Term

Register              The form of language used in particular circumstances.

Genre                   A particular type/style of writing.

Prose                    Any kind of writing that is not verse or drama, usually divided into fiction and non-fiction.

Standard English The form of English considered to be and accepted as the norm of society, and used as the medium of government, education, law etc.

Infinitive            A verb in its base form, for example, they might see. A split infinitive, which is traditionally grammatically incorrect, is where another word is placed between the preposition and the base form of the verb. The most famous example is Star Trek’s ‘to boldly go…’

Adjective            A word that describes a noun, for example, the wooden table. They can also indicate degree, for example, the tallest girl. Adjectives are sometimes known as modifiers.

Intensifier          A word or phrase that adds emphasis, for example, very, unbelievably, awfully, terribly.

Adverb               A word that describes a verb, for example, the cat jumped swiftly. Adverbs are sometimes known as modifiers.

Antonyms           Words that are opposite in meaning, for example, dark and light.

Synonyms           Different words with the same or nearly the same meaning, for example shut and close.

Homonym           A word with the same sound or the same spelling as another put with a different meaning, for example, made and maid.

Collocation          Two or more words that frequently appear together as part of a set phrase. They are often well known and predictable and many could also be described as idioms or clichés. For example, safe and sound, loud and clear, here and there.

Conjunction       A word that joins/connects words and clauses in sentences e.g. and, but, if, for, until, so, when, where, whether, while, after, before, because, than, that...

Compound word A word that is made up from at least two morphemes, for example, babysitter, skateboard, mother-in-law.

Contraction       A shortened word , for example, isn’t, don’t.

Ellipsis             The omission of a part of a sentence, often indicated by …

Interrogative      Expressing a question.

Demonstrative   A word used to describe determiners or pronouns that distinguish one item from similar ones, for example, this , that, these, those.

Connotation      An implication or association attached to a word or phrase. A connotation is suggested or felt rather than being explicit.

Denotation         The dictionary meaning of the word without any suggestions that a connotation would have.

Euphemism        Expressing an unpleasant or unsavoury idea in a less blunt and more pleasant way. For example ‘she has passed away’ instead of ‘she’s dead’.

Dysphemism A blunt, and often offensive way, to express an idea e.g. ‘looney bin’ instead of ‘psychiatric hospital’

Allusion               A reference to another event, person, place or work of literature  - the allusion is usually implied rather than explicit and often provides another layer of meaning to what is being said.

Direct speech      The actual words spoken by a person within inverted commas, for example, ‘I love toffee apples!’ 

shouted Ben.

Foreshadowing Creating hints of later events in a piece of literature through use of parallels, imagery or other techniques

Holophrastic One word sentences. 

Indirect/reported speech  The words of a speaker that are reported rather than quoted directly, for example, Ben shouted that he loved toffee apples.

Double negative A part of speech or writing in which more than one negative is used in one verb phrase, frequently used in some dialects, for example, I haven’t done nothing.

Inversion             Reversing the order of clause elements, so that the subject and verbs appear in the reverse of their normal order, for example ‘Here is the policeman’ instead of ‘The policeman is here’. Also Chiasmus is a form of inversion using two clauses: ‘if love be rough with you, be rough with love’ (Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet)

Tautology           Saying the same thing twice over in different words, for example, the visitors arrived one after the other in succession.

Periphrasis (n) periphrastic (adj)    A long-winded way of expressing something.

Pleonasm            The unnecessary use of words. For example, ‘this moment in time’, ‘here and now’, ‘this present day and age.’Another word for tautology.

Structure             The way that a piece of writing has been put together, especially the way the ideas have been developed.

Syntax                 The way in which sentences are structured.

Polysyndeton - repeated use of conjunctions -but, and, nor, for…

Polyptoton - the repeated use of a word with the same root but in a different inflection e.g. ‘You can always fool a fool’. 

Phonic Terms (connected with sound)

Alliteration          The repetition of the same consonant sound, especially at the beginning of words.For example, ‘Five miles meandering with a mazy motion’. (Kulba Khan by S.T. Coleridge)

Assonance          The repetition of similar vowel sounds e.g. How now brown cow.

Consonance        The repetition of the same consonant sounds in two or more words in which the vowel sounds are different.

Rhyme                 Ends of words that sound the same e.g. table and fable

Homonym           A word with the same sound or the same spelling as another put with a different meaning, for example, made and maid.

Euphony (n) euphonious (adj) Pleasant or melodious sounds.

Onomatopoeia (n) onomatopoeic (adj) The use of words whose sound copies the sound of the thing or process that they describe, on a simple level words like ‘bang’ , ‘hiss’ and ‘splash’.

Pun                      A play on words that have similar sounds but different meanings (homonyms).

Sibilant (noun) sibilance (adjective)  the ‘s’ sound

Plosive (noun and adjective) - hard sounds like ‘p’ ‘d’ or ‘b’

Word Terms

Diction                The choice of words that a writer makes, it is another term for vocabulary or lexis.

Lexis               Another word for vocabulary.

Lexical field       An area of meaning, for example, education, which is characterised by common lexical items: teacher, classroom, headteacher, examination etc.

Loan word          A word borrowed from another language, for example, cliché.

Coinage/coined word The creation of new words. Another word for neologism.

Monosyllable (n) monosyllabic (adj)   Having only one syllable.

Terms for Contrasts/Pairs/Patterns

Anaphora         The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

Epistrophe         The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.

Collocation          Two or more words that frequently appear together as part of a set phrase. They are often well known and predictable and many could also be described as idioms or clichés. For example, safe and sound, loud and clear, here and there. A disturbed collocation is when a word interrupts the collocation e.g ‘once upon a schooltime’.

Compound word A word that is made up from at least two morphemes, for example, babysitter, skateboard, mother-in-law.

Oxymoron           A figure of speech where two words of opposite meaning are placed side by side. For example, the living dead.

Juxtaposition (n) juxtapose (v) Place close together      

Paradox (n) paradoxical (adj) A statement that appears contradictory but when considered more closely is seen to contain a good deal of truth.

Antithesis (singular) antitheses (p) (n) antithetical (adj) Contrasting ideas or words that are balanced against each other e.g. ‘to be or not to be’ from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Parallelism         The patterning of pairs of sounds, words or structures to create a sense of balance, for example, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’.

Patterning         Language used to create discernible patterns, perhaps through imagery or a repeated symbol or motif or use of parallelism.

Spoonerism        An error in speech in which the initial sound or letters of two or more words are accidentally transposed often to humorous effect, for example ‘You have hissed the mystery lecture’ instead of ‘You have missed the history lecture’.

Malapropism     The mixing up of words that sound similar, for example, ‘He circumcised the world in three months’ instead of ‘He circumnavigated the world in three months.’

Genre/Prose/Technique

Narrative             A piece of writing that tells a story.

Plot                      The sequence of events in a play, novel or short story that make up the main storyline.

Theme                 The central idea or ideas that the writer explores through a text

Euphemism a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.

Dysphemism a derogatory or unpleasant term used instead of a pleasant or neutral one.

Omniscience (n) omniscient (adj) all-seeing, all-knowing

Protagonist         The main character in a monologue, play or story.

Didactic              A work that is intended to preach or teach, often containing a particular moral or political point.

Allegory (n) allegorical (adj) An allegory is a narrative often told at some length, which has a      

deeper meaning below the surface. A modern example is Animal Farm by George Orwell, which on a surface level is about a group of animals who take over their farm but on a deeper level is an allegory of the Russian Revolution and the shortcomings of Communism.

Fable                   A short story that presents a clear moral lesson.

Parody                A work that is written in imitation of another work, very often with the intention of making fun of the original.

Satire (n) satirical (adj) The highlighting or exposing of human failings or foolishness within a society through ridiculing them.

Stream of Consciousness A technique in which the writer writes down thoughts and emotions in a ‘stream’ as they come to mind, without giving order or structure.

Ambiguity (n) ambiguous (adj) The use of language where meaning is unclear or has two or more possible interpretations or meanings. It could be created through a weakness in the way the writer has expressed herself or himself but often it is used by writers quite deliberately to create layers of meaning.

Ambivalence (n) ambivalent (adj) This indicates more than one possible attitude is being displayed by the writer towards a character, theme, idea etc.

Archaism (n) archaic (adj) Language that is old-fashioned and not in current modern use.

Atmosphere        The prevailing mood created by a piece of writing.

Bathos                 An anti-climax or sudden descent from the serious to the ridiculous – sometimes deliberate, sometimes unintentional on the part of the writer.

Bias                     Language used in such a way as to express prejudice against someone or something, or which favours a particular point of view.

Cliché                  A phrase, idea or image that has been used so much that it has lost much of its original impact, meaning and freshness.

Heteroglossia The presence of two or more expressed viewpoints in a text or other artistic work

Incongruity(n) incongruous (adj) Out of place

Irony (n) ironic (adj)        At its simplest level it means saying one thing while meaning another. It is when the opposite effect to what is expected is in evidence. Sarcasm is much more blunt than irony.

Pathos                 The effect that makes the reader feel sadness or pity.

Sub-text             Ideas, themes, or issues that are not dealt with overtly by a text but exist below the surface meaning of it.

Imagery

Figurative language Language that is symbolic or metaphorical and not meant to be taken literally.

Anthropomorphism  (n) anthropomorphic (adj) The endowment of something that is not human with human characteristics, often in a sentimental manner.

Personification (n) personify (v) The attribution of human feelings, emotions or sensations to an inanimate object.

Chremamorphism – The technique of giving a human ‘object-like’ qualities e.g. ‘She shined upon him with her eyes’ gives qualities of an object, like a star, to a person.

Metaphor (n) metaphoric/metaphorical (adj)  A comparison of one thing to another in order to make description more vivid. The metaphor actually states that one thing is another.

Simile                   A comparison of one thing to another in order to make the description more vivid. Similes use the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.

Symbol                Like images, a symbol represents something else. In very simple terms, a red rose is often used to symbolise love.

Hyperbole (n) hyperbolical (adj) Deliberate and extravagant exaggeration.

Caricature          A character often described through the exaggeration of a small number of features that he or she possesses.

Pathetic Fallacy the attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things, the natural world and animals to create mood.

Spoken Language

Colloquialism (n) Colloquial (adj) Ordinary, everyday speech and language.

Dialect                 A language variety marked by a distinctive grammar and vocabulary used by people with a common regional or social background.

Idiom (n) idiomatic (adj)  A sequence of words that is a unit of meaning (for example, kick the bucket, put your foot in it) which often deviates from its literal meaning.

Monologue          A piece in which a character addresses an audience. A monologue can be complete in itself as in Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads.

Interior monologue A piece in which a character expresses very personal, internal thoughts and feelings.

Dialogue              a conversation between two or more people. It may be (but not necessarily) in script form.

Rhetoric              Originally the art of speaking and writing in such a way as to persuade an audience to a particular point of view. Now it is often used to imply grand words that have no substance to them.

Rhetorical question A question which does not require an answer as the answer is either implied or obvious.

USEFUL LITERARY TERMS

Forms of Poetry

Pastoral/idyll          Generally, literature concerning rural life with idealised settings and rustic characters. Often pastorals are concerned with the lives of shepherds and shepherdesses, presented in idyllic and unrealistic ways.

Blank verse            Unrhymed poetry that adheres to a strict pattern in that each line is an iambic pentameter (a ten syllable line with five stresses). It is close to the natural rhythm of English speech or prose and is used a great deal by many writers, including Shakespeare and Milton.

Elegy                       A meditative poem, usually sad and reflective in nature. It is often concerned with death.

Free verse                Verse written without any fixed structure (either in metre, rhythm or form).

Lament                    Verse written without any fixed structure (either in metre, rhythm or form) which expresses passionate grief or sadness.

Lyric                       Originally a lyric was a song performed to the accompaniment of a lyre (a stringed harp-like instrument) but now it can mean a song-like poem or a short poem expressing personal feeling.

Ode                         A verse similar to a lyric but often more lengthy and containing more serious and elevated thoughts.

Sonnet                     A fourteen line poem, usually with ten syllable lines. There are several ways in which the lines can be organised, but the most common are the English or Shakespearean sonnet (three quatrains and a rhyming couplet) or the Italian or Petrarchan 

sonnet (an octave and a sestet)

Villanelle a pastoral or lyrical poem of nineteen lines, with only two rhymes throughout, and some lines repeated.

Concrete poem      The visual shape of the poem is of importance with the pattern of the words/letters conveying part of the meaning.

Syllabic verse          A uniform number of syllables in each line

Genres

Epic                        A long narrative poem, written in an elevated style and usually dealing with a heroic theme or story.

Farce          A play that aims to entertain the audience through absurd and ridiculous characters and actions.

Gothic          A style characterised by gloom, the grotesque and supernatural, popular in the late eighteenth century and revived in the twentieth century, often set in ruined castles, abbeys or old houses.

Poetic Devices

Refrain        Repetition throughout a poem of a phrase, line or series of lines as in the ‘chorus’ of a song.

Enjambment/enjambementA line of verse that flows on into the next line without pause, the second is required for the first to be completed and make sense.

Open line    A line that makes sense on its own, but is completed by the following line in the context of that particular poem.

Caesura      A conscious break in a line of poetry, often indicated by a punctuation mark.

Conceit       An elaborate, extended, and sometimes surprising comparison between things that, at first sight, do not have much in common.

End-stopped  A verse of line which is a complete thought with a pause or stop at the end of it.

Feminine ending An extra unstressed syllable at the end of a line of poetry.

Rhyme scheme The pattern of rhyme used in a poem, denoted by letters of the alphabet e.g.

                                 Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?               a

                                 Thou art more lovely and temperate.                      b

                                 Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May    a

                                 And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.        b

Internal rhyme Rhyming words within the same line.

Half rhyme/slant rhyme    A repetition of the final consonant sound without the vowel sound e.g. ‘love’ and ‘prove’

Pararhyme Words with the same pattern of consonants but different vowels e.g. ‘fickle’ and‘freckle’

Masculine rhyme  A rhyme on one syllable e.g. ‘stay’ and ‘pay’

Feminine rhyme A rhyme on two syllables e.g. ‘calling’ and ‘falling’

Ear rhyme  A rhyme when spoken aloud but doesn’t appear to be from its spelling e.g. ‘cow’ and ‘plough’

Eye rhyme  Words that would appear to rhyme from the spelling but are actually pronounced differently e.g. ‘rough’ and ‘cough’

Anaphora    The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a line.

Miscellaneous

Persona      The narrator, storyteller, speaker. The persona is not necessarily the author.

Catharsis    A purging of emotions such as takes place at the end of a tragedy.

Motif            A dominant theme, subject or idea which runs through a piece of literature.

Soliloquy     A speech in which a dramatic character expresses his or her thoughts and feelings aloud for the benefit of the audience, often in a revealing way.

Flashback    an Interruption of the main action of the story to present an incident that occurred at an earlier time.

Aside            A remark made by one character in the presence of others, but assumed not to be heard by them (sometimes said directly to the audience)

Metre          The regular use of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.

Scansion(n) to scan (v) The analysis of metrical patterns in poetry.

Elision         The omission of a syllable in order for the line to conform to the metre.

Spondee (n) spondaic (adj)A unit of poetic metre containing two stressed syllables: / /

Trochee (n) trochaic (adj)A unit of poetic metre containing a stressed followed by an unstressed syllable: /  ᵕ

Iamb (n) iambic (adj)The most common metrical foot in English poetry, consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable: ̌ /

Dactyl (n) dactylic (adj) A unit of poetic metre consisting of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones: / ˘ ˘

Anapaest (n) anapaestic (adj)A unit of poetic metre consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by two stressed ones: ᵕ / /