English lit terms

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

Allusion

A reference to a person,thing, event, situation, or aspect of culture, real or fictional, past, or present

Anastrophe

the reversal of the conventional order of words in a sentence for emphasis or effect.

Antithesis

Direct opposite

apostrophe

a figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds

Characterization

A method an author uses to let readers know more about the characters and their personal traits in a written work

Conceit

extended metaphor

Consonance

Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.

Connotation

All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word

Diction

word choice

Enjambment

A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.

Foreshadowing

A hint given to the reader of what is to come

Heroic Couplet

two end-stopped iambic pentameter lines rhymed aa, bb, cc with the thought usually completed in the two-line unit

Hyperbole

extreme exaggeration

Irony

A contrast between what appears to be and what really is. In verbal irony, words imply the opposite of what they literally mean. Irony of the situation presents a state of affairs that is the opposite of what is expected. Dramatic irony occurs in fiction or drama when the reader or viewer knows more than the characters do.

Juxtsposition

the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

Metaphor

A comparison without using like or as

Oxymoron

conjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence')

Paradox

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

Redundancy

unnecessary repetition

Repetition

Repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis

Satire

A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.

Simile

A comparison using "like" or "as"

Sterotype

A generalized belief about a group of people

Synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa

Symbol

something that stands for something else

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

Theme

The main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work.

Tone

The author's attitude toward his or her subject and audience.

Tragic Hero

a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction