Lit Midterm Terms

Alliteration

repetition of beginning vowel sounds in a line of prose or poetry

Allegory

a story or poem with various levels of meaning expressed by symbolic elements. In an ______ everything—objects, events, characters and setting—symbolizes an idea or a quality.

Allusion

reference (often oblique) to a well-known person, place, event, literary or artistic work.

Anaphora

type of parallel structure in which a word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of successive clauses for emphasis.

Assonance

repetition of vowel sounds within a line to creative effective resonance.

blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

caesura

a pause within a line of poetry

catalogue

a list of people, objects, or situations to evoke a range of emotions

connotation

an emotional association that is evoked by a work or phrase

denotation

The dictionary definition of a word

diction

work choice, formal/informal, plain/ornate, common/esoteric, abstract/concrete...

Enjambment

the running on of a thought from one line of poetry to the next without a pause.

Figurative language

language not meant to be literal but rather imaginative and/or metaphorical.

figure of speech

a word or expression that is not meant to be taken literally but rather imaginative or metaphorical

free-verse

Poetry that lacks regular meter or a consistent rhyme scheme

hyperbole

a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement used for a dramatic or comic effect

imagery

word pictures created by language that evokes senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, or movement

metaphor

a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, suggesting a comparison of the two things with the use of "like" or "as"

Motif

a recurrent, or repeated, object or idea throughout a literary work.

Onomatopoeia

the use of words that imitate sounds rather than identify something.

Oxymoron

a figure of speech that combines two opposing or contradictory ideas, suggesting a paradox in just a few words: "deafening silence."

paradox

a statement that seems to be contradictory but actually presents a truth: "The first shall be last."

parallelism

the use of the same grammatical part of speech (often three) in sequence.

Personification

figurative language in which inanimate objects are given human characteristics.

poetry

writing expressed in lines and stanzas, often with regular meter, rhyme scheme, and concise language.

prose

ordinary form of written language expressed in sentences and paragraphs.

Rhyme

repetition of sounds at the ends or words. Rhyming words can occur at the end of a line or within a line of poetry. Approximate or slant rhyme is when rhyming sounds are close but not exact: prove and glove.

tone

A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter

theme

central message or insight into life revealed by a literary work. Theme is most often implied rather than directly stated.

symbol

anything (usual an object, but could be a character or a location) that stands for something else in a work of prose or poetry.

style

a combination of every feature of a writer's use of language, including (but not limited to) diction, syntax, grammar, organization, figures of speech and tone.

simile

a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison using like or as

stanza

a group of lines in a poem that often function similar to a paragraph in prose: developing a main idea

setting

the time and place of the action; can serve as merely background or be crucial to plot or mood.

rhythm

also called meter...the pattern of beats or stresses in spoken or written language

discourse

generally any form of written or spoken communication. 

exposition

explains the facts; presents information

narration

tells a series of events

persuasion

(also called argument/argumentation) attempts to make a reader/listener adopt an opinion and/or take an action.

description

SHOWS how something strikes the senses; creates sensory imagery

Prosaic

commonplace or dull; matter-of-fact or unimaginative

Poetic/lyrical

having musical or imaginative qualities

aphorism

a statement of truth or opinion expressed in a concise and witty manner.  An ______ is often referred to as a proverb, a maxim, an adage or (at its worst) a cliche.