Lit. Terms (Updated for Comedy)

Purpose

why character/author does this

Diction

author's word choice

Tone

attitude of the writer evokes feelings and emotions in the reader

Mood

literary element that evokes certain feelings in readers through words and descriptions

Cacophony

harsh and jarring sounds

Simile

a comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as"

Vehicle

comparison used in a figure of speech

Tenor

subject of the figure of speech

Personification

things have human characteristics that usually don't

Anthropomorphism

chair walks, cat talks, etc.

Apostrophe

someone talks to something that cannot respond

(Indirect or Implied) Metaphor

a comparison is implied, rather than explicitly shown

Symbolism

stands for or suggests something larger or more complex -- often an idea or a range of interrelated ideas, attitudes, and practices; need to establish WHAT it means and HOW it proves thesis

Alliteration

repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together

Assonance

vowel is same, but consonant is different

Consonance

vowel is different, but consonant is same

Euphony

sounds nice, soft, pretty

Allusion

reference to someone or something that is known in culture

Imagery

1. actual language a writer uses to convey a visual picture, 2. use of figures of speech to express abstract ideas in a vivid and innovative way; purpose: to clarify

Zeugma

one part of speech governs two or more other parts of a sentence

Irony

a contradiction or incongruity between appearance or expectation and reality

Verbal (or Rhetorical) Irony

discrepancy between what someone says and what they believe to be true

Situational Irony

discrepancy between expectation and reality

Dramatic Irony

discrepancy between a character's perception and what the audience knows to be true; creates suspense

Understatement

a statement that seems incomplete or less than truthful given the facts or is stated with less emphasis than the subject deserves

Wit or word play

the clever and witty use of words and meaning (common in Shakespeare; malapropism)

Diminution

reduces the size of something in order that it may be made to appear ridiculous or in order to be examined closely and have its faults seen close up

Exaggeration, hyperbole, inflation, or overstatement

something that does happen, but is exaggerated to absurd lengths (most common type of satire)

Absurdity

an event, scenario, or topic that seems like it would never realistically happen, but hypothetically could

Invective

speech or writing that abuses, denounces, or attacks

Juxtaposition

places things of unequal importance side by side

Mock epic

treating a frivolous or minor subject seriously, especially by using the machinery and devices of the epic: armor, battles, invocations, extended similies

Dark comedy

a work having elements of comedy and tragedy, often involving gloomy or morbid satire

Comedy of manners

takes the artificial and sophisticated habits and doings of (generally aristocratic or high) society as its general setting and love as its subject; frequently satirizes stock characters who somehow fail to conform to the conventions of polity society

Satire

a literary genre that uses irony, wit, and sometimes sarcasm to expose humanity’s vices and foibles, giving impetus to change or reform through ridicule (suggests reform, implicit message)

Direct satire

uses a first person narrator who either directly addresses the reader or another character in the work

Indirect satire

satiric effect is achieved not through direct condemnation but rather through modes of presentation or representation (what isn’t said is as important as what is said; impacts POV and audience)

Parody

a satiric imitation of a work or of an author with the purpose of ridiculing the author, his ideas, or work (purpose is entertainment)