in ones abilities
Hyperbole
A figure of speech involving great exaggeration
Iambic pentameter
A line of verse having five metrical feet (Shakespeare’s most frequent writing pattern)
Imagery
The sensory details that provide vividness in a literary work and tend to arouse emotion or feeling in a reader which abstract language does not
In medias res
Latin for “In the middle of things”; used to describe a plot that begins in the middle of events and then reveals the past through flashbacks
Irony
The term used to describe a contrast between what appears to be and what really is
Juxtaposition
Placing two ideas, words, or images side by side so that their closeness creates an original, ironic, or insightful meaning
Litotes
A figure of speech in which a positive is stated by negating its opposite (ie. Not a bad idea)
Metaphor
A figure of speech involving an implied comparison
Meter (rhythm)
The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry
Metonym
A figure of speech in which a specific term naming an object is substituted for another word with which it is closely associated
Motif
A recurrent word, image, theme, object, or phrase that tends to unify a literary work or that may be elaborated into a theme
Narrator (persona/pov)
The teller of the story
Onomatopoeia
Words said in such a way that the sound of the words imitates the sound of the things being spoken of
Paradox
A statement, often metaphoricle, that seems to be self contradictory but which has a valid meaning
