english literary terms

allegory

allegory

a literary work with literal elements having second symbolic meanings

alliteration

repitition of initial consonant sounds in words

allusion

reference to something outside the next

anecdote

short amusing story

antagonist

chararcter that words against the protagonist

aphorism

memorable statement capturing broad truth/universal truth or idea

apostrophe

speaker addresses inatimate object or someone whos not there/dead

aside

speaker addresses audience directly

assonance

repitition of similar vowel sounds within words and phrases

autobiography

a self written biography

ballad

a type of poem that is meant to be sung and is both lyric and narrative in nature

biography

A written account of another person's life.

blank verse

poetry/prose that doesnt rhyme

caeusra

pause in poetry/verse

catalog

a list for poetic/rhetorical effect

character

person/thing

Cliché

overused unoriginal idea/concept

climax

height of story

comedy

something funny

conceit

comparison between two unlikely things

concrete poem

a visual poem

conflict

central struggle

connotation

the suggested meaning rather than literal meaning of something

anaology

comparison of two unlike things similar in some ways to explain something

atmosphere

how a writer constructs their piece to convery feelings, emotions, and mood

consonance

repittion of one or more consonant sounds that are close together

couplet

a pair of consectuive lines that complete a thoght

denouement

point of story where conflict is resolved

description

you just know what this is ig?

dialect

an attempt to capture/ indicate the speech of a certain group

dialouge

exchange of spoken words

diction

choice of words/style used by author to convey a message

dramatic monologue

when a single speaker in literature says something to a silent audience

dynamic character

character that changes

elegy

a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.

epic

long narrative in verse form that retells a heroic journey

epiphany

a moemt where a character has a sudden insight or realization

epithet

describes something by replacing it

essay

a short piece of writing on a particular subject.

exposition

introduction of a story

fable

short story with lesson or moral

falling action

part of conclusion after climax of story resolves conflict ties up loose ends

farce

works containign riduclous plots, exxagerated characters, iver the top situations just to be funny

figure of speech

a device used to produce figurative language

first person

i me my view

flashback

you know what this is

flat cjaracter

character that isnt complex

foil

a character that contrasts another

folktale

traditional fictional story

foot

basic meter consisiting of combination of two or more stressed/unstressed syllables

foreshadowing

hint to later events

free verse

poem that doesnt follow any specific guide or concept

genre

type of literature

hyperbole

extreme eggaertation

iamb

unstressed then stressed syllables

iambic pentameter

each line contains 10 syllables+5 iambs

idiom

A common, often used expression that doesn't make sense if you take it literally.

imagery

Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)

impressionism

when an author centers around a characters mental life/impressions

incongruity

illogical relationships between parts of a sentence

inference

logical deductions based on premises assumed to be true

internal rhyme

middle/end words rhyme with each other

inversion

words/phrases/sentences in non traditonal order

irony

A contrast between expectation and reality

jargon

vocabulary distinctive to a particular group of people

literal language

it is what it is

lyric poem

a short poem of songlike quality

metaphor

comparison without like or as

meter

the rhythmic structure of a line of a verse

modernism

a modern style of writing

mood

the emotional atmosphere

motif

A recurring theme, subject or idea

myth

A traditional story about gods, ancestors, or heroes, told to explain the natural world or the customs and beliefs of a society.

narrative

writing technqiue used to tell a story

narrator

the speaker telling the story

naturalism

a literary movement focused on extreme realism

nonfiction

real shit

octave

a verse form consisting of eight lines of iambic pentameter

ode

formal poem that praises/celebrates something

omniscient point of view

pov with everything knowledge

Onomatopoeia

word that makes a sound

oxymoron

two contradictoary words to form a paradox`

parable

short story providing a moral/spiritual lesson with a comparison/symbolism

paradox

an apparently contradictory statement that is perhaps true

parallel strucutre

using the same patterns of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of important

parody

humorous imitation

personification

giving human qualities to non-human things

persuasion

A kind of speaking or writing that is intended to influence people's actions.

plain styyle

clear/concise/precise

plot

sequence of events

point of view

the perspective

post modernism

experimentation and rejection of convential forms of literature

prologue

pre-face/introduction to a work

prose

Any writing that is not poetry

protagonist

main character

proverb

Short statement of advice or wisdom

pun

A play on words

quatrain

a verse within 4 lines

rationalism

scientific thought + logical reason >>>

resolution

End of the story where loose ends are tied up