Glossary of Literary Terms

allegory

A story told by means of another story. It may be read on two levels: the literal level presents the story as such, while the symbolic level communicates the book’s actual meaning.

alliteration

The repetition of sounds at the beginning of words.

ballad

A simple narrative poem originally meant to be sung.

ballad stanza

Rhyming abcb; the first and third lines have eight syllables, the second and fourth have six syllables.

blank verse

Unrhymed 10-syllable lines (iambic pentameters).

cavalier poets

The name given to a group of poets associated with the court of king Charles I. Their poems often form a light-hearted, elegant reaction against the courtly love tradition.

characterization

The way in which an author describes the people in his works.

chorus

In classical drama, a group of players who comment on the action of a play without taking part in it; occasionally found in Elizabethian drama, where it is mostly reduced to one speaker only, who speaks the prologue, and sometimes connects the various acts.

conceit

A comparison between two things that may seem totally unlike at first sight, but whose likeness is proved in a strictly logical way.

courtly love poetry

A type of poetry first found in the south of France in the 12th century, which, directly or indirectly, had a lasting influence on the influence on the literature of western Europe up to 1600, and on the place of women in society. Conventional elements are the humble, unhappy lover, the cruel, distant lady and the treatment of love as a sort of pseudoreligion.

dramatic line

The way an author builds up and relaxes tension in the course of a story or novel, or a graphic representation of this.

epic

A long narrative poem on a great subject, told in a serious and dignified way, centred round the deeds of a hero.

free verse

Collective name for poetry that does not employ any of the traditional patterns of rhythm and rhyme.

iambic pentameter

The most common poetic line in English literature, used extensively both in poetry and drama. It consists of five feet of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.

link-and-frame story

A number of tales set within the context of another story.

metaphor

The use of words going beyond their literal meanings.

metaphysical poets

A term denoting a number of 17th century poets whose work is characterized by a mixture of intellectual and emotional elements, unusual verse and stanza forms and unexpected, sometimes farfetched, imagery.

miracle play

A dramatic representation of scenes from the Bible or the lives of the saints performed on Christian festivals in a number of places in England from the late 13th to the 16th century.

morality play

A late medieval type of play conveying a moral message, in which the characters are personified abstractions such as Death, Knowledge, Good Deeds, etc.

narrative verse

Poems that tell a story; frequently used in contrast to lyric poetry, which expresses personal feeling.

parody

Imitation of the manner or style of a particular work or author, usually in an exaggerated way so as to create a comic effect.

personification

The presentation of abstract ideas as human beings, giving them human qualities.

plot

The structure of the action in a dramatic work.

point of view

The way a story is told, or, more concretely, the question through whose eyes a story is seen to happen.

pun

Mostly humorous play of words that sound the same but have different meanings, or of different meanings of the same word.

satire

A form of writing in which individuals, ideas or human qualities are made to look ridiculous.

setting

The time when and the place where a story takes place.

simile

A comparison introduced by ‘as’ or ‘like’.

sonnet

A 14-line poem of Italian origin, introduced in England in the early 16th century.

stream-of-consciousness

The attempt to reproduce a person’s thoughts as they pass through his mind, based on association rather than logic.

symbol

An object that represents or suggests something else.

tragedy

A play describing the downfall of a great man.

unities

The traditional classical laws of playwriting, based on Aristotle and worked out by Renaissance critics. Unity of time, place and action.