Glossary of Literary Terms 51-75

Fantasy

A story that concerns an unreal world or contains unreal characters

Figurative language

language employing one or more figures of speech

Flashback

the insertion of an earlier event into the normal order of a narrative

flat character

a character who embodies a single quality and does not develop in the course of a story

foreshadowing

the presentation of material in such a way that the reader is prepared for what is to come later

frame device

a story within a story

genre

a major category of literature

homily

a sermon, or a moralistic lecture

hubris

excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy

hyperbole

intentional exaggeration to create an effect

hypothetical question

a question that raises a hypothesis, conjecture, or supposition

idiom

an expression in a given language that cannot be understood from the literal meaning of the words

imagery

the use of figures of speech to create vivid images that appeal to one of the senses

implication

a suggestion an author or speaker makes without staring it directly

inductive reasoning

deriving general principles from particular facts or instances (every cat I have ever seen has four legs; cats are four legged animals)

inference

a conclusion one draws based on premises or evidence

invective

an intensely vehement, highly emotional verbal attack

irony

the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; incongruity between what is expected and what actually happens

jargon

the specialized language or vocabulary of a particular group or profession

juxtaposition

placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast

legend

a narrative handed down from the past, containing historical elements and usually supernatural elements

limerick

light verse consisting of five lines of regular rhythm in which the first, second, and fifth lines (each consisting of three feet) rhyme, and the second and third lines (each consisting of two feet) rhyme

limited narrator

a narrator who presents the story as it is seen and understood by a single character and restricts information to what is seen, heard, thought, or felt by that one character

literary license

deviating from normal rules or methods in order to achieve a certain effect (intentional sentence fragments, for example)

litotes

a type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite (describing a particularly horrific scene by saying, "it was not a pretty picture")