Civs II - Lit Terms (Updated 3/18/25)

Adage

a short, pointed, and memorable saying that is based on facts, and which is considered a truth by the majority of people.

Allegory

A story that can stand on its own merits but also illustrating an idea or a moral principle in which objects and/or characters take on symbolic meanings

Alliteration

The use in close succession of repeated (two or more) initial consonant sounds, creating a literary effect, such as mood, foreshadowing, or imagery

Allusion

A reference, explicit or implicit, to something in literature or history; the author expects the reader will know the reference

Antithesis

The rhetorical juxtaposition of two opposing elements through the parallel grammatical structure; both can be argued as true

Apostrophe

A poetic phrase or speech made by a character that is addressed to a subject that is not literally present in the literary work

Archetype

In a literary context, characters (and sometimes images, symbols, for themes) that symbolically embody the universal meanings and basic human experiences, independent of time or place, can be classified by this term

Aside

A short comment or speech that a character delivers directly to the audience, or to himself, while other actors on the stage appear not to hear. Only the audience knows that the character has said something to them

Blank verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter

Cacophony

Harsh, discordant, unpleasant-sounding choice and arrangement of sounds

Characterization

The process by which the writer creates and reveals the unique characteristics of each character

Direct Characterization

The information about a character that the author reveals in a straightforward manner; uses another character, narrator, or the protagonist himself to tell the readers or audience about the character

Indirect Characterization

Information about a character that the audience must deduce or infer for themselves by observing the character’s thought process, behavior, speech, way of talking, appearance, and manner of communication with other characters, as well as by discerning the response of other characters towards the character

Round Character

Exhibits layers of personality; writers describe these physically and mentally; audiences can sympathize, associate with, or relate to this kind of character, as they seem real 

Flat Character

Does not change much from the start of the narrative to its end; often said not to have any emotional depth

Dynamic Characters

 Face trials and learn (CHANGE) from experiences; often also round

Static Characters

 Do not undergo inner changes, or undergo little change

Protagonist

 The central character or leading figure; sometimes a hero to the audience or readers; a dynamic character; drives and interacts with the (central) conflict most

Antagonist

 A character, or a group of characters, which stands in opposition to the protagonist; the word itself means rival or opponent; often called the villain; often a foil to the protagonist; often the source of the central conflict

Conceit

An extended metaphor or simile that is complicated and imaginative, comparing  comparing something physical with something abstract; this type of comparison is often observed in metaphysical poetry

End-stopped Line

A poetic device that creates in a line of poetry a pause at the end of a unit of thought; it is sometimes expressed by punctuation mark; opposite of an enjambed line

Enjambed Line

A poetic device that preserves the flow of a complete thought from one line of poetry into the next without pause before reaching completion; opposite of end-stopped line

Equivocation 

Commonly known as doublespeak...the use of ambiguous language to hide one’s meaning or to mislead...often used by dishonest politicians who want to seem like they agree with everyone.

Two elements must be present:
1. ambiguous language

2. intention to conceal/deceive

Exemplum

A short tale, narrative, or anecdote developed in the late Middle Ages to explain a doctrine or to emphasize a moral point; generally in the forms of legends, folktales, and fables

Figurative Language

Language that relies on figures of speech (such as simile, personification, imagery, and others) and is not understood literally; must be interpreted for intended effect

Foil

Character who sets off the main character or other characters by comparison; much can be learned about each by comparing and contrasting the actions of the two

Foreshadowing

The use of words, phrases, conditions, and events which function as hints as the work unfolds; hints often refer to something that will happen without revealing the details or spoiling the suspense; often noticed by strong readers but sometimes not realized until later in the text as the reader thinks back

Free Verse

Poetry that is not controlled by patterns, such as meter or rhythm and does not rhyme in fixed form

Hamartia

Reflects the fatal flaw that leads to a character’s downfall

Hubris

Extreme pride and arrogance shown by a character, which ultimately brings about his downfall

Iambic Pentameter

Metrical pattern of rhythmic verse. Sounds similar to a heartbeat and includes 10 syllables in each line. 

Imagery

Groups of words (both literal and figurative) used by authors to create a sensory recognition (see, smell, hear, taste, touch) by the reader

Situational Irony

An event or condition in which incongruity exists between actual circumstances and those that would seem appropriate, or between what is anticipated and what actually comes to pass.

Literal Language

Language that can be understood in its actual sense

Metaphor

A comparison of two unlike things that share some common characteristics, created by substituting a figurative term for the literal term

Meter

The basic rhythmic structure of a line within a poem or poetic work, made up by analyzing where stressed and unstressed syllables fall and how many syllables occur in each line

Monologue

It is a literary device that is the speech or verbal presentation given by a single character in order to express his or her collection of thoughts and ideas aloud.

Motif

An object or idea that repeats itself throughout a literary work and is used by the author for a specific purpose, such as developing a theme

Narrative

A report or tale of related events presented to listeners or readers, in words arranged in a logical sequence. A story is taken as a synonym

Onomatopoeia

A literary device wherein the sound of a word echoes the sound it represents. The words "splash," "knock," and "roar" are examples.

Paradox

A statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements but utterly true

Pathetic Fallacy

Attributing human qualities and emotions to inanimate objects of nature; often used to make the environment reflect the inner experience of a narrator or other characters

Personification

The term itself refers to an umbrella of devices, all of which attribute to non-human things the characteristics of humans. 

Satire

A technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society, by using humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule with intention to change/improve humanity

Simile

A figure of speech in which two essentially dissimilar objects or concepts are expressly compared with one another through the use of like or as

Soliloquy

A speech that “reveal[s] the innermost thoughts of a character” and is delivered by one character alone on stage

Theme

The author’s central message about life in a piece of literary fiction; usually implied rather than directly stated; should be expressed academically as a complete sentence

Tragedy

A type of drama that presents a serious subject matter about human suffering and corresponding terrible events in a dignified manner.

Trochaic Tetrameter

A metrical foot composed of two syllables with the first syllable being stressed and the second being unstressed. Authors often use it when writing about dark subjects like madness and death.

Vernacular

The language or everyday ordinary people rather than scholarly languages, such as Latin

Epic

a long narrative poem with the following characteristics:

• hero vs. villain

• hero performs valiant acts

• vast setting

• supernatural forces

• verse (not prose)

• extensive character list

• call to a muse (invocation)

• in medias res

In medias res

“in the midst of things;” refers to an author’s choice to narrate a story from the middle after supposing that the audience are aware of past events

Epic simile

this extended comparison – often 4 to 6 lines – of two unlike things using like or as works as an analogy, helping the reader better understand or imagine a character or action by comparing it to a natural event.

Sonnet

a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes

Shakespearean/Elizabethan sonnet

written in iambic pentameter and consisting of three quatrains and a final couplet. The volta usually occurs between line 12 and 13, but can occur elsewhere. Uses the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg.

Petrarchan sonnet

Written in iambic pentameter and consisting of an eight-line section (octave) and a six-line section (sestet), with a volta in between and a rhyme scheme of abba, abba, and CDCDCD or CDECDE.

Sibilance

Type of alliteration; strongly stressed consonants are created deliberately by producing air from vocal tracts through the use of lips and tongue. Such consonants produce hissing sounds.

Theodicy

An attempt to vindicate (or explain or defend) divine goodness and providence in view of the existence of evil

Anthropomorphism

The literal attribution of human characteristics to animals and other non-human things (or deities) for the purpose of characterization

Colloquialism

Language that is informal and conversational.

Couplet

Two lines of verse that present a thought.

Dactylic hexameter

Containing three syllables in which the first one is accented, followed by second and third unaccented syllables.

Epistrophe

A stylistic device that can be defined as the repetition of phrases or words at the ends of clauses or sentences.

Epithet

A word or phrase that describes a place, a thing, or a person in such a way that it helps in making its characteristics more prominent; “by-name.”

Eponym

A word derived from a name, or a name that becomes a word, or a word formed by combining a name with some other word; or a person after whom an invention or place or other object is named.

Hyperbole

Extreme exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis.

Idiom

A commonly used expression understood within a culture for its figurative meaning; confusing if interpreted literally.

Invocation

A request or appeal for help from someone, especially a god, sometimes as part of a religious ceremony; a common element of epic poetry as the writer calls to a muse for assistance in telling the tale.

Verbal irony

A figure of speech in which what is meant is the opposite of what is said; the speaker says one thing but means the opposite.

Dramatic irony

A device by which the author implies a different meaning from that intended/spoken by the speaker.

Metaphor

A comparison of two unlike things that share some common characteristics, created by substituting a figurative term for the literal term.

Mood

The emotional response of a reader to a piece of text.

Myth

A traditional story whose author is unknown and one that
exhibits the follow characteristics:

• Narrative (story elements)

• Imaginative, Clever, Inventive 

• Supernatural Beings

• Explains Natural Events and/or Implies Moral

• Often Improbable, Even Absurd

• Originates from Past Culture, preScience

• evolves

Octave

A verse form that contains eight lines, which usually appear in iambic pentameter. In simple words, it can be any stanza in a poem that has eight lines and follows a rhymed or unrhymed meter.

Perspective

A person’s view on a topic.

Quatrain

Four lines of verse that function either as a poem or as a stanza within a larger poem; can feature rhyme scheme or be free verse.

Rhyme scheme

The pattern of rhyme at the end of each line in poetry, indicated by letters of the alphabet.

Sestet

It has six lines, and also refers to a poem of six lines, or a six-lined stanza in a poem, which can be distinguished from other units by line breaks.

Tone

The author’s perspective or attitude towards the topic being written about.

Understatement

A figure of speech that consists of saying less than one means, or of saying what one means with less force than the occasion warrants.

Volta

The turn of thought or argument: in Petrarchan or Italian sonnets it occurs between the octave and the sestet, and in Shakespearean or English before the final couplet.

Zoomorphism

A literary technique in which animal attributes are imposed upon non-animal objects, humans, and events; and animal features are ascribed to humans, gods, and other objects.

Essay

A short form of a literary composition based on a single subject matter, and often gives the personal opinion of the author

Parody

An imitation of a writer, artist, or genre, exaggerating it deliberately to produce a comic effect, achieved by imitating and over-stressing noticeable features of a famous piece of literature, as in caricatures, where certain peculiarities of a person are highlighted to achieve a humorous effect.

Anaphora

A device that utilizes repetition of a word or phrase at the BEGINNING of successive sentences, clauses, or phrases; used to emphasize an idea.

Epigraph

A short poem, quotation, or statement that an author places at the beginning of a piece, creating some kind of introductory, summary, or associative context for it.

Epistolary

A genre pertaining to letters, in which writers use letters, journals, and diary entries in their works, or they tell their stories or deliver messages through a series of letters.

Euphemism

Figurative language designed to replace phrasing that would otherwise be considered harsh, impolite, or unpleasant; allows for someone to say what they mean indirectly, without using literal language, as a way of softening the impact of what is being said.

Frame Tale

A story set within a story, narrative, or movie, told by the main or the supporting character. A character starts telling a story to other characters, or he sits down to write a story, telling the details to the audience.

Suspension of Disbelief

The temporary acceptance as believable of events or characters that would ordinarily be seen as incredible, usually to allow an audience to appreciate works of literature or drama.

Symbolism

A figure of speech in which something (object, person, situation, or action) means more than what it is...may be read both literally and metaphorically.

Thesis

A statement in a nonfiction work that a writer intends to support and prove.

Stereotype

Application of an immediate,  generalized belief about a person based solely on a subgroup, typically related to skills, traits, or behaviors.

Rondeau

A traditionally French form composed of a rhyming quintet, quatrain, and sestet. Characterized by the repeating lines of the refrain, and the two rhyme sounds throughout. The form was originally a musical vehicle devoted to emotional subjects such as spiritual worship, courtship, romance, and the changing of seasons.

Rhetorical Question

Authors use these for effect with no answer expected.

Refrain

Word, line, or phrase that is repeated within the lines or stanzas of the poem itself, often at the end of a stanza, or where a poem divides into different sections; emphasizes an idea through repetition and/or change of established pattern.

Colloquialism

Language that is informal and conversational; a word or expression that is commonplace within a specific language, geographic region, or historical era; useful in many ways as literary devices because they can provide personality and authenticity to characters and dialogue;they can also indicate the setting of a literary work in the context of time and place by establishing a historical era or geographic area.

Ballad

A fairly short narrative poem written in a songlike stanza form; originally meant for singing within oral tradition civilizations.