Part 1

Abstract (style)

A writing style that is complex and discusses intangible qualities like good and evil, often without specific examples.

Academic (style)

A dry, theoretical writing style, often used in scholarly contexts.

Accent

The emphasis or stress placed on a syllable in a word, or on a word in a sentence.

Aesthetic, Aesthetics

The principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty in art, literature, and design.

Allegory

A narrative in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities, often conveying a moral lesson.

Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words (e.g., "She sells sea shells").

Allusion

A brief, indirect reference to a person, place, event, or literary work that the author expects the reader to recognize.

Anachronism

An error in chronology, where something is placed in the wrong time period (e.g., a smartphone in a medieval setting).

Analogy

A comparison between two things to highlight a point of similarity, often used to explain something unfamiliar.

Anecdote

A short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person, used to illustrate a point.

Antecedent

The noun or noun phrase that a pronoun refers to in a sentence.

Anthropomorphism

Attributing human characteristics to animals, gods, or inanimate objects.

Anticlimax

A disappointing end or outcome, often less significant than expected.

Antihero

A central character who lacks traditional heroic qualities and virtues.

Aphorism

A concise statement that expresses a general truth or principle (e.g., "Actions speak louder than words").

Apostrophe

A figure of speech in which the speaker directly addresses someone absent, dead, or a personified object or idea.

Archaism

The use of an outdated word or phrase, often used to evoke a sense of the past.

Aside

A remark or passage in a play intended to be heard by the audience but not by the other characters.

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds within non-rhyming words (e.g., "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain").

Atmosphere

The overall feeling or mood in a work of literature, often created by the setting and language.

Ballad

A narrative poem that tells a story, often in a musical or rhythmic way.

Black Humor

Humor that treats serious, often morbid, subjects in a light or satirical manner.

Bombast

Pompous or overly rhetorical language that is more about sound than meaning.

Burlesque

A work that ridicules a subject by exaggerating it in a humorous way, often through imitation.

Cacophony

Harsh, discordant sounds used in writing, often to convey disorder or discomfort.

Cadence

The rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words, often used in poetry and prose.

Canto

A major division in a long poem, equivalent to a chapter in a novel.

Caricature

A description or portrayal that exaggerates or distorts a character’s features or traits for comic or satirical effect.

Catharsis

The emotional release or purging that an audience experiences during and after a tragedy.

Chorus

A group of performers in Greek drama who comment on the main action, often reflecting the audience's thoughts.

Colloquialism

Informal language or slang used in everyday speech, often region-specific.

Conceit

An extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs a poetic passage or entire poem.

Connotation

The associations, emotions, or secondary meanings that a word suggests, beyond its literal definition.

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of words that do not rhyme (e.g., "blank" and "think").

Couplet

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

Decorum

The appropriate and proper behavior or style according to the setting, subject, or character.

Denotation

The literal, dictionary definition of a word, without its connotations.

Diction

The choice and use of words and phrases in writing or speech.

Dirge

A mournful song, piece of music, or poem, typically performed at a funeral.

Dissonance

The use of harsh, inharmonious sounds in writing, often to create tension or discomfort.

Doggerel

Crude, simplistic, and often humorous verse, often with an irregular rhythm.

Dramatic Irony

When the audience knows something that the characters do not, creating tension or