Literary Terms and Devices

Flashcards covering essential literary devices, narrative elements, and critical vocabulary terms.

allegory

A story in which the narrative or characters carry an underlying symbolic, metaphorical, or possibly an ethical meaning. The story and characters represent values beyond themselves.

allusion

A reference, explicit or implicit, to a person, place, or event in previous literature or history. An allusion is meant to create an effect or enhance the meaning of an idea.

anachronism

A person, scene, event, or other element in literature that fails to correspond with the time or era in which the work is set.

archetype

An abstract or ideal conception of a type; a perfectly typical example; an original model or form.

ambiguity

A vagueness of meaning; a conscious lack of clarity meant to evoke multiple meanings and interpretation.

caricature

An exaggerated, even grotesque likeness of striking qualities in persons and things.

connotation

The suggested or implied meaning of a word or phrase. Contrast with denotation.

denotation

The dictionary definition of a word. Contrast with connotation.

denouement

The resolution that occurs at the end of a play or work of fiction.

explication

The interpretation or analysis of a text.

in medias res

A narrative that starts not at the beginning of events but at some other critical point.

irony

A mode of expression in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is stated, often implying ridicule or light sarcasm; a state of affairs or events that is the reverse of what might have been expected.

metonymy

A figure of speech that uses the name of one thing to represent something else with which it is associated.

motif

A phrase, idea, or event that through repetition serves to unify or convey a theme in a work of literature.

parable

A story consisting of events from which a moral or spiritual truth may be derived.

antagonist

Usually a character who opposes the protagonist (or main character) of a story, but can also be a group of characters, institution, or force against which the protagonist must contend.

apostrophe

A direct address of an inanimate object, abstract qualities, a god, or a person not living or present. From the Greek for "turning away," apostrophe often happens when the speaker breaks off from discourse to address something or someone not there.

bildungsroman

A literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist as they progress from childhood to adulthood ("Coming-of-age").

catharsis

A cleansing of the spirit brought about by the pity and terror or a dramatic tragedy.

deus ex machina

In literature, the use of an artificial device or gimmick to solve a problem.

dramatic irony

A circumstance in which the audience or reader knows more about a situation than a character.

foil

A minor character whose personality or attitude contrasts with that of the main character. Justaposing one character against another intensifies the qualities of both, to advantage or sometimes to disadvantage.

figurative language

In contrast to literal language, figurative language implies meanings. It includes metaphors, similes, and personification, among many others.

hamartia

The inherent defect or shortcoming in the hero of a tragedy, who is in other respects a superior being favored by fortune (from Greek hamartanein, "to err").

protagonist

The leading or major character in a novel, drama, short story, film, or other fictional work.

situational irony

Irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected.