lit terms

Anecdote

A short story that appeals to readers and is usually exciting.

Allegory

A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, usually political or moral.

Allusion

A word or phrase that references or hints at something else without stating it clearly.

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a clause.

Aphorism

A concise, memorable expression that states a general principle.

Analogy

A comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

Assonance

The repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds in a series of words, phrases, or syllables.

Consonance

The repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in a series of words, phrases, or syllables.

Alliteration

The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

Chiasmus

Two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures to produce an artistic effect.

Coherence

The connection and flow of ideas in an argument in a fashion that makes sense to the reader.

Colloquialism

A slang or informal term used in conversation more often than literature.

Dialect

A difference in speech within a language used by a certain ethnic or regional group.

Connotation

An idea or feeling that a word invokes aside from its original meaning.

Denotation

The literal meaning of a word.

Epithet

A word or phrase given to a noun to describe a quality about the given noun.

Euphemism

A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt.

Hyperbole

An exaggerated statement, an overstatement.

Understatement

A statement that is made less important or smaller than it is.

Idiom

A phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase.

Imagery

A type of figurative language that evokes one or more of the five senses through usage of descriptors.

Irony

A literary device that conveys a meaning opposite to its literal meaning, including dramatic, situational, and verbal irony.

Sentence types

Different forms of sentences including declarative, exclamatory, imperative, and interrogative.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that makes an implied comparison between two unrelated things.

Simile

A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another using "like" or "as."

Mood

The atmosphere of a work or passage; feeling invoked in the reader.

Tone

The writer’s attitude towards a subject or audience; the intended feel of the work.

Motif

A recurrent image, idea, or symbol that develops or explains a theme.

Onomatopoeia

The formation of a word by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction.

Paradox

A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement that may prove to be well-founded or true.

Parallelism

The use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose that correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc.

Personification

The attribution of human nature or character to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract notions.

Pun

A joke exploiting the different meanings of words and how some words sound alike.

Symbol

A literary device that contains several layers of meaning, often concealed at first sight.

Theme

The main idea, lesson, message, or underlying meaning of a literary work.

Farce

A comedy with horseplay, crude characterization, and ludicrously impossible situations.

Parody

An imitation of style, usually to a dramatic exaggeration and comical effect.

Satire

Use of exaggeration, irony, ridicule, or humor to criticize people’s views, typically on political or topical issues.

Foil

A character that shows qualities that contrast with the qualities of another character.

Caricature

A device used in descriptive writing and visual arts in which particular aspects of a subject are exaggerated to create a silly/comic effect.

Inference

A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning.

Implication

The conclusion that can be drawn from something although it is not explicitly stated.

Juxtaposition

The placement of two things close together in order to compare and contrast them.

Metonymy

When two objects are so closely related but distinct, you can use them interchangeably.

Synecdoche: