Awesome Compendium 101-146

pastoral

a poem, play, or story that celebrates and idealizes the simple life of shepherds and shepherdresses

pathos

the quality of a literary work or passage that appeals to the reader's emotions

periodic sentence

a sentence that delivers its point at the end

personification

the attribution of human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object

point of view

perspective of the speaker in a literary work

polysyndeton

repetition of conjunctions in close succession

prose

the ordinary language people use to express themselves; the opposite of poetry

protagonist

the main character in a work; often considered the hero or heroine

physiognomy

the assessment of a person's character or personality from his or her outer appearance

pun

humorous play on words that have several meanings or words that sound the same but have different meanings

quatrain

four line stanza

refrain

repetition of a line, stanza, or phrase

repetition

a word or phrase used more than once to emphasize an idea

rhetorical question

a question with an obvious answer, so no response is expected; used for emphasis or to make a point

satire

the use of humor to ridicule and expose the shortcomings and failings of society, individuals, and institutions

scansion

the process of measuring metrical verse

sestet

a six line stanza of poetry; also the last six lines of an Italian/Petrarchan sonnet

shift

in writing, a movement from one thought or idea to another

simile

a comparison of unlike things using the word like, as, or so

soliloquy

a dramatic or literary form of discourse in which a character talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without addressing a listener

sonnet, English or Shakespearean

Traditionally, a fourteen-line love poem in iambic pentameter, but in contemporary poetry, themes and form vary

sonnet, Italian or Petrarchan

Fourteen line poem divided into two parts: the first is eight lines (abbaabba) and the second is six (cdcdcd or cdecde)

spondee

a metrical foot consisting of two syllables equally or almost equally accented

stanza

A grouping of poetic lines; a deliberate arrangement of lines of poetry.

stock character

A stereotypical character; a type. The audience expects the character to have certain characteristics

stream of consciousness

phrase used by William James in 1890 to describe the unbroken flow of thought and awareness of the waking mind; in a literary context used to describe the narrative method where novelists describe unspoken thoughts and feelings.

structure

the structure of a sonnet is 14 lines. The structure of a drama is a certain number of acts and scenes. Plot structures a novel, and poems are organized by stanzas. Other structural techniques include chronological, nonlinear, stream of consciousness, and flashback.

style

The way a writer uses language. Takes into account word choice, diction figures of speech, and so on. The writer's "voice"

surrealism

A 20th-century literary and artistic movement that attempts to express the workings of the subconscious and is characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtaposition of subject matter.

syllogism

a three-part deductive argument in which a conclusion is based on a major premise and a minor premise

symbol

A concrete object, scene, or action which has deeper significance because it is associated with something else often an important idea or theme in the work.

synesthesia

conflation of two or more senses

synecdoche

a figure of speech where one part represents the entire object, or vice versa

syntax

The way in which words, phrases, and sentences are ordered and connected.

tercet

a three-line stanza exhibited in terza rima as well as in other poetic forms.

terza rima

An Italian form of iambic poetry having sets of three lines, the middle line of each set rhyming with the first and last of the succeeding: ababcbcdc. It was invented by Dante Alighieri, used in The Inferno

theme

The universal insight presented in a work

tone

Refers to the author's attitude toward the subject, and often sets the mood of the piece.

tongue in cheek

Expressing a thought in a way that appears to be sincere, but is actually joking.

tragic flaw

Traditionally, a defect in a hero or heroine that leads to his or her downfall.

transition/segue

The means to get from one portion of a poem or story to another; for instance, to another setting, to another character's viewpoint, to a later or earlier time period. It is a way of smoothly connecting different parts of a work

trochee

a metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by one unaccented syllable.(ex. bar - ter)

understatement

A literary device in which a writer or speaker attributes less importance or conveys less passion than the subject would seem to demand.

verse

metrical language; the opposite of prose

zeugma

a figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses (e.g., John and his license expired last week) or to two others of which it semantically suits only one (e.g., with weeping eyes and hearts).

Syllepsis

where a single word is used in relation to two parts of a sentence although grammatically or logically applying to only one.