Hammond 1-25

Allegory

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

Alliteration

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

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event

Ambiguity

An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way.

Antagonist

A character or force in conflict with the main character

Apostrophe

a figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction

Archetype

A detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response

Aside

a line spoken by an actor to the audience but not intended for others on the stage

Assonance

Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity

Audience

the listener, viewer, or reader of a text

Ballad

A poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas

Blank verse

verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter.

cæsura

a major pause in a line of poetry

Central idea (theme)

the central, unifying element of the story, which ties together all of the other elements of fiction used by the author to tell the story.

Characterization

A method an author uses to let readers know more about the characters and their personal traits.

Climax

Most exciting moment of the story; turning point

Comedy

light and humorous drama with a happy ending

Conceit

a type of figurative language in which the writer establishes a comparison between two very different concepts or objects.

Concrete poetry

a type of poetry that uses its physical or visual form to present its message

Connotation

All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests

Consonance

Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.

Convention

a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude

Couplet

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word

Deus ex machina

an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel.