LIT Terms 1

Imagery

The use of figures of speech to create vivid images that appeal to one of the senses.

Implication

A suggestion made by an author or speaker without stating it directly.

Inductive reasoning

Deriving general principles from particular facts or instances.

Inference

A conclusion drawn based on premises or evidence.

Invective

An intensely vehement, highly emotional verbal attack.

Irony

The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning or incongruity between expectations and reality.

Jargon

The specialized language or vocabulary of a particular group or profession.

Juxtaposition

Placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast.

Legend

A narrative handed down from the past, containing historical and usually supernatural elements.

Limerick

Light verse consisting of five lines with a specific rhyme scheme.

Limited narrator

A narrator who presents the story from the perspective of a single character.

Literary license

Deviating from normal rules to achieve a certain effect.

Litotes

A type of understatement expressing an idea by negating its opposite.

Malapropism

The mistaken substitution of one word for another that sounds similar.

Maxim

A concise statement offering advice; an adage.

Metaphor

A direct comparison of two different things.

Metonymy

Substituting the name of one object for another closely associated with it.

Mood

The emotional atmosphere of a work.

Motif

A standard theme or element that recurs in various works.

Motivation

A character’s incentive or reason for behaving in a certain manner.

Myth

A traditional story presenting supernatural characters and episodes.

Narrative

A story or narrated account.

Narrator

The one who tells the story, which may be first- or third-person.

Non sequitur

An inference that does not logically follow from the premises.

Omniscient narrator

A narrator who knows and tells all, including characters' inner thoughts.

Onomatopoeia

A word formed from the imitation of natural sounds.

Oxymoron

An expression in which two contradictory words are joined.

Parable

A simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson.

Paradox

An apparently contradictory statement that contains some truth.

Parallelism

The use of corresponding grammatical forms.

Paraphrase

A restatement of a text in different words for clarity.

Parody

A humorous imitation of a serious work.

Parenthetical

A comment that interrupts the immediate subject for qualification or explanation.

Pastoral

Literature dealing with people living off the land and nature's challenges and blessings.

Pathos

The quality in a work that prompts the reader to feel pity.

Pedantic

Characterized by an excessive display of learning or scholarship.

Personification

Endowing non-human objects with human qualities.

Philippic

A strong verbal denunciation.

Point of view

The vantage point from which a story is told.

Polysyndeton

The use of more conjunctions than necessary for rhetorical effect.

Pun

A play on words using similar sounds but different meanings.

Resolution

The falling action of a narrative following the climax.

Rhetoric

The art of presenting ideas clearly and persuasively.

Rhetorical question

A question asked for effect, not requiring an answer.

Rhetorical devices

Literary techniques used to enhance expression.

Riddle

A question requiring thought to answer; a puzzle.

Romantic

A term describing a character or work reflecting Romanticism's characteristics.

Round character

A character demonstrating complexity and development.

Sarcasm

Harsh language intended to ridicule.

Satire

The use of humor to emphasize human weaknesses in social institutions.

Scapegoat

A person or group that bears the blame for another.

Simile

A comparison using "like," "as," or other comparative words.

Simple sentence

A sentence consisting of one independent clause.

Solecism

Nonstandard grammatical usage; a violation of grammatical rules.

Style

The choices a writer makes; distinctive features of a literary work.

Surrealism

An artistic movement emphasizing imagination and incongruous juxtapositions.

Syllepsis

A construction where one word is used in two different senses.

Syllogism

A three-part deductive argument leading to a conclusion.

Symbol

An object used to represent something else.

Synecdoche

Using a part of an object to represent the whole.

Synesthesia

Describing one kind of sensation in terms of another (“a loud color” or “a sweet sound.”")