Glossary of Literary Terms

Cmaylo AP Lit

Accent

Emphasis or stress on a given syllable in pronunciation

Act

A major division in the action of a play

Allergory

A narration or description is usually restricted to a single meaning because its events, actions, characters, settings, and objects represent specific abstractions or ideas

Alliteration

The repetition of the same consonant sounds in a sequence of words, usually at the beginning of a word or a stressed syllable

Allusion

A brief reference to a person, place, thing, event, or idea in history or literature

Ambiguity

Allows for two or more simultaneous interpretations of a word, phrase, action, or situation, all of which can be supported by the context of a work.

Anagram

A word or phrase made form the letters of another word or phrase

Anapestic meter

two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed one (understand)

Antagonist

the character, force, or collection of forces in fiction or drama that opposes the protagonist and gives rise to the conflict of the story; an opponent of the protagonist

Antihero

A protagonist who has the opposite of most of the traditional attributes of a hero.

Apostrophe

An address, either to someone absent and therefore cannot hear the speaker or to something nonhuman that cannot comprehend.

Approximately rhyme

the sounds are almost but not exactly alike

Archetype

A term used to describe universal symbols that evoke deep and sometimes unconscious responses in a reader

Aside

IN drama, a speech directed to the audience that supposedly is not audible to the other characters onstage at the time

Assonance

The repetition of internal vowel sounds in nearby words that do not end the same.

Ballad

Traditionally, a song, transmitted orally from generation to generation, that tells a story and that eventually is written down.

Ballad stanza

A four line stanza consisting of alternating eight and six-syllable lines.

Biographical criticism

An approach to literature that suggests that knowledge of the author's life experiences can aid in the understanding of his or her work.

Blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

cacophony

language that is discordant and difficult to pronounce

Caesura

a pause within a line of poetry that contributes to the rhythm of the line

Canon

Those works are generally considered by scholars, critics, and teachers to be the most important to read and study, which collectively constitute the "masterpieces" of literature.

Carpe diem

Latin for "seize the day"

Catharsis

Meaning "purgation," describes the release of the emotions of pity and fear by the audience at the end of a tragedy

Character, characterization

A character is a person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, and characterization is the process by which a writer makes that character seem real to the reader.

Chorus

IN Greek tragedies, a group of people who serve mainly as commentators on the characters and events

Cliche

An idea or expression that has become tired and trite from overuse, its freshness and clarity having worn off

Climax

the moment of greatest emotional tension in a narrative, usually marking a turning point in the plot at which the rising action reverses to become the falling action

Closet drama

A play that is written to be read rather than performed onstage

Colloquial

Refers to a type of informal diction that reflects casual, conversational language and often includes slang expressions

Comedy

A work intended to interest, involve, and amuse the reader or audience, in which no terrible disaster occurs, and that ends happily for the main characters

Comic relief

A humorous scene or incident that alleviates tension in an otherwise serious work

Conflict

The struggle within the plot between opposing forces

Connotation

Associations and implications that go beyond the literal meaning of a word, which derive from how the word has been commonly used and the associations people make with it

Consonance

A common type of near rhyme that consist of identical consonant sounds preceded by different vowel sounds

Contextual Symbol

can be setting, character, action, object, name or anything else in a work that maintains its literal significance while suggesting other meanings

Controlling metaphor

runs through an entire work and determines the form or nature of that work

Convention

A characteristic of a literary genre that is understood and accepted by audiences because it has come through usage and time to be recognized as a familiar technique

Conventional symbol

have meanings that are widely recognized by a society or culture

Cosmic irony

occurs when writers uses God, destiny, or fate to dash the hopes and expectations of a character or of humankind in general

Couplet

Two consecutive lines of poetry that usually rhyme and have the same meter

Crisis

A turning point in the action of a story that has a powerful effect on the protagonist

Cultural criticism

An approach to literature that focuses on the historical as well as social, political, and economic contexts of a work.

Dactylic meter

one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables(desperate)

Deconstructionism

An approach to literature that suggests that literary works do not yield fixed, single meanings, because language can never say exactly what we intend it to mean

Denotation

The dictionary meaning of a word. See connotation

Denouement

A French term meaning "unraveling" or "unknotting" used to describe the resolution of the plot following the climax

Dialect

A type of informational diction

Dialogue

The verbal exchanges between characters

Diction

A writer's choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language, which combine to help create meaning.

Didactic poetry

Poetry designed to teach an ethical, moral, or religious lesson.

Doggerel

A derogatory term used to describe poetry whose subject is trite and whose rhythm and sounds are monotonously heavy

Drama

Derived form the Greek word dram, meaning "to do" or "to perform," the term drama may refer to a single play, a group of plays or to all plays

Dramatic irony

creates a discrepancy between what a character believes or says and what the reader or audience member knows to be true

Dramatic monologue

A type of lyric poem in which a character addresses a distinct but silent audience imagiend to be present in the poem in such a way as to reveal a dramatic situation and some aspect of his or her temeprament or personality

Dynamic character

a character that undergoes some kind of change because of the action in the plot

Editorial omniscience

refers to an intrusion by the narrator in order to evaluate a character for a reader

Electra complex

The female version of the Oedipus complex, used to describe the psychological conflict of a daughter's unconscious rivalry with her mother for her father's attention

Elegy

A mournful, contemplative lyric poem rwitten to commemorate someone who is dead, often ending in a consolation

End Rhyme

most common form of rhyme in poetry, the rhyme comes at the end of the line

End-stopped line

A poetic line that has a pause at the end.

English sonnet

organized into three quatrains and a couplet which typically rhyme abab cdcd efef gg

Enjambment

When one line ends without a pause and continues into the next line for its meaning

Envoy

three line concluding stanza

Epic

A long narrative poem, told in a formal, elevated style, that focuses on a serious subject and chronicles heroic deeds and events important to a culture or nation

Epigram

A brief, pointed, and witty poem that usually makes a satiric or humorous point

Epiphany

In fiction, when a character suddenly experiences a deep realization about himself or herself' a truth that is grasped in an ordinary rather than a melodramatic moment

Escape literature

follows a pattern of conventional reader expectations (formula ficiton)

Euphony

(good sound) refers to language that is smooth and musically pleasant to the ear

Exact rhyme

share the same stressed vowel sounds as well as sharing sounds that follow the vowel

Exposition

a narrative device, often used at the beginning of a work, that provides necesary backgorund information about the characters and their circumstances

Extended metaphor

sustained comparison in which part or all of a poem consists of a series of related metaphors

eye rhyme

words that look alike but dont rhyme at all

Falling action

characterized by diminishing tensions and the resolutions of the plots conflicts and complications

falling meter

metrical feet that move from stressed to unstressed sounds

Farce

a form of humor based on exaggerated, improbable incongruities.

Feminine rhyme

consist of a rhymed stressed syllable followed by one or more identical unstressed sylables

feminist criticism

an approach to literature that seeks to correct or syplement what may be regarded as a predominantly male

figures of speech

ways of using language that deviate from the literal, denotative meanings of words in order to suggest additional meanings or effects

First person narrator

the I in the story presents the point of view of only one character

fixed form

a poem that may be categorized by the patterns of its lines, meter, rhythm, or stanzas

flahsback

a narrated scene that marks a break in the narrative in order to inform the reader or audience member about events that took place before the opening scene of a work

flat character

embodies one or two qualities, ideas, or traits that can be readily described in a brief summary

foil

a chracter in a work whose behavior and values contrast with those of another character in order to highlight the distinctive temperament of that character(usually protagonist)

Foot

the metrical unit by which is a line of poetry is measured

Foreshadowing

the introduction early in a story of verbal and dramatic hints that suggest what is to come later

Form

the overall structure or shape of a work, which frequently follows an established design

Formal diction

consist of dignified, impersonal, and elevated use of language; it follows the rules of syntax exactly and is often characterized by complex words and lofty tone

Formalist criticism

an approach to literature that focuses on the formal elements of a work, such as its language, structure, and tone

Formula fiction

often characterized as "escape literature," follows a pattern of conventional reader expectations

Found poem

an unintentional poem discovered in a nonpoetic context, such as a conversation, news story, or advertisement

Free verse

Also called open form poetry, refers to poems characterized by their nonconformity to established patterns of meter, rhyme, and stanza

Gay and lesbian criticism

fan approach to literature that focuses on how gays and lesbians are represented in literature, how they read literature, and whether sexuality, as well as gender, is culturally constructed or innate

Gender criticism

An approach to literature that explores how ideas about men and women

Genre

A french word meaning kind or type

Haiku

a style of lyric poetry borrowed from the japanese that typically presents an intense emotion or vivid image of nanture, which, traditionally, is designed to lead to a spiritual insight

Hamartia

A term coined by Aristotle to describe some error or frailty that brings about misfortune for a tragic hero.

Hero, heroine

often called the protagonist, is the central character who engages the reader's interest and empathy

heroic couplet

couplet written in rhymed iambic pentameter

high comedy

refers to verbal wit, such as puns