Allegory
This is a type of story in which people, things or happenings have a symbolic meaning.
Ex. Avatar- Colonization of North America.
Alliteration
Repetition of a particular sound (consonant) in the stressed syllables of a series of words
or phrases. Ex. James Thomson's verse "Come…dragging the lazy languid line along".
Allusion
A figure of speech that makes a reference to a place, person, or something that
happened. This can be real or imaginary and may refer to anything, including paintings,
opera, folk lore, mythical figures, or religious manuscripts. The reference can be direct
or may be inferred, and can broaden the reader’s understanding.
Ex. “He was a real Romeo with the ladies.” Romeo was a character in Shakespeare’s
play, Romeo and Juliet, and was very romantic in expressing his love for Juliet.
Occurs when a person or thing that is placed in a time where it does not fit.
Anachronism
Ex. A movie about ancient Egypt that shows a Pharaoh wearing a wristwatch.
A likeness or a comparison between two things that have some features that are the
same and others which are different.
Analogy
Ex. “If people were like rain, I was like drizzle and she was a hurricane.”
― John Green, Looking for Alaska
Antagonist
A character, group of characters, force, or institution that poses a major threat or
obstacle to the main character by their very existence, without necessarily deliberately
targeting him or her.
Ex. The big bad wolf in Little Red Riding Hood. The environment in 127 Hours.
Poetry that is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. It has been described as
"probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the
sixteenth century.
Blank verse
Shakespeare worked with this feature to illuminate abrupt and irregular speech. For
example, in this exchange from King John, one line is broken between two characters:
My lord? A grave. He shall not live. Enough.
Cliché
An expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point
of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was
considered meaningful or novel.
Ex. Waste of time. What goes around comes around. Her cheeks were as red as a rose.
The final, culminating element or event in a series of events; the highest point of interest
or excitement.
Climax
Ex. When a protagonist dies (or nearly does). Or when the “good guy” nearly gets
caught.
An elaborate or unusual comparison--especially one using unlikely metaphors, simile,
hyperbole, and contradiction.
Conceit
Ex. All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their
exits and their entrances
(William Shakespeare, As You Like It, 2/7)
Concrete poetry is a type of poetry that uses some sort of visual presentation to enhance
the effect of the poem on the reader.
Example:
Concrete Poem
When the main character clashes with someone or something.
Conflict
Ex. Internal: Person vs. Self. External: Person vs. Person, Nature, Society, Supernatural,
Corporation.
An idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.
Connotation
Ex: The image of a scale connotes justice.
A poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.
Elegy
Ex: “If I cried out/who would hear me up there/among the angelic orders?/And suppose
one suddenly/took me to his heart/I would shrivel.” - Rainer Maria Rilke
A short poem, esp. a satirical one, having a witty or ingenious ending.
Epigram
Ex: I'm tired of Love: I'm still more tired of Rhyme. But Money gives me pleasure all
the time. – Hilaire Belloc
A short text honoring a deceased person, that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque.
Can also used figuratively.
Epitaph
Ex. Against you I will fling myself, unvanquished and unyielding, O Death!
— Virginia Woolf
A piece of writing that takes a position on a topic for the purpose of describing the topic
or persuading the reader to agree with them on a particular subject.
Essay
Ex: Typically has 5 paragraphs – An introduction with a thesis occurring in the last
sentence, 3 body paragraphs and a conclusion.
Fable
A fictional narrative meant to teach a moral lesson
Example: The Tortoise and the Hare: slow and steady wins the race
Figurative Meaning
The metaphorical, idiomatic, or ironic sense of a word or expression, in contrast to its
literal meaning. Conveys not just the facts but an idea. It encourages us to use our
imaginations.
Ex: “Mervin runs like a duck.” This does not mean that poor Mervin runs exactly like a
water bird. We’re using a figure of speech called a simile. By comparing the way
Mervin runs to the way a duck runs, we’re suggesting that Mervin waddles and that he
is awkward. If we wanted to be literal, we would say, “Mervin is awkward and he
waddles when he runs.” “Mervin runs like a duck” is far more colorful and interesting.
Flashback
A device in the narrative of a motion picture, novel, play, or poem, by which an event or
scene takes place before the present time.
Ex: I walked out of the room, and saw the portrait of my mother in the otherwise empty
hallway. *I remembered, years ago, my father would stare mindlessly at it for minutes,
sometimes hours, before a bird chirping would awaken him from his trance.* Without
warning, a bird chirped, and I immediately tore my eyes away from that portrait.
Foil
A character that differs drastically from the protagonist in order to highlight the
difference between the two characters. The character may also be similar to the
protagonist, but with a key difference that sets them apart.
Ex: Ron & Hermoine are both foils for Harry Potter.
Foreshadowing
This gives the reader a hint of what is to come through the setting, the characters' words
or actions, or a symbols
.
Ex: In Star War- Episode 2 Obi Wan is quoted, "Why do I get the feeling you will be
the death of me?" He is later killed by Anakin.
Poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter.
Free Verse
Hyperbole
Ex: After the Sea-Ship—after the whistling winds;
After the white-gray sails, taut to their spars and ropes,
Below, a myriad, myriad waves, hastening, lifting up their necks,
Tending in ceaseless flow toward the track of the ship:
Waves of the ocean, bubbling and gurgling, blithely prying,
Waves, undulating waves—liquid, uneven, emulous waves,
Toward that whirling current, laughing and buoyant, with curves,
Where the great Vessel, sailing and tacking, displaced the surface.
-Walt Whitman
An extreme exaggeration used to make a point. It is like the opposite of
“understatement.” Hyperboles are comparisons, like similes and metaphors, but are
extravagant and even ridiculous.
Ex. I am so hungry I could eat a horse (cliché). It was so cold the polar bears were
wearing parkas.
A technique of indicating through character or plot development, an intention or attitude
opposite to that which is actually stated.
Irony
Ex: In 1912 the Titanic was touted as "100% unsinkable", and yet the ship sank on its
maiden voyage.
This term means that the words are describing the actual or true circumstances. The
dictionary meaning of a word.
Literal Meaning
Ex: “She threw him under the bus,” are usually used figuratively. However, if a woman
actually threw a person underneath a bus, the words would be literal.
This term indicates understatement, especially when an affirmative is expressed by a
double negative.
Litotes
Metaphor
Here are three examples: "She is not as young as she was,” is used to mean, "She's old;"
"He's no oil painting," is used to mean, "He's ugly;" and "You are not wrong," is used to
mean, "You are correct."
Describes a subject by asserting that it is, on some point of comparison, the same as
another otherwise unrelated object.
Example: Our canoe flew down the river.
Mood
The atmosphere that pervades a literary work with the intention of evoking a certain
emotion or feeling from the audience. In drama, it may be created by sets and music as
well as words; in poetry and prose, it may be created by a combination of such elements
as SETTING, VOICE, TONE and THEME.
Ex. Edgar Allen Poe’s narratives tend to be gloomy, horrific, and desperate.
Motivation
The mixture of situation and personality that impels a character to behave the way he or
she does. When an author fails to establish plausible the reason characters behave in a
certain way, they seems unconvincing and the action or work itself fails the test of
plausibility; when the author does lay a reasonable foundation, the action or work makes
sense in light of a particular character's situation and personality
Ex. Living in poverty. Attending a school of the arts. Belonging to a top ranked sports
team.
Narrative Poem
A poem that tells a story and has a plot.
Example: Most Taylor Swift songs.
Narrator
A person who gives an account or tells the story of events and experiences in a narrative. Also,
a person who adds spoken commentary to a film, television program, slide show, etc.
Onomatopoeia
A word that imitates or suggests the source of the sound that it describes. The formation
of a word, as cuckoo, meow, honk, or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or
associated with its referent.
Example: the explosion boomed over the countryside.
Oxymoron
A figure of speech that combines contradictory terms, such as “cruel kindness” or
“jumbo shrimp.”
A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd, but in reality
expresses a possible truth.
Paradox
Example: If someone says to you "I'm a compulsive liar," do you believe them or not?
That statement in itself is a paradox, because it is self contradictory, which is precisely
what a paradox is.
Paraphrase
A restatement of a text or passage giving the meaning in another form. Used to increase
understanding of a text.
Ex. The second step of TPCASTT.
The act of giving human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract notions.
Personification
Example: The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky.
Plot
Also called storyline. The plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as
a play, novel, or short story.
Example: Contains exposition, rising action, climax, falling action.
An event or action that leads to another event or situation.
Prologue
Ex: "This book is about...and how the characters..."
The ordinary form of spoken or written language, without metrical structure, as
distinguished from poetry or verse.
Prose
Ex: A short story.
The leading character or a major character in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional
text.
Protagonist
Example: Harry Potter.
A strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound in a poem.
Rhythm
Example: A sonnet’s pattern is in Iambic Pentameter.
When you mark the unstressed and stressed parts of a poem.
Scansion
Simile
Example: Marking iambic pentameter in a sonnet.
A figure of speech that directly compares two different things, usually by employing the
words "like" or "as" – also, but less commonly, "if", or "than".
Example: Her skin was white as snow.
Stereotype
A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person
or thing.
Example: “Blondes are not as smart as non blondes.”
Theme
The central topic, subject, or concept the author is trying to point out, not to be confused
with whatever message, moral, or commentary it may send or be interpreted as sending
regarding said concept.
Example: “Death” or “Motivation” or “Fate”.
Unity
The sense that all the elements in a piece of writing fit together to create a harmonious
effect.
Ex. A well written essay is united by a strong thesis.
Vignette
A short, well written sketch or descriptive scene. It does not have a plot which would
make it a story, but it does reveal something about the elements in it. It may reveal
character, or mood or tone. It may have a theme or idea of its own that it wants to
convey. It is the description of the scene or character that is important.
Ex. A blog or diary entry.
Wit
Refers to elements in a literary work designed to make the audience laugh or feel
amused, i.e., the term is often used synonymously with humor. In sixteenth-century
usage, this denotes intellectual originality, ingenuity, and mental acuity--especially in
the sense of using paradoxes, making clever verbal expressions, and coining concise or
deft phrases.
Ex. Lady Astor told Churchill, 'If you were my husband, I'd poison your tea." He replied
"Madam, if you were my wife I would drink it.'