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Active voice
The subject of the sentence performs the actions
Allusion
An indirect refrence to something like plays, literary text, songs, and historical events
Alter-ego
A character that is used by the author to speak the authors own thoughts
Anecdote
A brief recounting of a relative episode
Classisim
Art or literature charactarized by a realistic view of people and the world
Comic relief
When a humorous scene is inserted into a serious story, in order to lighten the mood somewhat
Diction
Word choice, particularly as an element of style
Colloquial
Ordinary or familiar type of conversation
Connotation
Implied meaning rather than literal meaning
Denotation
The literal, explicit meaning of a word, without its connotations
Jargon
The diction used by a group which practices a similar profession or activity
Vernacular
1. Language or dialect of a particular country. 2. Language or dialect of a regional clan or group. 3. Plain everyday speech
Didactic
A term used to describe fiction, nonfiction or poetry that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking
Adage
A folk saying with a lesson
Allegory
A story, fictional or non fictional, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts
Aphorism
A terse statement which expresses a general truth or moral principle
Ellipsis
The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author
Euphemism
A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts
Figurative Language
Writing that is not meant to be taken literally
Analogy
A comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables
Hyperbole
An exaggeration
Idiom
A common, often used expression that doesn’t make sense if you take it literally
Metaphor
Making an implied comparison, not using “like,” as,” or other such words
Metonymy
Replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept
Synecdoche
A kind of metonymy when a whole is represented by naming one of its parts, or vice versa
Simile
Using words such as “like” or “as” to make a direct comparison between two very different things
Synesthesia
A description involving a “crossing of the senses”
Personification
Giving human-like qualities to something that is not human
Foreshadowing
When an author gives hints about what will occur later in a story
Genre
The major category into which a literary work fits.
Gothic
Writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear and/or death
Imagery
Word or words that create a picture in the reader's mind
Invective
A long, emotionally violent, attack using strong, abusive language
Irony
When the opposite of what you expect to happen doe
Verbal irony
When you say something and mean the opposite/something different
Dramatic irony
When the audience of a drama, play, movie, etc. knows something that the character doesn't and would be surprised to find out
Situational irony
Found in the plot (or story line) of a book, story, or movie
Juxtaposition
Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison
Mood
The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice (diction)
Motif
A recurring idea in a piece of literature
Oxymoron
When apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox –
Pacing
The speed or tempo of an author’s writing
Paradox
A seemingly contradictory situation which is actually true
Parallelism
Sentence construction which places equal grammatical constructions near each other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns
Anaphora
Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences or clauses in a row
Chiasmus
When the same words are used twice in succession, but the second time, the order of the words is reversed
Antithesis
Two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, or clauses, or even ideas, with parallel structure
Zuegma (Syllepsis)
When a single word governs or modifies two or more other words, and the meaning of the first word must change for each of the other words it governs or modifies
Parenthetical Idea
Parentheses are used to set off an idea from the rest of the sentence
Parody
An exaggerated imitation of a serious work for humorous purposes
Persona
The fictional mask or narrator that tells a story
Poetic device
A device used in poetry to manipulate the sound of words, sentences or lines
Alliteration
The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words
Assonance
The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds
Consonance
The repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within words
Onomatopoeia
The use of a word which imitates or suggests the sound that the thing makes
Internal rhyme
When a line of poetry contains a rhyme within a single line
Slant rhyme
When a poet creates a rhyme, but the two words do not rhyme exactly – they are merely similar
End rhyme
When the last word of two different lines of poetry rhyme
Note
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