Literary terminology

Alliteration

Sequence of words that begin with the same letter or sound for poetic/whimsical effect

Amplification

Technique of embellishing a simple sentence with more details to increase its significance

Analogy

Comparison of one thing to something else to help explain a similarity that might not be easy to see

Anthropomorphism

Where non-human things like animals or objects act human, exhibiting traits such as speech, thoughts, etc.

Antithesis

Placement of two contrasting and polarized sentiments next to each other to accent both

Colloquialism

Use of casual and informal speech, including slang, in formal writing to make dialogue seem authentic/realistic

Circumlocution

When the writer/narrator deliberately uses excessive words and overcomplicated syntaxical structures to intentionally convolute a meaning

Euphemism

Soft or inoffensive word or phrase that replaces a harsh, unpleasant or hurtful one - often for the sake of sympathy or civility

Hyperbole

Using exaggeration to add more power to what you’re saying, often to an extreme degree

Motif

A recurring element in a story that holds some symbolic or conceptual meaning

Oxymoron

Use of two contradictory words to give them a deeper and more poetic meaning

Portmanteau

Literary device of joining two words together to form a new word with hybrid meaning

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds, or repetition of consonant sounds close together

Caesura

A pause/punctuation that breaks the rhythm or pace in a line of poetry

Conceit

An extended and ingenious simile

End-stopped line

A line of poetry that ends in a full stop or has a natural pause

Enjambment

When a phrase of poetry runs over the line breaks

Heroic couplet

A verse form found in epic poetry, where the lines are in rhyming pairs

Homophone

Words that sound the same but have different meanings (e.g. made/maid)

Volta

A change in mood or focus in a poem

Anadiplosis

Form of repetition where the last word of one clause/line is repeated as the first word in the following clause/line

Analepsis

Flashback

Decadence

Moral or cultural decline that is caused by excessive indulgence in pleasure/luxury

Denouement

The climax of the story, where are the loose ends of the plot are tied up

Extradiegetic

A narrator who occupies a position above the story

Intradiegetic

A narrator who operates on the same level as the characters in the story

Pathos

The depiction of suffering, an appeal to the reader’s emotions

Prolepsis

A flash forward

Rhetoric

The art of speaking to impress/persuade an audience

Effusion

A spontaneous expression

Refrain

The repetition of a single line in a poem, often the last line of a stanza

Sibilance

Aesthetic use of the hissing ‘s’ sound

Repetend

A recurring word of phrase, not necessarily as formally arranged as a refrain or anadiplosis

Catharsis

An emotional release caused by an intense experience

Hamartia

Fatal flaw in the protagonist of a tragedy

Hubris

Overbearing pride in the protagonist of a tragedy

The use of devices that disrupt the illusion of realistic theatre (e.g. cast speaking directly to the audience, holding up signs, etc.)