Literary Terms and Definitions

Flashcards covering essential literary terms and definitions for study.

Allegory

A literary work in which the characters represent abstract ideas; a symbolic representation.

Ballad

Any popular narrative poem, often with epic subject and usually in lyric form.

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds.

Black humor

The use of disturbing themes in comedy.

Analogy

A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way.

Cacophony

Harsh, jarring, discordant consonant sounds.

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event.

Cadence

Rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words.

Anachronism

Something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred.

Caricature

Drawing, imitation, or description that ridiculously exaggerates peculiarities or defects.

Anecdote

A short narrative.

Catharsis

An emotional or psychological cleansing that brings relief or renewal.

Anthropomorphism

The attribution of human characteristics to animals or inanimate objects.

Chorus

In Greek drama, the group of citizens who stand outside the main action on stage and comment on it.

Apostrophe

Address to an absent or imaginary person.

Colloquialism

Informal words or expressions not usually acceptable in formal writing.

Archaism

The use of deliberately old-fashioned language.

Conceit

A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between dissimilar objects.

Aside

A line spoken by an actor to the audience but not intended for others on the stage.

Connotation

The implied or associative meaning of a word.

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds.

Couplet

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme.

Diction

A writer's or speaker's choice of words.

Farce

A comedy that contains an extravagant and nonsensical disregard of seriousness, although it may have a serious, scornful purpose.

Dirge

A song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person.

Foil

A character whose personality and attitude contrast sharply with those of another.

Dissonance

Harsh or grating sounds that do not go together.

Foot

The basic unit of rhythmic measurement in a line of poetry.

Dramatic Irony

Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the others in the play.

Foreshadowing

The use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot.

Dramatic monologue

When a single speaker in literature says something to a silent audience.

Free Verse

Unrhymed verse without a consistent metrical pattern.

Elegy

A formal poem presenting a meditation on death or another solemn theme.

Hubris

Excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy.

Enjambment

The continuation of a syntactic unit from one line of verse into the next line without a pause.

Hyperbole

A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor.

Epic

A narrative poem written in elevated style which presents the adventures of characters of high position, relating to a race or nation.

Inversion

The reversal of the normal order of words.

Epitaph

A brief statement written on a tomb or gravestone.

Irony

A contrast between what is expected and what actually exists or happens.

Euphemism

A mild, indirect, or vague term substituting for a harsh, blunt, or offensive term.

Melodrama

A form of cheesy theater in which characters conform to extremely predictable and stereotypical character types.

Euphony

Any agreeable (pleasing and harmonious) sounds.

Metaphor

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things without using like or as.

Metonym

A word that is used to stand for something else that it has attributes of or is associated with.

Pun

A play on words, often achieved through the use of words with similar sounds but different meanings.

Onomatopoeia

The use of words that imitate sounds.

Refrain

The repetition of one or more phrases or lines at definite intervals in a poem, usually at the end of a stanza.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech consisting of two apparently contradictory terms.

Satire

A literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision.

Parable

A simple story that illustrates a moral or religious lesson.

Simile

A figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with 'like' or 'as').

Paradox

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

Soliloquy

In drama, a character speaks alone on stage to allow his/her thoughts and ideas to be conveyed to the audience.

Parallelism

The use of a series of words, phrases, or sentences that have similar grammatical form.

Symbolism

A device in literature where an object represents an idea.

Pastoral

A literary work idealizing the rural life (especially the life of shepherds).

Theme

The main idea of the story.

Personification

The act of attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas, animals, or inanimate objects.

Tragic Flaw

The character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall.

Protagonist

The main character in a literary work.

Utopia

An imaginary place considered to be perfect or ideal.