Terms : Hide Images
| 4294627498 | adage (also aphorism or maxim) | a saying or proverb of a generally accepted truth. (A penny saved is a penny earned.) | 0 | |
| 4294633753 | allegory | story in which a second meaning is to be read beneath the surface. Animal Farm, Dante's Inferno, Anthem | 1 | |
| 4294640577 | allusion | reference to a well-known person, place, or event | 2 | |
| 4294642701 | ambiguity | a lack of clarity meant to evoke multiple meanings and interpretations ("A Rose for Emily") | 3 | |
| 4294648730 | analogy | comparison that points out similarities between dissimilar things. | 4 | |
| 4294663122 | anaphora | repetition of two or more words or phrases to start successive phrase, etc. | 5 | |
| 4294666656 | anecdote | a brief story to illustrate a point | 6 | |
| 4294670058 | antithesis | opposition or contrast of words, phrases, ideas. Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country (J.F.K) | 7 | |
| 4294677801 | apostrophe | addressing a person or personified thing that is not present (O cruel streets of Manhattan! How I detest you!) | 8 | |
| 4294682427 | archetype | an ideal conception of a type; an original model. | 9 | |
| 4294684710 | bombast | inflated, pretentious language, especially for trivial subjects; empty rhetoric, windy grandeur of language | 10 | |
| 4294692050 | canon | body of works considered most important in a national literature or period | 11 | |
| 4294695099 | caricature | grotesque likeness of the striking qualities in persons or things | 12 | |
| 4294699927 | carpe diem - "seize the day" | enjoy life while you can, a common theme in literature | 13 | |
| 4294706280 | catharsis | a cleaning of the emotions primarily through art; a release of tension by bringing emotion to consciousness and allowing to leave | 14 | |
| 4294711047 | cliche | figure of speech that has become lifeless through overuse | 15 | |
| 4294719147 | conceit (noun) | an elaborate metaphor; a highly fanciful idea | 16 | |
| 4294724971 | denouement | resolution | 17 | |
| 4294726462 | deus ex machina | the use of an artificial device or gimmick to solve a problem. Sam and Frodo are hopelessly trapped, but giant eagles show up and save them. | 18 | |
| 4294732314 | dialect | way of speaking that's characteristic of a certain social group or in certain geographical area | 19 | |
| 4294842830 | diction | choice of words | 20 | |
| 4294845335 | didactic | writing that teaches a specific lesson or moral | 21 | |
| 4294848880 | dramatic irony | circumstance in which the audience knows more about a situation than a character does | 22 | |
| 4294851289 | elegy | poem or prose that laments the death of something or someone of value | 23 | |
| 4294861771 | elliptical construction | a sentence containing a deliberate omission of words. May was hot and June the same | 24 | |
| 4294872146 | epigraph | a quote or aphorism at the beginning of a work that's suggestive of theme | 25 | |
| 4294875135 | epithet | adjective or phrase that expresses a striking quality of a person or thing | 26 | |
| 4294877442 | eponymous | term for the title character of a work of literature. Jane Eyre, Moby Dick | 27 | |
| 4294881038 | euphemism | mild or less negative usage for a harsher one | 28 | |
| 4294883923 | exegesis | detailed analysis of a work of literature | 29 | |
| 4294887059 | farce | type of comedy in which ridiculous characters are involved in far-fetched situations | 30 | |
| 4294889296 | foil | a character who acts as a contrast to another character | 31 | |
| 4294891857 | genre | term used to categorize literary forms, such as novel, play, essay, etc. | 32 | |
| 4294895352 | gothic novel | has supernatural horrors an and atmosphere of unknown terrors | 33 | |
| 4294900063 | hubris | excessive pride that often leads to tragic heroes to their deaths | 34 | |
| 4294905499 | hyperbole | gross exageration | 35 | |
| 4294906745 | litotes | form of understatement in which the negative of the contrary is used for emphasis | 36 | |
| 4294910098 | loose sentence | follows customary word order of subject - verb - object (opposite = periodic sentence - main thought at the end) | 37 | |
| 4294916445 | metonymy | figure of speech that uses the name of one thing to represent something else with which it is associated | 38 | |
| 4294920306 | mock epic | a parody of traditional epic form | 39 | |
| 4294923059 | mood | atmosphere created by a writer's diction and the details presented | 40 | |
| 4294925271 | motif | phrase, idea, event, or image that through repetition serves to unify the work or convey theme | 41 | |
| 4294932703 | non sequitur | statement or idea that fails to follow logically from the one before | 42 | |
| 4294935237 | paradox | a statement that seems self-contradictory but is actually true | 43 | |
| 4294937887 | parody | an imitation of a work meant to ridicule its style and subject | 44 | |
| 4294940148 | pastoral | a work dealing with rural life | 45 | |
| 4294943463 | picaresque novel | an episodic novel about a rogue-like wandered who lives off his wits | 46 | |
| 4294947074 | pseudonym | false name or alias by writer; pen name | 47 | |
| 4294954146 | pulp fiction | novels written for mas consumption with often exciting plots | 48 | |
| 4294958537 | roman a clef | French for a novel in which historical events and actual people appear under the guise of fiction | 49 | |
| 4294961420 | romance | extended narrative about improbable events and people in exotic places | 50 | |
| 4294965302 | satire | literary style used to ridicule an idea or vice, often to induce change | 51 | |
| 4294975235 | stream of consciousness | writing style in which the author tries to reproduce the random flow of thoughts in the human mind | 52 | |
| 4294977738 | subtext | the implied meaning that underlies the main meaning of a work | 53 | |
| 4294979308 | synesthesia | imagery that appeals to more than one sense. Blue cold air | 54 | |
| 4299836371 | style | the distinctive way in which a writer uses language - the use of diction, tone, and syntax | 55 | |
| 4299844746 | synecdoche | a figure of speech in which a part represents the whole | 56 | |
| 4299851246 | syntax | the organization of language into meaningful structure; the pattern of words | 57 | |
| 4299848218 | theme | the insight about human life that is revealed in a work | 58 | |
| 4299855451 | tone | the author's attitude toward the subject of a work or the characters, revealed through diction, figurative language, etc. | 59 | |
| 4299860803 | tragedy | a story in which a heroic character meets an unhappy end usually because of some character flaw | 60 | |
| 4299869771 | verse | poetry | 61 | |
| 4299871521 | vernacular | the language spoken by the common people who live in a particular locality, rather than a literary or cultured language; may be used more broadly than dialect | 62 | |
| 4299877938 | voice | the real or assumed personality used by a writer. In Huck Finn, Twain uses the voice of a young boy to tell the story. | 63 |
