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Term
Type
Definition Example
accent poetic term The stress given to a syllable in a line of poetry. In the line, "And fired the shot heard round the world," the stressed syllables are: fired, shot, round, and world.
adventure fiction genre A novel or short story in which exciting events are the most important aspect, rather than character development or theme. The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas
alexandrine poetic term A line of poetry made up of twelve syllables. The form is common in French and German poetry, but quite rare in English. Alexander Pope wrote:
"A needless alexandrine ends the song / that like a wounded snake, drags its slow length along"
to illustrate the use of an alexandrine line.
allegory literary device A figurative work in which a surface narrative carries a secondary, symbolic or metaphorical meaning; may be poetry or prose. The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser
alliteration poetic term The repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the beginning of words. "Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."
allusion literary device A brief reference to a person, place, event, quote, or literary work assumed to be recognized by the reader. An allusion is used to associate the work in which it appears with an event or work from the past. The title of Faulkner's novel The Sound and the Fury is an allusion to a line from Shakespeare's Macbeth.
anachronism literary device The representation of something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time. See parachronism, prochronism, prolepsis. In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Cassius says, "The clock hath stricken three." Because there were no clocks that strike the hour in Roman times, this is an anachronism.
anagram literary term

A word, phrase, or sentence formed from another by rearranging its letters.

Anagrams is a game in which the players build words by transposing and, often, adding letters. The game's name was inspried by its linguistic meaning, not the other way around.

Angel is an anagram of glean.
anapest poetic term A foot of verse having three syllables, the first and second unstressed and the third stressed. "You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak.." from the poem You are old, Father William by Lewis Carroll
antagonist literary term The character, force, or collection of forces in fiction or drama that opposes the protagonist and gives rise to the conflict of the story. In the original Star Wars film, the protagonist, Luke Skywalker, was opposed by the antagonist, Darth Vader.
anticlimax literary term An outcome that is strikingly less important or dramatic than expected. "The holy passion of friendship is of so sweet and steady and loyal and enduring a nature that it will last through a whole lifetime, if not asked to lend money." — Mark Twain
antistrophe literary term A figure of speech in which the same word or phrase is repeated at the end of successive clauses. "...and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth…" — Abraham Lincoln
antithesis literary term A figure of speech in which sharply contrasting ideas are juxtaposed in a balanced or parallel phrase or grammatical structure. "Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more." from speech by Brutus in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
apologue literary term A moral fable, usually featuring personified animals or inanimate objects which act like people to allow the author to comment on the human condition. Aesop's Fables
apostrophe figurative language Words that are spoken to a person who is absent or imaginary, or to an object or abstract idea. “Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean - roll!" from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage by Lord Byron
archetype literary term C.G. Jung defined archetypes as primordial images formed by repeated experiences in the lives of our ancestors, inherited in the collective unconscious of the human race. Those archetypes are often expressed in myths, religion, dreams, fantasies, and literature. The trickster, the scarlet woman, and the wise old man are some archetypes often found in literature.
aside literary device A remark made by a person on stage that the other players are not supposed to hear. "Though this be madness, yet there's method in it." Polonius speaking of Hamlet from Shakespeare's Hamlet.
assonance poetic term The repetition of vowel sounds, especially in stressed syllables. In the line, "Old age should burn and rave at close of day;" from Do by Dylan Thomas, the words age, rave, and day all use the same vowel sound.
atmosphere literary term The mood pervading a literary work, usually established through setting. The brooding presence of the heath in The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy establishes the mood of the characters and the plot.
autobiographical fiction genre A novel or short story based on an author's own life experience. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
autobiography genre A nonfictional account of the author's life. Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington
back formation literary term The analogical creation of one word from another word that appears to be a derived or inflected form of the first by dropping the apparent affix or by modification. Also, a word so formed. "Typewrite this document on your typewriter."
backstory, back-story, back story, background story literary device

A narrative history and set of facts and factors that are all chronologically earlier than the narrative of primary interest. Backstories relate the history of characters or other elements that underlie the situation existing at the primary narrative's start.

Genres in which a backstory may appear include novels or short stories, stage or radio plays, and derivative media such as TV dramas and movie films.

See also: frame story, story within a story, flashback, mise en abyme

ballad poetic term A narrative poem with stanzas of two or four lines, often including a refrain. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
ballade poetic term A type of poem, usually with three stanzas of seven, eight, or ten lines and a shorter final stanza (or envoy) of four or five lines. Each stanza ends with the same one-line refrain. Probably the most famouse ballade is from the play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. In Act I, Cyrano composes an impromtu ballade during a duel. Each stanza ends with the line, "At the envoi's end, I touch."
bathos literary term An abrupt, unintended transition in style from the exalted to the commonplace, producing a ludicrous effect. From a poem quoted by Alexander Pope in Peri Bathous: or, Martinus Scriblerus, His Treatise on the Art of Sinking in Poetry
"Ye Gods! annihilate but space and time, / And make two lovers happy."
biography genre A nonfictional account of a person's life, usually a person of note, written by someone other than the subject. Napoleon by Emil Ludwig
blank verse poetic term A work written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. The Idylls of the King by Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson
bowdlerize literary term To expurgate the parts of a work considered indecent or indelicate. The term derives from Thomas Bowdler. Family Shakespeare edited (expurgated) by Thomas Bowdler.
burlesque literary device A work designed to ridicule a style, literary form, or subject matter either by treating the exalted in a trivial way or by discussing the trivial in exalted terms (that is, with mock dignity). The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope
cacophony poetic term Words that combine sharp, harsh, hissing, or unmusical sounds. "Rats! / They fought the dogs and killed the cats, / And bit the babies in the cradles, / And ate the cheeses out of the vats, / And licked the soup from the cooks' own ladles, / Split open the kegs of salted sprats, / Made nests inside men's Sunday hats, And even spoiled the women's chats, By drowning their speaking / With shrieking and squeaking / In fifty different sharps and flats." from The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning
caesura poetic term A pause, metrical or rhetorical, occurring in a line of poetry. "To err is human; to forgive, divine."
caricature literary device Verbal exaggeration and distortion to create an immediate, comic, often satiric effect. Mr. McCawber in Dicken's David Copperfield
catharsis literary term The release of the emotions of pity and fear by the audience at the end of a tragedy. At the end of the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus blinds himself symbolizing his moral blindness of putting himself above the gods. The Greeks saw this as an affirmation of human values, rather than as an undeserved, inappropriate punishment.
chanson de geste poetic term An epic poem of the 11th to the 14th century, written in Old French, which details the exploits of a historical or legendary figure. The Song of Roland
character literary term A person presented in a narrative or dramatic work. Hamlet is one of the most famous characters in literature.
chiasmus literary device A reversal in the order of words in two or more otherwise parallel phrases in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first with the parts reversed. "Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good." by Samuel Johnson
cliché literary term An expression that has been used so often that it has become trite or tedious. "If the shoe fits, wear it."
climax literary term Climax is the point of greatest tension in a work of literature and the turning point in the action.
comedrama genre

See: comedy-drama, dramedy, seriocomedy.

comedy genre A work intended to interest, involve, and amuse the reader or audience, in which no terrible disaster occurs and that ends happily for the main characters. All's Well That Ends Well by Shakespeare
comedy of manners genre A comic drama consisting of five or three acts in which the attitudes and customs of a society are critiqued and satirized according to high standards of intellect and morality. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
comedy-drama genre

A play or other literary work containing both dramatic and comedic literary elements.

See also: dramedy, comedrama, seriocomedy.

comic relief literary device

A humorous scene, incident, speech, character, comic element, display of human foible, or bit of dialogue occurring after some serious or tragic moment introduced into serious or tragic elements, as in a play, in order to provide temporary relief from tension, or to intensify the dramatic action. The relief from tension caused thereby.

The scene of the drunken porter in Shakespeare's Macbeth.
coming-of-age fiction genre A novel or short story in which the protagonist is initiated into adulthood through the loss of innocence. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
conceit figurative language An elaborate, usually intellectually ingenious, poetic comparison or image, such as an analogy or metaphor. Sonnet 18 ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day") by William Shakespeare
conflict literary term A struggle between the protagonist and the antagonist in a story. The antagonist may be another character, society, the natural world, or sometimes even an aspect of the protagonist's own personality. The conflict in Moby Dick is between Ahab and the whale (which can be seen as symbol of nature).
connotation literary term The implied or suggested meaning of a word. The denotation of the word home is the place where one lives, but its connotation includes warmth, privacy, and safety.
consonance poetic term The repetition of a pattern of consonants with changes in the intervening vowels. "Whose woods these are I think I know. / His house is in the village though;" from Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. The words, Whose woods in the first line and His house in the second line are examples of consonance.
convention literary term A characteristic of a literary genre that is accepted by readers and audiences because it has come to be recognized as a familiar technique. A flashback to an earlier time in a story being told.
couplet poetic term Lines of poetry rhyming in pairs and express a complete thought. A heroic couplet is two successive rhyming lines of iambic pentameter. A couplet from A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Moore:
"'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;"

A heroic couplet from Shakespeare's Sonnet 18:
"So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

dactyl poetic term A foot of verse having three syllables, the first stressed and the second and third unstressed. "Shining and lowering and swelling and dying," from The Earth, the Wind, and the Sky by Emily Bronte.
denotation literary term The most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression. The denotation of the word, steed, is a horse; the connotation of the word suggests a brave charger in a heroic setting.
dénouement literary term The outcome or resolution of the intricacies of a plot in a play or novel (literally an untying). The final scene of Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It in which couples marry, an evildoer repents, two disguised characters are revealed for all to see, and a ruler is restored to power.
deus ex machina literary device Literally, "the god from the machine," this phrase is used to describe an unrealistic intervention used by an author to resolve an otherwise unresolvable situation. The arrival of the cavalry just in time to save the settlers in many early Western movies is an example.
dialogue literary term Conversation that takes place between or among characters. An example of dialogue between Mr. Bennet and his wife from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

"What is his name?’
"Bingley.’
"Is he married or single?’
"Oh, single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!’
"How so? how can it affect them?’
"My dear Mr. Bennet,’ replied his wife,"how can you be so tiresome? You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.’

diction literary term An author's selection of words.
didactic work literary term A work designed to teach a moral or religious thesis. Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
dimeter poetic term A line of verse consisting of two metric feet. "Thy sum| mer's play / My thought| less hand / Has brushed| away." from "The Fly" by William Blake.
dirge poetic term A song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person. Autumn: A Dirge by Percy Bysshe Shelley
drama form A work that centers on the actions of characters; written to be performed on a stage. Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw
dramatic irony literary device A plot device in which the audience's or reader's knowledge or understanding of events or individuals surpasses that of the characters. In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, the audience knows that Oedipus is the person who killed his father and married his mother, thus fulfilling the prophesy. No one in the play knows this until the final scenes.
dramatic monologue poetic term A poem in which a person is presented speaking as if to another person. Only the speaker's side of the conversation is presented. The main focus of the work is to reveal the character or temperament of the speaker. My Last Duchess by Robert Browning
dramatic unities literary term Aristotle's three rules of dramatic construction that prescribed that a play should have unity of time, place, and action. In other words, the play should represent action within eight hours, occur in one locality, and have no minor plot. These rules were defined through an examination of the great Greek dramas of Aristotle's time and have not been followed in most plays since then. Agamemnon by Aeschylus adheres to Aristotle's unities.
dramedy, dramady genre

A television program or series using both serious and comic subjects, often without relying on conventional plots, laugh tracks, or the like. Also, a film or theatrical play containing both dramatic and comedic elements.

A predominantly serious TV program, film, or other dramatization with both comic and dramatic elements.

Also see: comedrama, seriocomedy, comedy-drama.

duodecimo literary term A book format created by folding a sheet twelve times to create twenty-four leaves or forty-eight pages. Duodecimo format creates a book that is about 5 by 7 inches.
eclogue poetic term A pastoral poem, usually in the form of a dialogue between shepherds. The Eclogues by Virgil
elegy literary term A poem that laments the death of a person. In Memoriam by Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson
empathy literary term Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives.
end-stopped line poetic term A line of poetry that has a natural pause at the end. "They also serve who only stand and waite." from On His Blindness by John Milton
enjambment poetic term Carrying a sentence or thought across more than one line of poetry so that closely related words fall in different lines. "But at my back I always hear / Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near;" from To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell
epic genre An extended narrative recounting actions, travels, adventures, and heroic episodes and written in a high style. The Iliad by Homer
epigram literary device A witty saying or short, witty poem. "Little strokes / Fell great oaks." from Poor Richard’s Almanack by Benjamin Franklin
epistolary novel genre A novel consisting of letters written by a character or several characters. Pamela by Samuel Richardson
epithalamion poetic term A poem in honor of a bride and bridegroom. Epithalamion by Edmund Spenser provides the best example in English.
essay form A short nonfiction narrative work of prose literature that is analytic speculative, or interpretive in nature, dealing with or offering opinions or conjectures upon facts and reality, and written from the author’s point of view; an opinion. Dream-Children by Charles Lamb
euphemism figurative language The substitution of a mild or less negative word or phrase for a harsh or blunt one. expire instead of die
euphony poetic term Agreeable and harmonious sounds
euphuism literary term A highly ornate style of writing popularized by John Lyly's Euphues, characterized by balanced sentence construction, rhetorical tropes, and multiplied similes and allusions. "There dwelt in Athens a young gentleman of great patrimony, and of so comely a personage, that it was doubted whether he were more bound to Nature for the lineaments of his person, or to Fortune for the increase of his possessions. But Nature impatient of comparisons, and as it were disdaining a companion or copartner in her working, added to this comeliness of his body such a sharp capacity of mind, that not only she proved Fortune counterfeit, but was half of that opinion that she herself was only current." from Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit by John Lyly
exposition literary term A narrative device that provides background information about the characters and their circumstances.
expository writing form Writing or speech primarily intended to convey information or to explain.
expressionism literary style Literary style which attempts to show the inner workings of a person's mind to convey a psychological or spiritual reality. The Trial Franz Kafka
fable genre A brief story that teach a lesson or moral. The characters are usually animals, but they are given human characteristics. The Tortoise and the Hare by Aesop
falling action literary term In the falling action following the climax, the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist unravels.
fantasy genre A novel or short story that is involved with magic or the supernatural. Often such works are set in nonexistent worlds with highly imaginative characteristics. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
farce genre A form of humor based on exaggerated, improbable situations. Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring
feminine rhyme poetic term Rhyme in which a rhymed stressed syllable is followed by one or more identical unstressed syllables. "GATHER ye rosebuds while ye may, / Old Time is still a-flying: / And this same flower that smiles to-day / To-morrow will be dying." from To the Virgins, to make much of Time by Robert Herrick uses feminine rhyme at the end of lines 2 and 4 as shown here and at the ends of the second and fourth lines throughout the poem: flying, dying; getting, setting; warmer, former; marry, tarry.
figure of speech literary device Any expressive use of language in which words are used in other than their literal sense, or in other than their ordinary locutions, in order to suggest a picture or image or for other special effect. c.f. "trope" antithesis, simile, metaphor, metonymy, onomatopoeia, personification, synecdoche, irony
first-person narrative literary device A story told from the point of view of one of the characters. In this type of story, the reader only knows what that character experiences. It is always told from the "I" point of view. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is told through the title character.
five-act play form A play that takes place in five acts. A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
flashback literary device

A transition to an earlier event or scene that interrupts the normal chronological development of a story.

See also: frame story, back story, story within a story.

folio literary term A book format in which a printer's sheet is folded only once. Each sheet, therefore, becomes two leaves or four pages.
folktale genre A story that has been passed down over the years often through oral narration. Paul Bunyan stories
foot poetic term A group of 2 or 3 syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm. "To be" is an example of an iambic foot.
frame story literary device

A literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, whereby an introductory or main narrative is presented, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or for a set of shorter stories. A frame story leads readers from a first story into another, smaller one (or several ones) within it.

Also known as a frame tale, frame narrative, etc.

See also: flashback, backstory, story within a story, mise en abyme

free verse poetic term Verse that has neither regular rhyme nor regular meter. Free verse often uses cadences rather than uniform metrical feet. "I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear; / Those of mechanics—each one singing his, as it should be, blithe and strong;" from I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman
gothic genre A novel or short story in which supernatural horrors and an atmosphere of unknown terror pervades the action. The setting is often a dark, mysterious castle where ghosts and sinister humans roam menacingly. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
graphic fiction form A work of fiction, especially in the speculative fiction genre, told through artwork and dialogue similar to that used in “comic books,” published in a bound book format. Sandman: Endless Nights by Neil Gaiman
haiku poetic term A Japanese poetic form composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. Nature is very often the subject of the poem. Summer, a haiku by Anonymous:
First caressing Spring,
Summer rushes on toward Fall,
Next vanishes—Poof!
heptameter poetic term A line of verse consisting of seven metric feet. "A love| ly wo| man from| the wood| comes sud| denly| in sight;" from The Strange Lady by William Cullen Bryant has 7 iambic feet.
heroic couplet poetic term Two lines of rhyming iambic pentameter. "A little learning is a dangerous thing; / Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:" from Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope
hexameter poetic term A line of verse consisting of six metric feet. "This is the| forest prim| eval. The| murmuring| pines and the| hemlocks," from Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
historical fiction genre A novel or short story in which fictional characters take part in actual historical events and interact with real people from the past. War and Peace by Leon Tolstoy
horror fiction genre A novel or short story which is intended to frighten or horrify the reader, usually through the use of supernatural or mysterious situations. Hideaway by Dean Koontz
hubris literary term Excessive pride or self-confidence that leads a protagonist to disregard a divine warning or to violate an important moral law. Oedipus is probably the best example of a protagonist doomed by hubris.
humanism movement A movement in the arts, starting in the Renaissance period, in which human nature and the dignity of man were exalted in man's mortal life rather than emphasis on the gods and life after death. Giovanni Boccaccio and Francois Rabelais are two famous humanists.
humors literary term The four humors, important in Renaissance literature and later, are blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile. Each of these humors was thought to control a trait of a person's physical condition and character.

A person with a prevalence of
- blood was sanguine with a florid appearance and a cheerful and optimistic character;
- phlegm was phlegmatic showing little emotion, apathetic;
- yellow bile was choleric or hot-tempered;
- black bile was melancholic, gloomy, or depressed.

In Shakespeare's Hamlet,
- Horatio is phlegmatic,
- Laertes is choleric, and
- Hamlet is the quintessential melancholic character.

Falstaff, from Shakespeare's Henry IV, is a good example of a sanguine character.

hyperbole figurative language A boldly exaggerated statement that adds emphasis without intending to be literally true; an overstatement.

See: litotes

"Here once the embattled farmers stood / And fired the shot heard round the world." from Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson
iamb poetic term A foot of verse having two syllables, the first unstressed and the second unstressed. "My mistress eyes…" from sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare.
iambic pentameter poetic term A line of verse containing five iambic feet. This meter is very popular in poetry in English because it seems to imitate the natural rhythm of English speech. "Remember me when I am gone away" from Remember by Christina Rossetti
idyll poetic term A short poem depicting a peaceful, idealized country scene. The Solitary Reaper by William Wordsworth
imagery figurative language A phrase used to create a mental image through the use of the five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) in order to produce a vivid picture in the reader's mind. The first two stanzas of Daffodils by Wordsworth.
impressionism literary style Literature that portrays a character's impressions, emotions, and sensations without trying to interpret them for the reader. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
in medias res literary term Meaning "in the middle of the action," this phrase refers to a work that starts in the middle of a story and uses narration or flashbacks to fill in the background. The Odyssey by Homer
ingénue, ingenue literary term

The part of an artless, innocent, unworldly girl or young woman, especially as represented on the stage. An actress who plays such a part or specializes in playing such parts.

internal rhyme poetic term A rhyme in which one of the rhyming words is within the line of poetry and the other is at the end of the same line or within the next line. "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary," is the first line of many in The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe that uses internal rhyme.
introduction literary term The beginning of a work in which exposition of the background and characters is given.
intrusive narrative literary device A story told by an omniscient narrator who offers comments about the story directly to the reader. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
invocation literary device A literary convention in which an appeal for inspiration or assistance is made to a muse or deity.
irony literary device A mode of expression, through words (verbal irony) or events (dramatic irony), conveying a reality different from and usually opposite to appearance or expectation.
journalism form Presentation of facts describing news events written to be published by the media (newspapers, magazines, television, or radio). Hiroshima by John Hersey
juvenile fiction genre A novel or short story written to appeal to children or adolescents. Many good works of juvenile fiction are also enjoyed by adult readers. Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
lampoon literary style A harsh satire usually directed against an individual; an insulting written attack upon a real person, in verse or prose, usually involving caricature and ridicule.
le grand guignol

A guignol is a big French marionette fashioned in the style of Lyon or a marionette theater where such puppets appear. By extension, a grand guignol is a ridiculous person who behaves like a clown or fool.

In literary parlance, a grande guignol is a short drama stressing horror and sensationalism, or any drama pertaining to or resembling such a drama. The term originated in the period 1905–1910. It stems from Le Grand Guignol, a small theater in Paris where such plays were performed.

Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol (The Theater of the Big Puppet) was located in the Pigalle area of Paris. It specialized in naturalistic horror shows from 1872 to 1962, when it closed.

The name is often used as a general term for any graphic, lurid, amoral horror entertainment that resembles a type of violent, gruesome dramatization that was popular in Jacobean and Elizabethan plays.

Examples are Webster's The Duchess of Malfi, Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, and Marlowe's Tamburlaine.

Genres resembling these plays have made a comeback in today's so-called splatter films, which are films containing many gratuitous and shocking murders, and in snuff films, a kind of pornographic film that shows an actual murder of one of the performers, as might take place at the end of a sadistic act.

limerick poetic term A humorous poem of five lines with a specific meter and rhyme scheme. "There was a young lady from Hyde, / Who ate a green apple and died. / While her lover lamented, / The apple fermented, / And made cider inside her inside." Anonymous
literary form literary term Form is the organization, arrangement, or framework of a literary work. novel, drama, poetry
literary genre literary term A collection of works with a similar theme and subject. science fiction
literary period literary term A time sequence during which the literature produced has similar characteristics and is influenced by the general impression of the times. Victorian period in British literature
literary style literary term The manner of expression used by a writer, including such things as sentence structure, diction, and tone. Hemingway's style is characterized by simple diction, short sentences, and a journalistic tone.
literary subject literary term The basic idea, process, or thing that is explored by a literary work. The subject of Moby Dick is Captain Ahab's vengeful search for the White Whale.
litotes poetic term

Understatement for rhetorical effect, especially that in which an affirmative statement is made by negating its opposite.

See: meiosis. Compare: hyperbole.

"That [sword] was not useless / to the warrior now." From Beowulf. Or, "Not bad at all."
local color literary term An element of an author's style depicting customs, manners and dialects of a region. The Outcasts of Poker Flat by Bret Harte
lyric poem poetic term A poem, such as a sonnet or an ode, that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet. How Do I Love Thee by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
malapropism

An act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, especially by the confusion of words that are similar in sound. An instance of malapropism, as in Lead the way and we'll precede you.

Stems from the word malapropos, which means inappropriate or out of place.

Examples: This event is unparalyzed in the state's history; She's as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the nile.

The later malapropism is a quote from Mrs. Malaprop, a character in Richard Sheridan's comedic play, The Rivals, who continuoulsy spouts malapropisms as though they were going out of style. The character of Mrs. Malaprop is the origin of the term malapropsim in the English language.

märchen genre Folk stories of enchantment and marvels. Tales of Hoffmann by E.T.A. Hoffmann
masculine rhyme poetic term Rhyme that occurs in a final, stressed syllable. This is the most common type of rhyme in English poetry. "A Book of Verse beneath the Bough, / A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou" from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám translated by Edward Fitzgeral.
masque genre Masque involved music and dancing, singing and acting, within an elaborate stage design, in which the architectural framing and costumes might be designed by a renowned architect, to present a deferential allegory flattering to the patron. The Masque of Blackness by Ben Jonson
meiosis figurative language

Belittlement. An expressive understatement, sometimes ironical or humorous, and intended to emphasize the size, or importance of what is belittled.

See: litotes.

"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." Said by Mark Twain.
melodrama genre A drama characterized by exaggerated emotions, stereotypical characters, and interpersonal conflicts. Usually, a melodrama ends happily, with the protagonist defeating the antagonist at the last possible moment. The Perils of Pauline
metaphor figurative language The equation of one idea or thing with another. A comparison of two unlike things using the verb to be and not using like or as as in a simile. "Juliet is the sun" from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 1.
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
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.
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).
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
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

monody poetic term An elegy uttered by a single person Thyrsis, A Monody by Matthew Arnold
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
motif literary device A recurring concept in a work of literature.
motivation literary term The psychological grounds for a characters behavior.
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
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.
narrator literary device The voice of the person telling the story.
naturalism literary style A literary style which attempts to replicate reality, often emphasizing the uncouth or sordid aspects of life. McTeague by Frank Norris
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.
nom de plume, pen name literary term A pseudonym used by an author.

Nom de plume is French for pen name.

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
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
novelette form A brief novel or long short story.
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
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
octave poetic term A poetic stanza of eight lines, usually forming one part of an Italian sonnet.
octavo literary term A book format in which a printer's sheet is folded three times. Each sheet, therefore, becomes eight leaves or sixteen pages. Most modern hardcover books are approximately octavo size.
ode poetic term A lyric poem that is serious and thoughtful in tone with a formal stanzaic structure. The ode often praises people, the arts of music and poetry, natural scenes, or abstract concepts. Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats
omniscient narrator literary device An all-knowing, third-person narrator who is not a character in the story. Omniscient narrators can report the thoughts and feelings of the characters, as well as their words and actions. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
one-act play form A short play that takes place in one act. The Zoo Story by Edward Albee
onomatopoeia figurative language A figure of speech in which words are used to imitate sounds. Poe uses the words "tintinnabulation," "tinkle," and "jingling" in his poem The Bells to imitate the sounds bells make.
parable literary style A short narrative designed to show the parallels between its story and a lesson that the narrator is trying to teach. The story of the prodigal son in the Bible is a parable.
parachronism A chronological error in which a person, event, or the like is assigned a date later than the actual one. See anachronism, prochronism, prolepsis.
paradox figurative language A statement that seems to be self-contradictory, yet has meaning that may provoke a new understanding. "Death, thou shalt die." from Death Be Not Proud by John Donne
parody genre A satiric imitation of a work or of an author with the idea of ridiculing the author, his ideas, or work. Shamela by Henry Fielding as a parody of Samuel Richardson's Pamela
pastiche, pasticcio literary term

A literary, musical, or artistic piece consisting wholly or chiefly of motifs or techniques borrowed from one or more sources. An incongruous combination of materials, forms, motifs, etc., taken from different sources; hodgepodge.

pastoral poetic term A poem that depicts rural life in a peaceful, idealized way. Lycidas by John Milton
pathos literary term A scene intended to evoke tenderness, pity, or sorrow in an audience or reader. The death of Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet
pentameter poetic term A line of verse consisting of five metric feet. "Remem| ber me| when I| am gone| away," from Remember by Christina Rossetti
perfect rhyme poetic term Exact equivalence of sound in two or more words Moon, June, tune, loon
period fiction genre A novel or short story set in a particular historical period but not involved with actual historical people or events. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
periphrasis poetic term Circumlocution to avoid commonplace terms through a more elegant substitution.
personification figurative language

A figure of speech in which human attributes are assigned to non-human things. The attribution of a personal nature or character to inanimate objects or abstract notions.

The representation of a thing or abstraction in the form of a person, as in art or writing. The person or thing embodying an abstract or non-human quality. An imaginary person or creature conceived or figured to represent a thing or abstraction.

Aesop's Fables uses personification of animals to explore human foibles.
Petrarchan sonnet poetic term The Italian or Petrachan sonnet is divided into an octave and a sestet, usually rhyming abbaabba, cdecde. Design by Robert Frost
picaresque novel genre An episodic novel about a rogue or picaro (a person of low social status) wandering around and living by his wits. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
play form A work of dramatic literature The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
plot literary term A series of incidents that make up a story.
poetic justice literary device Rewarding virtue and punishing vice, usually through an ironic twist. The deaths of Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern in Hamlet result directly from their own perfidy.
poetic license literary term The liberty taken by an artist or a writer in deviating from conventional form or fact to achieve a desired effect.
poetry form Text in rhythmic or metric form, often employing rhyme; usually shorter and more concentrated in language and ideas than either prose or drama; poetic language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to its meaning. Birches by Robert Frost
point of view literary term The outlook from which a story is related. In Dickens' David Copperfield, we see the story from David's point of view.
prequel Like a sequel, but where the story takes place at an earlier time than in the previous work.
primitivism movement Portrayal of the superiority of natural simplicity over artificial complication. Jean Jacques Rousseau's Emile
prochronism A chronological error in which a person, event, or the like is assigned a date earlier than the actual one. See anachronism, parachronism, prolepsis.
prolepses

The assigning of a person, event, etc., to a period earlier than the actual one; the representation of something in the future as if it already existed or had occurred; prochronism.

(From linguistics). The use of a descriptive word in anticipation of its becoming applicable.

prolepsis The assigning of a person, event, or something else to a period earlier than the actual one; the representation of something in the future as if it already existed or had occurred. See anachronism, parachronism, prochronism, prolepsis.
propaganda fiction genre A novel or short story that tries to influence the reader to take a position or action on a particular moral or political issue. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
prose form Ordinary writing, without metrical structure, expressed in a commonplace manner. The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens
prosody poetic term Study of versification, such as meter, rhyme scheme, and poetic forms.
prosopopoeia figurative language Personification of inanimate things. Also, a figure of speech in which an imaginary, absent, or deceased person is represented as speaking or acting. Also spelled prosopopeia. From the Greek term for "personification."
protagonist literary term The main character of a narrative, usually the "good guy." Jay Gatsby is the protagonist of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
pun figurative language A play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have different meanings. The dying Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet calls himself "a grave man."
purple prose literary style Passages written in words and phrases that sound stilted, overly descriptive, or clichéd and sensuously evocative beyond the requirements of its context. The term has come to be associated with formulaic romance novels.
pyrrhic poetic term A foot of verse having two unstressed syllables.
quarto literary term A book format in which a printer's sheet is folded twice. Each sheet, therefore, becomes four leaves or eight pages.
quatrain poetic term A four-line stanza in poetry. The Tyger by William Blake is written in quatrains.
realism literary style An attempt to present lif without idealization, interpretation, or romatic subjectivity. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
refrain poetic term A group of words repeated in a poem, usually, but not always, at the end of a stanza. The word "Nevermore" is a refrain in Poe's The Raven.
regional fiction genre A novel faithful to a particular geographic region and its people, including behavior, customs, speech, and history. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
rhetorical question figurative language A question asked in order to emphasize a point and not to provoke an answer. "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" from Ode to the West Wind by Shelley
rhyme poetic term Correspondence of sound in two or more words in a line or lines of verse. "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain." from My Fair Lady by Lerner and Loewe
rising action literary term Events in a story or play that lead to the climax.
roman à clef genre A novel describing real people and events in the guise of fiction. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
romance fiction genre A formulaic love story in which boy meets girl, they overcome the obstacles that stand in their way, and they live happily ever after. In modern romances, there is usually a conflict between the lovers themselves that seems to be irreconcilable. In the end, the confilct is overcome and the two realize they are meant for each other. Secrets by Danielle Steele
romanticism movement The principles and ideals of the Romantic movement in literature and the arts during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Romanticism, which was a reaction to the classicism of the early 18th century, favored feeling over reason and placed great emphasis on the subjective, or personal, experience of the individual. Nature was also a major theme.
rondeau poetic term A poetic form having 15 lines divided into three stanzas, with only two rhymes (e.g., aabbaab, etc.). In Flanders Fields by John McCrae
rondel

A short poem of fixed form, consisting usually of 14 lines on two rhymes, of which four are made up of the initial couplet repeated in the middle and at the end, with the second line of the couplet sometimes being omitted at the end.

Compare Shakespearean or English sonnet.

Rondel of Merciless Beauty by Geoffrey Chaucer

rondelet literary term ron·de·let (ronÆdl etÅ, ronÅdl etÆ), n.

A short poem of fixed form, consisting of five lines on two rhymes, and having the opening words or word used after the second and fifth lines as an unrhymed refrain.

A diminutive of rondel. See: rondel.

roundel (also rondel)

A modification of the rondeau, consisting of nine lines with two refrains. See: rondel; see: rondeau

saga, saga novel genre

The word saga is an Icelandic or Old Norse word meaning something said or a tale or a history. Sagas originated as medieval Icelandic or Norse (Germanic) narratives or legendary accounts of battles, feuds, voyages, heroic exploits, kings, historically important events, or similar topics.

Today saga has come to mean any prose narrative, tale, or legend of achievements and heroic exploits in the history of a personage, family, etc., wherever or however it originates.

A saga novel is a related, special form of the novel in which the members or generations of a family or social group are chronicled in a long and leisurely narrative.

There are a great many Nordic sagas. Sverrir's saga is a tale about a king. The Bandamanna saga is a tale of everyday people. Egils saga is a tale of larger than life characters.

Some Scandinavian sagas include histories about the Nordic countries, the British Isles, Northern France, or North America. Tales of actual Icelandic voyages to America as early as the 10th century, CE were confirmed by sagas.

J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series is a contemporary saga that is a work of fantasy fiction. So also is George Lucas's classic film trilogy, the Star Wars saga.

satire literary style The literary art of ridiculing a folly or vice in order to expose or correct it. It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
scansion poetic term The process of analyzing the metrical pattern of a poem.
science fiction genre Works whose major ideas deal with science or technology and their effects on society and human behavior. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
screenplay form A sequence of instructions designed for producing a motion picture, including character and scene descriptions, dialogue, and sometimes, camera positions and movement. Often a screenplay is an adaptation of an existing drama or novel. His Girl Friday by Charles Lederer
second-person narrative literary device A technique in which a story is told in the second-person (you), addressing the reader as the protagonist. The Haunted Mind from Twice-Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne
sequel literary term A work incorporating the same characters and often the same setting as a previous work. Often, a sequel is a direct continuation of a story from a previous work. The Two Towers is the sequel to The Fellowship of the Ring.
series literary term A set of works with the same characters and setting placed in order or happening one after another. The twenty Aubrey/Maturin novels of by Patrick O'Brian
series comma

A comma used after the next-to-last item in a series of three or more items when the next-to-last and last items are separated by a conjunction. Also called serial comma.

The series comma is also known as the Oxford comma because it was traditionally used by printers, readers, and editors at Oxford University Press. It is also known as the Harvard comma because it is strongly advocated by the Harvard University Press.

Note: Opinions vary among writers and editors on the usage or avoidance of the serial comma. In American English the serial comma is standard in most non-journalistic writing, which typically follows the Chicago Manual of Style. Journalists, however, usually follow the Associated Press Style Guide, which advises against it. It is less often used in British English.

In the series A, B, C, or D, the comma after the C is the series comma.
seriocomedy genre

A play or other literary work that is partly serious and partly comic.

See also: comedy-drama, dramedy, comedrama.

sestet poetic term A poetic stanza of six lines, usually forming one part of an Italian sonnet.
setting literary term The time and place of the action of a story. Victorian Wngland is the setting for Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
Shakespearean or English sonnet poetic term

The English or Shakespearean sonnet is divided into three quatrains and a couplet, usually rhyming abab, cdcd, efef, gg.

Compare rondel.

Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare
short story form A brief fictional work that usually contains only one major conflict and at least one main character. The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
simile figurative language A figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things by using words such as like, as, than, appears, and seems. "O, my love is like a red, red rose" by Robert Burns
soliloquy literary device A dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections. "To be, or not to be" from Shakespeare's Hamlet
sonnet poetic term A 14-line lyric poem written in iambic pentameter, having a specific thematic structure and rhyme scheme. How Do I Love Thee by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
speculative fiction genre A novel or short story that poses the question "What if…" and attempts to answer through speculation. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
spondee poetic term A foot of verse having two stressed syllables. "What heart heard of, ghost guessed" from Spring and Fall to a young child by Gerard Manley Hopkins
spoonerism literary term

The transposition of initial or other sounds of words, usually by accident, but sometimes in jest.

The term was coined some time between 1895 and 1900. It was inspried by an English clergyman named W. A. Spooner, who lived between 1844 and 1930, and who was noted for such slips.

A blushing crow instead of a crushing blow.

stanza poetic term A group of lines forming a division of a poem having a set pattern of meter and rhyme.
stock characters literary term Character types that recur often in a literary genre and become a convention of that form. The gunslinger is a stock character in Western fiction.
story within a story, story-within-a-story literary device

A literary device in which one narrative is presented during the action of another narrative.

The expression originates from the French term mise en abyme, which refers to the practice in heraldry of placing the image of a small shield on a larger shield.

A story within a story can be used in novels, short stories, plays, television programs, films, poems, songs, and philosophical essays.

See also: frame story, backstory, flashback, mise en abyme

stream of consciousness literary device A technique which takes the reader inside a characters mind to reveal both conscious and unconscious thoughts to tell a story. Ulysses by James Joyce
stress poetic term Emphasis on a syllable in a line of verse.
subplot literary term A secondary plot that is related to the main plot but not essential to it.
suspense literary device A feeling of uncertainty and anticipation about the outcome of certain actions.
symbol literary term An arbitrary sign that has acquired a conventional significance. White is usually a symbol of purity.
sympathy literary term Emotional identification with a character's experiences and feelings.
synecdoche figurative language A figure of speech in which a part is used to designate the whole or the whole is used to designate a part. In the line, "A poor torn heart, a tattered heart, That sat it down to rest," by Emily Dickinson, Poem XLIX, the heart represents the whole person.
synesthesia figurative language A passage in which one kind of sensation is described in terms of another.
temporary suspension of disbelief literary term

The temporary acceptance as real of events or characters that would ordinarily be seen as incredible, unreal, or contrived. This suspension is what allows an audience to accept works of literature and drama that explore extraordinary ideas or supernatural characters.

This term was coined by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1817 with the publication of his Biographia Literaria or Biographical Sketches of My Literary Life and Opinions.

A temporary suspension of disbelief is essential if any reenactment of real life is to be taken seriously. It occurs when anyone experiences any movie, drama, or work of fiction. An audience may know that it is watching an actor or reading a play, but puts that perception out of its mind as it directly experiences what the artist is attempting to convey as if it were actually occuring.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, published in the first edition of his Lyrical Ballads in 1798. Coleridge uses narrative techniques such as personification and repetition to create either a sense of danger, of the supernatural, or of serenity, depending on the mood of each of the different parts of the poem.

Lyrical Ballads marks a signal shift to modern poetry and the beginning of British Romantic literature.

terza rima poetic term A type of poetry consisting of 10- or 11-syllable lines arranged in three-line tercets with the rhyme scheme aba bcb cdc, etc. Ode to the West Wind by Percy Bysshe Shelley is written in terza rima.
tetrameter poetic term A line of verse consisting of four metric feet. "Dreaming| still of| Minne|haha, / Of the| lovely| Laughing| Water," from Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
thematic Relating to works of literature in which no characters are involved except the author and his audience, as in most lyrics and essays, or to works of literature in which internal characters are subordinated to an argument maintained by the author, as in allegories and parables; opposed to fictional.
theme literary term The central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work. The theme of Crane's The Red Badge of Courage is the horrors of war and the real meaning of courage.
third-person narrative literary device A story told about a protagonist from another point of view.
tone literary term The author's implicit attitude toward the reader or the people, places, and events in a work as revealed by the elements of the author's style. Carroll's Alice in Wonderland has a whimsical tone.
tragedy genre A serious work in which events result in disastrously for the protagonist. Othello by Shakespeare
trimeter poetic term A line of verse consisting of three metric feet. "I went| to the Gar| den of Love, / And saw| what I nev| er had seen;" from The Garden of Love by William Blake
triple rhyme poetic term A type of feminine rhyme in which the three final syllables coincide. This is often used for a humorous effect.
trochee poetic term A foot of verse having two syllables, the first unstressed and the second stressed. "Adam / Had 'em." from Lines on the Antiquity of Microbes by Strickland Gillilan.
trope figurative language A figure of speech in which words are not used in their literal sense but in a figurative sense. C.f. "figure of speech" antithesis, simile, metaphor, metonymy, onomatopoeia, personification, synecdoche, irony
unreliable narrator literary device A work of fiction in which the narrator's credibility is seriously compromised due to psychological instability, a powerful bias, a lack of knowledge, or a deliberate attempt to deceive the reader. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
utopian fiction genre A novel that presents an ideal society where all social problems such as poverty and crime have been eliminated. Walden Two by B.F. Skinner
verisimilitude literary term The quality of seeming to be true.
Victorian period The period of British literature between 1837-1901 when Victoria was the queen. The literature of the period reflected current social, economic, and intellectual problems.
villanelle poetic term A type of fixed form poetry consisting of nineteen lines divided into six stanzas: five tercets and a concluding quatrain. The first and third lines of the initial tercet rhyme; these rhymes are repeated in each subsequent tercet (aba) and in the final two lines of the quatrain (abaa) Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night by Dylan Thomas
western fiction genre A adventure novel or short story set in the western United States. Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
wordplay literary term

Clever or subtle repartee; verbal wit. Also, a play on words; a pun.

zeugma figurative language

A figure of speech in which one verb governs several words, or clauses, each in a different sense.

"She looked at the object with suspicion and a magnifying glass." Charles Dickens.

 

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