Literary Terms, Poetic Devices, and Rhetorical Devices

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds within words that are in close proximity to one another

Cadence

The natural flow or rhythm of human speech

Catalog

A list of people, things, or attributes

Conceit

An elaborate an extended metaphor

Connotation

The emotional response evoked by a word

Denotation

The literal meaning of a word

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds within and at the ends of words in close proximity to each other

Diction

A writer's or speaker's choice of words

Enjambment

When a line of poetry has no end punctuation but runs over to the next line or even next stanza

Euphemism

Replaces an offensive term with a less offensive one

Hyperbole

A figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or for humorous effect

Metaphor

Compares two seemingly unlike things stated as a fact

Extended Metaphor

Compares two unlike things at some length in various ways

Metonymy

A figure of speech that substitutes name of a related object, person, or idea for subject at hand

Mood

The feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader

Oxymoron

Combination of contradictory terms

Paradox

A statement that seems to contradict itself but may nevertheless suggest an important or deeper truth

Parallelism

Repetition in grammatical structure, expresses two or more ideas of equal worth using the same grammatical form

Personification

A figurative language in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

Simile

Figurative language that directly expresses a comparison between two seemingly unlike things using some such word or phrase as like, as, than, similar to, resembles, or seems

Style

The distinctive way in which a work of literature is written.

Synesthesia

The presentation of one sense experience in terms usually associated with another sensation

Syntax

The grammatical structure of a sentence

Rhetorical Question

Is asked for an effect, used to raise emotion in the reader or listener and encourage them to think

Author's Purpose

A writer usually writes for one or more of these purposes: to inform, to entertain, to express himself or herself, or to persuade the readers to believe or do something

Ballad

A lyric or narrative poem that was originally meant to be sung. Often contain dialogue and repetition and suggest more than they actually state. Traditional ones are written in four line stanzas with regular rhythm and rhyme

Carpe Diem Poetry

Latin for "seize the day"; poetry that encourages us to live each day to the fullest

Epic Poetry

Long narrative poems set in a remote time and place, and dealing with heroic characters and deeds important in the legends and history of a nation or race

Lyric

Short, personal poem expressing the poet's emotions and thoughts rather than telling a story

Metaphysical Poetry

Rebels against the conventional love poetry of the Elizabethans, with its predictable conceits, or comparisons.

Narrative Poem

Poem that tells a story and has all the essential elements of a short story: character, plot, setting, conflict, and theme

Sonnet

Poems written in 14 lines; two most important types are English and Italian

English Sonnet

A sonnet arranged into 3 quatrains, rhyming abab, cdcd, efef, followed by a rhyming couplet gg. The couplet is often an epigram, summing up the problem or concern developed in the quatrains

Italian Sonnet

A sonnet rearranged into two parts--an octave, consisting of the first 8 lines and rhyming abba, abba; and a sestet, the remaining 6 lines, which rhyme cde, cde. There is a turn between the octave and the sestet

Villanelle

A lyric poem made up of 5 stanzas of 3 lines plus a final stanza of four lines. Includes a refrain.

Blank Verse

A poem written in this consists of unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter

Caesura

A pause or break in a line of verse. Divided a foot between two words

Couplet

Two successive lines of poetry, usually in the same meter, that rhyme or the last two lines of an English sonnet is a couplet

Free Verse

Poetry that does not follow any conventional use of meter

Heroic Couplet

A pair of rhyming iambic pentameter lines

Iambic Pentameter

A poetic line of 5 iambic feet: 10 syllables - unstressed followed by stressed

Pun

Occurs when one word has two different meanings, usually creating humor

Quatrain

A stanza of four lines, rhymed or unrhymed

Rhyme

Internal: rhyming words within a single line, Masculine: rhyme sounds involve only one syllable, Feminine: involves two or more syllables

Slant/Imperfect Rhyme

Words that almost rhyme, usually with different vowel sounds and similar consonant sounds

Terza Rima

An interlocking rhyme scheme: aba bcb cdc

Repetition

A rhetorical device reiterating a word or phrase, or rewording the same idea, to secure emphasis

Tone

The writer's attitude toward his or her subject

Asyndeton

Connects words or phrases in a series without using conjunctions, connectives

Polysyndeton

The repetition of connectives or conjunctions

Allegory

A story that systematically assigns a second meaning to elements of the narrative

Alliteration

The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words

Allusion

An indirect reference to a person, place, event, or literary work with which the author believes the reader will be familliar

Cacophony

A harsh, discordant, unpleasant word choice and arrangement of sounds

Kenning

A metaphoric compound word or phrase used as a synonym for a common noun

Cliche

An overused expression that has lost its freshness, force, and appeal

Convention

Device of style or subject that is used so frequently as to become a recognized means of expression

Character

The people, and sometimes animals or other beings, who take part in the action of a story or novel

Dynamic Character

Evolve as individuals, learning from their experiences and growing emotionally

Static Character

Tend to stay in a fixed position over the course of the story

Flat Character

One-dimensional having one or two personality traits

Round Character

Are multi-dimensional and complex

Imagery

The representation through language of sense experience - sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, an internal sensation, or movement or tension in the muscles or joints

Prose

The written form of writing that is not verse, poetry

Stereotype

An over-simplified image of a person, group, or institution

Symbol

A person, place, or object that has a concrete meaning in itself and also stands for something beyond itself, a deeper idea or feeling

Tension

Equilibrium achieved in a poem between opposing or warring tendencies

Theme

The author's purpose for writing the work. It is the main idea, some truth about life that the author wishes to convey to the reader

Tragedy

A type of drama which depicts the casually related events that lead to the downfall and suffering of the protagonist, a person of unusual moral or intellectual stature or outstanding abilities.

Understatement

A figure of speech that consists of saying less than one means, or of a saying what one means with less force than the occasion warrants, often adding to the humor of the situation

Verisimilitude

Appearance of truth, actuality, or reality; what seems to be true in fiction

Voice

A writer's unique use of language that allows a reader to "hear" a human personality in his or her writing

Active Voice

The subject of the sentence performs the action

Passive Voice

The subject receives the action

Zeugma

When one word governs two or more words but in a different way with different meaning

Analogy

A point by point comparison between two things for the purpose of clarifying the less familiar of the two subjects

Anecdote

A brief story that focuses on a single episode or event in a person's life and that is used to illustrate a particular point

Antagonist

The principal character in opposition to the protagonist or hero of a narrative or drama

Aphorism

A brief statement that expresses a general principle or truth about life

Aside

In drama, a convention by which actors speak briefly to the audience, supposedly without being heard by the other actors on stage

Audience

The person or persons who are intended to read a piece of writing

Characterization

The techniques a writer uses to develop characters

Direct Characterization

A character is revealed to the reader when the author describes him/her outright

Indirect Characterization

A character is revealed through his/her actions and dialogue

Conflict

A struggle between opposing forces that is the basis of the story's plot

Dialect

The distinct form of a language as it is spoken in one geographical area or by a particular social or ethnic group

Elegy

A poem written in tribute to a person, usually someone recently deceased

Epigram

A terse, witty, pointed saying

Epigraph

A quotation or motto at the beginning of a book or chapter

Epitaph

An inscription/quote used to mark burial places

Epithet

An adjective or adjective phrase applied to a person or thing to emphasize a characteristic quality or attribute

Foil

A character who, by contrast, points up the qualities or characteristics of another character

Foreshadowing

A writer's use of hints or clues to indicate events that will occur in a story

Hubris

Refers to overweening pride or insolence that results in the misfortune of the protagonist of a tragedy

Monologue

In a drama, the speech of a character who is alone on stage, voicing his or her thoughts

Plot

The series of related events in a story or play, sometimes called the storyline

Protagonist

The central character who derives the action of the story

Satire

A type of writing that ridicules or makes fun of a particular aspect of society in order to bring about change and improve society

Soliloquy

In a drama, the speech of a character who is alone on stage, voicing his or her thoughts - also called monologue

Setting

The time and location where a story takes place