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Definition |
Example |
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metaphysical poetry |
poetic term |
A type of poetry which is intellectually complex and which uses unconventional imagery and highly developed conceits. |
Holy Sonnet 14 by John Donne |
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meter |
poetic term |
The rhythmic pattern produced when words are arranged so that their stressed and unstressed syllables fall into a more or less regular sequence. |
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metonymy |
figurative language |
A figure of speech in which one word is substituted for another with which it is closely associated. |
The White House announced the name of the person to be the next Secretary of the Treasury (White House is a substitution for the President of the US). |
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miracle or morality play |
genre |
A medieval drama in verse that took its subject matter from biblical history or the lives of the saints. |
Everyman, a fifteenth-century play |
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mise en abyme, mise en abime |
literary device |
A literary technique in which a story contains a smaller copy of itself, the sequence appearing to one or more times. Mise en abîme occurs when a text contains a reduplication of images or concepts referring to the textual whole.
Mise en abyme is a French term meaning "placed into abyss."
It describes the visual experience of standing between two mirrors, seeing an infinite reproduction of one's own image. The expression originates from a practice in French heraldry in which the image of a small shield is placed on the image of a larger shield.
See also: backstory, flashback, story within a story, frame story |
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monody |
poetic term |
An elegy uttered by a single person |
Thyrsis, A Monody by Matthew Arnold |
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monometer |
poetic term |
A line of verse consisting of one metric foot. |
"Thus I / Pass by / And die," from Upon His Departure Hence by Robert Herrick |
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motif |
literary device |
A recurring concept in a work of literature. |
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motivation |
literary term |
The psychological grounds for a characters behavior. |
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mystery fiction |
genre |
A novel or short story which is focused on a crime and on a detective who is working to solve the crime by following clues that the reader can also use to deduce the solution. |
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle |
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narrative |
literary term |
A story or account of events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious; a book, literary work, etc., containing such a story; the art, technique, or process of narrating. |
Somerset Maugham's stories are masterful narratives. Poe's The Raven is a poetic narrative. |
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narrator |
literary device |
The voice of the person telling the story. |
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naturalism |
literary style |
A literary style which attempts to replicate reality, often emphasizing the uncouth or sordid aspects of life. |
McTeague by Frank Norris |
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neoclassic |
period |
A period in which writers looked back to the ideals and forms of the classic period of Greece and Rome. |
Alexander Pope is a neoclassic writer. |
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nom de plume, pen name |
literary term |
A pseudonym used by an author. |
Nom de plume is French for pen name. |
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novel |
form |
A fictional prose narrative of considerable length and complexity in which the actions, speech, and thoughts of the characters serve to unfold the plot; usually over 50,000 words. |
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert |
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novel of manners |
genre |
A novel focusing on and describing in detail the social customs and habits of a particular social group. |
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen |
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novelette |
form |
A brief novel or long short story. |
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novella |
form |
A fictional account longer than a short story and shorter than a novel; usually between 20,000 and 50,000 words. |
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson |
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octameter |
poetic term |
A line of verse consisting of eight metric feet. |
"Love| took up| the glass| of Time,| and turn'd| it in| his glow| ing hands;" from Locksley Hall by Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson |
