Lit Terms and Devices Part 3

Mrs. Fuqua

Crux

the most crucial line(s) in a poem or prose passage; the heart or the main point of the text

Denouement

the resolution of a plot's main conflict, always occurring after the climax of the story

Dialect

a way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or geographical region, i.e. a Southern accent or a Boston accent

Diction

a speaker or writer’s choice of words

Didactic

a description for fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral. or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking; the most common usage is didactic verse

Enjambment

a line of verse that carries over to the next line without a pause of any kind

Elegy

a poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died; a eulogy is speech of praise or commendation delivered

Epic

a long, narrative poem, written in heightened language, which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society, i.e. Odysseus, Gilgamesh, Beowolf

Epigram

a brief saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way

Epigraph

a brief quotation at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme

Epilogue

a section at the end of a book or play that serves as a conclusion to what has happened

Epiphany

an awakening or sudden burst of insight; a key moment in Greek plays

Epistrophe

device of repetition in which the same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated at the end of two or more lines, clauses, or sentances; this is the opposite of anaphora

Epitaph

an engraving on a tombstone

Epithet

an epithet is a nickname or descriptive term that’s added to someone’s name that becomes part of common usage, i.e. Alexander the Great or George Washington, the Father of our Country

Euphemism

substitute words that sound less offensive or more neutral than others, i.e. when a person says pass away instead of die