APLIT ESSENTIAL LITERARY TERMS

Melody Davis

abstract language

language describing intangible ideas

absurdist drama

plays that focus on illogical happenings

accentual meter

key feature is number of stressed syllables in each line, without regard to unstressed syllables

accentual-syllabic meter

based both on the number of syllables in a line and on the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each metrical unit

adjectives

words used to describe nouns

allegories

an extended form of personification where an abstract concept is presented as though it was a sentient character

alliteration

the repetition of sounds in nearby words of stressed syllables

allusions

a passing reference in a work of literature to another literary or historical work, figure, event, or literary passage

anagnorisis

the turning point at which the protagonist recognizes the truth about their situation

analogy

the comparison of a subject to something that is similar to it in order to clarify the subject’s nature, purpose, or function

anapestic foot

the noun is anapest when two unstressed syllables are followed by a stressed syllable

anapestic trimeter

three anapestic feet per line

anaphora

the intentional repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines, stances, sentences, or paragraphs

ancient Greek drama

fifth to third century B.C.

major playwrights including Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides

antagonist

a character that opposes the protagonist’s goals and interests, creating major conflict in the story

anthology citations

name the authors of the work, not the editor

either in a signal phrase or in parentheses

antihero

a main character who is reckless, inept, and downtrodden, notably lacking in the conventional heroic consequences

antinovels

a work that derives its effects from eschewing such standard features of the genre as coherent plot, established setting, and sustained character development

antithesis

a figure of speech in which words or phrases that are parallel in order and syntax express contrasting meanings

aphorisms

an abrupt statement of a general truth about a serious subject

apostrophe

an address to a dead or absent person or to an inanimate object or abstract concept

appositive

a noun or a noun phrase that describes or equates with a nearby noun of pronoun

aside

a speech, usually brief, that, according to theatrical conventions is heard only by the audience, or, sometimes, is addressed privately to another character on stage

assonance

the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in nearby words or stressed syllables

atmosphere

the predominant mood or tone in all or part of a literary work

(term taken from meteorology)

author information

if there is one author, list the name last name first; if there are two authors, list the first author last name first and the second one first name first; if there are three or more, give the first author's name followed by et al.; include any middle names or initials

ballad meter

iambic tetrameter alternates with iambic trimeter

bibliographic information

information about a piece of work used in another work

Bildungsroman

a novel about character formation

blank verse

an unrhymed iambic pentameter

blocking of asides

stage directions on how to make an aside seem inaudible to other characters on the stage while making it audible to the audience

caesuras

a pause in the midst of a verse line

the pause is indicated by a mark of punctuation such as a comma, a question mark, a period, or a dash.

catalectic foot (catalexis)

a missing unstressed syllables at the end of a trochaic or dactylic line

catharsis in tragedy

an arousal of pity or fear that culminates in an uplifting, salutary emotional release or cleansing

characterization

the techniques by which an author represents the moral, intellectual, and emotional natures of the characters

chiasmus

a figure of speech in which two successive phrases or clauses are parallel in syntax, but reverse the order of the analogous words.

classical tragedy

from ancient Greece

centers on a tragic highborn hero

closed couplets

a pair of lines in which the end of the rhyme in the second line coincides with the end of the clause or sentence

closed form of poetry

poems where meter and rhyme scheme govern word choice

opposite of free verse

closet drama

a drama which is intended to be read rather than performed

first person narrator addresses a specific audience, either the reader or an invented listener, whom they expect will sympathize with the views expressed

colloquial language

informal language

characteristic of ordinary conversation

comedy

the tone is (for the most part) light

the main effects are to engage and amuse the audience

the situations and characters tend to be drawn from ordinary daily life, as opposed to world-shaking events and noble or royal characters

common meter

ballad meter when contained in hymns

complete predicate

consists of the verb and all of its modifiers, objects, and complements

complete subject

a simple subject and all of its modifiers

complex sentences

contains not only an independent clause but one or more subordinate clauses

compound sentences

contains more than one independent clause with no subordinate clauses

connected by a coordinating conjunction

conceit, metaphysical

an ingenious, often far-fetched or startling vehicle

concrete language

language that refers to tangible objects and ideas

conjunctions, coordinating

conjunctions, linking compound sentences, such as for, and, nor, or, but, yet, or so

consonance

the repetition of consonant sounds in two or more successive words or stressed syllable (not necessarily nearby) that contain different vowel sounds

coordinated clauses

a clause introduced by a coordinating conjunction

coordination

a reference to the equivalent importance of the two clauses

cosmic irony

refers to an implied worldview in which characters are led to embrace false hopes of aid or success, only to be defeated by some larger fate

couplets

a pair of rhymed lines of the same length and meter

cumulative sentence

presents ideas in the order of subject-verb-object

sentences written in English typically follow that order

curtal sonnet

a ten and a half line from of sonnet

dactylic feet

a stressed syllable followed by two that are unstressed

dactylic tetrameter

a line comprised of four dactyls

dependent clause

a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate but cannot stand alone as a grammatical unit

detail selection and order

the selection and the order of the details in a literary work are crucial to its meaning and tone

dialogue

the presentation of what characters in a literary work say

crucial in drama

diction

denotes the word choice and phrasing in a literary work

dimeter

contains two feet

direct discourse

the direct expression of a character's speech or thought

direct object

completes the predicate by indicating who or what receives the action expressed by the verb

direct satire

first-person narrator addresses a specific audience, either the reader or an invented listener, whom they expect will sympathize with the views expressed

doggerel tragedy

a tragedy that is irregular in rhythm and in rhyme

domestic tragedy

a drama which depicted a new kind of tragic protagonist whose origins were not noble or aristocratic but humble and whose preoccupations were not with lofty noble causes but with mundane issues

double rhyme

when two syllables rhyme

drama

the major literary form that presents characters directly to the audience, usually without the intermediary of a narrator

most are written to be performed live

dramatic irony

occurs when the audience is privy to knowledge that one or more of the characters lack

dramatic monologue

a poem that is spoken by a fictional narrator who is clearly different from the author in age, situation, or gender

set at some significant point in the speaker’s life, and is often addressed to another character, whose presence is implied by what the speaker says

dramatic poetry

the writer creates the voice of an invented character or characters

eighteenth-century drama

drama represented by John Dryden in tragedy and William Congreve and Richard Brinsley Sheridan in comedy

Elizabethan drama

drama in the 16th century that was mainly tragedy and comedy, highlighted by Shakespeare

email, in order of works cited

sender's Last Name, First Name. "Subject Line." received by First and Last Names, Day Month Year

endnotes, MLA style

notes at the end of a paper acknowledging sources and providing additional references or information

end rhyme

rhymes that occur at the end of the poetic line, and can consist of only one syllable

end-stopped lines

lines containing a complete sentence or independent clause and so have a distinct pause at the end

usually indicated by a mark of punctuation

English medieval drama

divided into the morality plays, which are allegories, and mystery plays

English (Shakespearean) sonnets

rhyme scheme formatted as three quatrains and a final couplet

enjambments

lines in which the sentence or clause continues for two or more lines of verse

no punctuation appears at the end of the enjambed lines

epic poetry (epics)

a long narrative poem on a serious and exalted subject combining legend, history, and moral exemplum

examples include Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey

epigrams

a saying in either verse or prose, concisely phrased and often satirical

epiphany

a sudden, overwhelming insight or revelation evoked by a commonplace object or a scene

epistolary novels

a type of novel comprised of a series of letters between characters

equivoque

a special form of pun in which a word or phrase that has disparate meanings is used in a way that makes each meaning equally relevant

essay, understatement

expressing something as less than it actually is for comic or satiric effect

exposition

the essential background information that will allow the reader to understand the characters and the events that have been introduced

extended metaphors

a trope that is sustained through several lines, ringing changes on the multiple relevance of the vehicle to the tenor

eye rhyme

rhyming in which words on the page look like perfect rhymes but have different pronunciations

fallacy, pathetic

a special type of personification in which inanimate aspects of nature, such as the landscape or the weather, are represented as having human qualities or feelings

falling meters

metrical feet than end on an unstressed syllables

farce

a major component of medieval mystery dramas, and part of low comedy

feet, metrical

a group of a single pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

feminine ending

rhymes that end on unstressed syllables

fiction

any narrative whether written in verse or in prose, about invented characters and events, as opposed to an account of actual happenings

fictional narrator

a narrator who is clearly different from the author in age, situation, or gender

figurative language

words that are used in ways that depart conspicuously from their literal applications to achieve special meanings or effects