Literary Terms
abstract: An abstract style (in writing) is typically complex, discusses intangible qualities like good and evil, and seldom uses examples to support its points.
academic: Dry and theoretical writing. When a piece of writing seems to suck all the life out of its subject with analysis.
accent: In poetry, the stressed portion of a word (e.g., the first "be" in "To be, or not to be").
aesthetic: As an adjective, "appealing to the senses." As a noun, a coherent sense of taste.
allegory: A story in which each aspect has a symbolic meaning outside the tale itself (e.g., Pilgrim’s Progress).
alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds (e.g., "clusters coming closely cramped").
allusion: A reference to another work or famous figure (e.g., classical, biblical, or pop culture).
anachronism: A thing misplaced in time (e.g., a wristwatch in Julius Caesar).
analogy: A comparison to clarify a relationship (e.g., "Like a mother bird protects her chicks...").
anecdote: A short narrative.
antagonist: A character or force that opposes the protagonist.
antecedent: The word, phrase, or clause a pronoun refers to (e.g., "children" is the antecedent of "they").
anthropomorphism: Giving human traits to nonhuman things (e.g., "the darkness waited for me").
anticlimax: A disappointing resolution after heightened expectations (often comic).
aphorism: A short, witty saying (e.g., Mark Twain’s "Classic? A book people praise but don’t read").
apostrophe: Addressing someone absent or a personified idea/object.
archaism: Deliberately old-fashioned language (e.g., "Ye Olde Shoppe").
archetype: A clichéd character type (e.g., the miser, the fool).
argumentation: The process of analyzing evidence and developing claims.
aside: A character’s short remark to the audience, breaking the "fourth wall."
atmosphere: The emotional tone surrounding a scene.
ballad: A long, narrative poem with regular meter/rhyme (folksy tone).
bathos: Overstrained grandeur that becomes absurdly sentimental.
black humor: Comedy using disturbing themes (e.g., suicide jokes in Waiting for Godot).
bombast: Pretentious, overly complex language.
burlesque: Broad parody exaggerating a style/form into ridiculousness.
cacophony: Deliberately harsh, jarring sounds in poetry.
cadence: The rhythmic flow of poetry (e.g., "gentle pulsing" vs. "marching").
caricature: A portrait exaggerating a personality trait.
catharsis: The emotional "cleansing" an audience feels after tragedy.
chorus: A group in drama commenting on the main action.
classical: Pertaining to ancient Greek/Roman arts.
coinage (neologism): A newly invented word (e.g., "pulled a Wilson").
colloquialism: Informal conversational language (e.g., "wicked headache").
conceit: An extended/metaphysical metaphor (e.g., love as a compass).
connotation: The implied meaning of a word (e.g., "dark forest" suggests danger).
consonance: Repetition of consonant sounds within words (e.g., "sick, black-checkered ducks").
couplet: A pair of rhyming lines (e.g., Andrew Marvell’s poetry).
decorum: Speech/style matching social status/occasion (e.g., Neoclassical rules).
details (choice of details): Specific parts creating a larger picture (e.g., Chaucer’s character descriptions).
diction: Word choice.
dirge: A slow, melancholy song for the dead.
dissonance: Grating, incompatible sounds.
doggerel: Crude, sing-song verse (e.g., limericks).
dramatic irony: When the audience knows something characters don’t.
dramatic monologue: A single speaker addressing a silent audience.
dystopia: A seemingly ideal world that’s actually destructive (opposite of utopia).
elegy: A serious poem meditating on death/mortality.
enjambment: Continuation of a sentence/phrase across poetic lines without pause.
epic: A long, dignified narrative poem about grand themes (e.g., The Iliad).
epitaph: A commemorative burial inscription (often witty).
ethos: Appeal to credibility/trust.
euphemism: A mild term replacing a harsh one (e.g., "passed away" for "died").
euphony: Harmonious, pleasant sounds.
explicit: Directly stated (rare in literature).
farce: Extremely broad humor or a light comedy.
feminine rhyme: Rhyme ending on unstressed syllables (e.g., "running"/"gunning").
figurative language: Nonliteral word use (e.g., metaphor, simile).
foil: A character contrasting the protagonist (e.g., Benvolio vs. Mercutio).
foot: The basic rhythmic unit of a line of poetry, made of stressed/unstressed syllables.
foreshadowing: An event or statement hinting at a later, larger event.
free verse: Poetry without regular rhyme or meter.
genre: A subcategory of literature (e.g., science fiction, detective stories).
Gothic: Dark, macabre sensibility (e.g., Poe, Shelley, Stephen King).
hubris: Excessive pride leading to a character’s downfall (from Aristotle’s tragedy).
hyperbole: Deliberate exaggeration.
imagery: Sensory language (sight, sound, touch) to create vivid scenes.
implicit: Suggested meaning, not stated directly ("between the lines").
in medias res: Latin for "in the midst of things"; starting a story mid-action (e.g., The Iliad).
inversion: Reversing normal word order for poetic effect (e.g., Yoda’s speech).
irony:
Situational: Expectation vs. reality.
Dramatic: Audience knows more than characters.
Verbal: Sarcasm; saying the opposite of what’s meant.
juxtaposition: Placing contrasting elements side by side.
lament: A poem expressing grief or loss.
logos: Appeal to logic.
loose sentence: Complete before ending (e.g., "Jack loved Barbara despite her laugh...").
lyric: Poetry expressing the poet’s emotions (melodic tone).
masculine rhyme: Rhyme on final stressed syllable (e.g., "cat" / "hat").
melodrama: Cheesy theater with exaggerated heroes/villains.
metaphor: Direct comparison (e.g., "the pond was his tomb").
metonymy: A word representing something related (e.g., "crown" for monarchy).
motif: Recurring symbol or theme.
narrative techniques: Storytelling methods (e.g., point of view, dialogue).
objective: Impersonal view of events.
onomatopoeia: Words imitating sounds (e.g., "buzz," "splat").
opposition: Contrasting pairs to highlight differences.
oxymoron: Contradictory phrase (e.g., "bright black," "jumbo shrimp").
parable: A moralistic story (like allegory/fable).
paradox: Seemingly contradictory truth (e.g., "less is more").
parallelism: Repeated grammatical structure (e.g., "I love fishing, swimming, hiking").
parody: Exaggerating another work’s traits for humor.
pastoral: Peaceful nature poetry (often about shepherds).
pathos: Appeal to emotions.
persona: A narrator’s created personality (not the author’s own).
personification: Giving human traits to nonhuman things (e.g., "the darkness waited").
point of view: Narrative perspective:
Omniscient: All-knowing narrator.
Limited omniscient: One character’s thoughts.
Unreliable narrator: Untrustworthy (e.g., biased or insane).
Stream of consciousness: Unfiltered character thoughts.
pun: Humorous wordplay with multiple meanings.
refrain: Repeated line(s) in a poem.
requiem: A prayer/song for the dead.
rhetorical question: A question implying its own answer (e.g., "Is it good?").
satire: Humor critiquing society (e.g., SNL, slapstick).
setting: Time and place of a story.
simile: Comparison using "like" or "as" (e.g., "bright as the sun").
soliloquy: A character’s solo speech revealing thoughts.
stanza: Group of poetic lines (like a paragraph).
style: Author’s unique writing traits (diction, syntax, tone).
subjunctive mood: Hypotheticals (e.g., "If I were rich...").
symbol: An object representing a deeper meaning.
syncope: Shortening words (e.g., "ev’ry" for "every").
synecdoche: Part representing the whole (e.g., "wheels" for car).
theme: Central insight about life/human nature.
thesis: Main argument or claim.
tone: Author’s attitude (e.g., sarcastic, melancholic).
tragic flaw: A hero’s weakness causing downfall (e.g., Hamlet’s indecision).
zeugma: One word modifying two others differently (e.g., "He closed the door and his heart").