English Lit Vocab

Allegory

A story, movie, or piece of art that has a hidden meaning or moral lesson (eg. Tortoise and the Hare)

Alliteration

The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words in a phrase or sentence (eg. Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled peppers)

Allusion

An indirect hint or a passing reference to a well-known person, place, event, work of art, or story

Anaphora

Repeating the exact same word or phrase at the beginning of neighboring sentences or lines (eg. I want justice. I want equality. I want freedom.)

Antagonist

A person, group, or force that goes against the main character in a story

Apostrophe

A literary device where a speaker directly addresses someone or something that is not present, is dead, or cannot respond

Archetype

A perfect, classic example or original model of a person, thing, or pattern from which others are copied (eg. a hero who saves the day)

Aside

A short comment or remark a character speaks directly to the audience while other characters are right there on stage

Assonance

The repetition of similar vowel sounds in nearby words (eg. Go slow on the road)

Blank Verse

Poetry that has a steady rhythm and a fixed number of syllables per line, but does not rhyme-usually iambic pentameter and follows natural sounds (human speech)

Cacophony

A loud, harsh, and unpleasant mix of sounds

Chiasmus

A figure of speech where two parts of a sentence or phrase mirror each other in reverse order, forming an A-B-B-A pattern (eg. Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country)

Comic Relief

The use of a funny character, scene, or joke in a serious, dark, or tragic story to give the audience a short break from the tension

Conceit

A fancy, unusual, and long-lasting comparison between two very different things

Connotation

The emotional or cultural feeling a word brings up beyond its exact dictionary definition

Consonance

A literary device that repeats the same consonant sound in nearby words-It relies on matching sounds and not matching letters, usually with different vowels (eg. The last fast gust blew past)

Couplet

Pair of two back-to-back lines of poetry that usually rhyme and share the same rhythm (eg. So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee)

Denotation

The literal, exact dictionary definition of a word, with no added emotions or feelings

Denouement

The final part of a story where the mystery is solved, loose ends are tied up, and the characters settle into their new normal (usually right after climax)

Diction

An author's choice of words (can be tone, style, etc)

Didactic

A piece of writing or a story meant to teach a specific lesson, moral, or rule about how to live

Dissonance

The deliberate use of harsh, clashing, or unharmonious sounds and rhythms in writing to create tension, unease, or discomfort

Dramatic Irony

A storytelling device where the audience knows a crucial piece of information that the characters do not

End Rhyme

A literary device where the last words in two or more lines of a poem or song rhyme with each other (usually rhyming scheme AABB or ABAB)

Enjambment

A poetic device where a sentence or phrase continues from one line to the next without any punctuation or pause (for speed, suspense, and natural flow-like regular talking)

Epistolary

A story told through a series of written documents or messages rather than by a traditional narrator

Epigraph

A short quote, phrase, or poem placed at the beginning of a book, chapter, or poem to hint at the main theme or set the mood (eg. “Be careful what you invite in” quote at start of a chapter where the book’s about a haunted house)

Euphemism

A polite, mild, or indirect word or phrase used to replace one that feels too harsh, blunt, unpleasant, or taboo (saying passed away instead of dead, saying let go instead of fired)

Euphony

A literary device that combines words with smooth, pleasant, and musical sounds that are easy/gentle to say out loud (eg. “Season of mists, and mellow fruitfulness…”)

First Person Narration

A storytelling style where a character in the story tells the tale using words like I, me, my, we, or us

Flat character

A simple, literary figure (character) defined by a single idea, quality, or trait rather than a complex, multifaceted personality

Foil

A person in a story who contrasts with another character—usually the main character—to make that main character's traits stand out more clearly (eg. Draco vs Harry Potter)

Foreshadowing

A literary device where an author gives early hints or clues about what will happen later in a story

Free Verse

A type of poetry that does not have a set rhyme scheme, fixed meter (rhythm pattern), or structured rules

Hyperbole

An extreme, intentional exaggeration used for emphasis, humor, or strong emotion that is never meant to be taken literally (eg. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse)

Iamb

A two-syllable unit of rhythm in poetry where the first syllable is soft (unstressed) and the second syllable is loud (stressed) (eg. be-long, de-stroy, or a-way)

Imagery

The use of descriptive language that appeals to the five senses to paint a picture in the reader's mind

Internal Rhyme

A poetic device where words rhyme within the same line or in the middle of lines, rather than just at the end

Juxtaposition

A literary device where a writer places two contrasting things—like characters, ideas, or settings—side by side to highlight their differences and create deeper meaning

Limited Omniscient Narrator

A storytelling voice outside the story that uses pronouns like he, she, or they but can only see into the mind and feelings of one character at a time (eg. Harry Potter)

Metaphor

A figure of speech that compares two completely different things

Metonymy

A figure of speech where you refer to something not by its own name, but by the name of something closely connected or associated with it (eg. The White House refers to administrators who work in the building)

Monologue

A long, uninterrupted speech by a single character in a play, movie, or book

Motif

A recurring image, sound, word, or idea that pops up again and again in a story to help explain the main message

Omniscient narrator

An all-knowing storytelling voice outside the story that knows every character's thoughts, feelings, and actions, as well as past and future events

Onomatopoeia

A word phonetically mimics or sounds like the actual noise it describes

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that puts two opposite or contradictory words next to each other to make a point or create a new meaning

Parable

A short, simple story that teaches a moral, spiritual, or life lesson using human characters