Literary Terms 3

Beast Epic/Fable

A short tale in which the principal actors are animals

Bestiary

A type of literature allegorizing the habits or characteristics of animals

Bob & Wheel

4 rhymed lines at the end of a stanza of alliterative, unrhymed lines

Canonical hours

The eight times of prayer during the monastic day

Double entendre

A word or phrase that is deliberately ambiguous, one meaning of which is risqué or suggestive.

Estates satire

A satire of people based on their position in one way f the three “estates” (classes) of medieval society

Exemplum

A moralized tale, often a short tale for use in a sermon

Fabliau(x)

A humorous tale, usually satirical, concerning the clergy/marriage

Farce

A short, humorous play, often with grossly exaggerated characters and actions

Framework story

A story within a story. A collection of stories linked by inclusion in a overarching narrative framework

Irony

Appearance vs. reality. You recognize a truth that some other figure— such as a character in a novel or on stage— does not yet notice or appreciate

Satire

A work that blends a censorious attitude with humor and wit, in order to improve humanity or institutions

Synesthesia

The blending or confusion of two or more senses

Tmesis

The “cutting” of a word by the insertion of another word

Topos

Literally a “place”. In literature, a frequently used situation or subject that is so common as to be cliche. Spring is always a time of love, winter of death, etc

Zeugma

The use of one verb with two different nouns of unequal weight.