Terms : Hide Images
| 6610637053 | Metaphor | Comparison of two seemingly unlike things | 0 | |
| 6610637054 | Simile | Comparison using like or as | 1 | |
| 6610637055 | Personification | Characteristics of humans given to non-humans | 2 | |
| 6610637056 | Synechdoche | Part for the whole. Ex. "All hands on deck" | 3 | |
| 6610637057 | Metonymy | Substitution of associated word for word itself. Ex. Referring to the king as "the crown" | 4 | |
| 6610637058 | Allusion | Reference to well-known being or event | 5 | |
| 6610637059 | Symbol | Concrete object (including a person) that represents an abstract idea | 6 | |
| 6610637060 | Imagery | Sensory details | 7 | |
| 6610637061 | Archetype | Recurrent patterns in literature across time and place that touch collective subconscious (ex. the monomyth) | 8 | |
| 6610637063 | Motif | Recurrent image, idea, or theme in specific piece of literature (Ex. images of rot in Hamlet) | 9 | |
| 6610637065 | Verbal irony | Saying one thing, meaning another (includes sarcasm) | 10 | |
| 6610637066 | Dramatic irony | Audience knows something, character doesn't | 11 | |
| 6610637067 | Situational irony | Involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected | 12 | |
| 6610637068 | Understatement | Making big things seem small | 13 | |
| 6610637069 | Hyperbole | Purposeful exaggeration | 14 | |
| 6610637070 | Paradox | Contradictory statement or group of statements (Ex. Freedom is slavery) (longer contradiction) | 15 | |
| 6610637071 | Oxymoron | Contradictory phrase (Ex. Icy fire, jumbo shrimp) (shorter contradiction) | 16 | |
| 6610637072 | Litotes | Affirmation from negative ("She was not stupid" = litotes for "She was smart") | 17 | |
| 6610637075 | Diction | Author's word choice | 18 | |
| 6610637076 | Syntax | Sentence and phrase structure | 19 | |
| 6610637077 | Antithesis | Balancing of contrasting ideas | 20 | |
| 6610637078 | Polysyndeton | Stringing a sentence out with a series of conjunctions | 21 | |
| 6610637080 | Parallelism | Repetition of similar syntactical structure | 22 | |
| 6610637081 | Point of View | Narrative perspective—1st, 2nd, 3rd Person | 23 | |
| 6610637082 | Apostrophe | Addressing a person/entity not present | 24 | |
| 6610637083 | Analogy | Extended comparison of similar things | 25 | |
| 6610637084 | Colloquialism | Informal, casual statement that expresses something other than the literal meaning of the words (Ex. "I wasn't born yesterday," to mean "you can't fool me.") | 26 | |
| 6610637086 | Alliteration | Repetition of consonant sound in initial position of words | 27 | |
| 6610637087 | Assonance | Repetition of a vowel sound | 28 | |
| 6610637088 | Consonance | Repetition of consonant sound in any position | 29 | |
| 6610637089 | Euphony | Soft, pleasing sounds (liquids, sibilance, vowels, w, and y) | 30 | |
| 6610676773 | Sibilance | A type of alliteration in which the "s" sound is repeated; a hissing sound | 31 | |
| 6610677441 | Liquid sounds | l, r, m, and n sounds (pleasing!) | 32 | |
| 6610637090 | Cacophony | Harsh, jarring sounds (using consonants in combinations which requires explosive delivery ex. p, b, d, g, k, ch-, sh- etc.) | 33 | |
| 6610637091 | Onomatopoeia | Word whose sound suggests meaning (Ex. "Roar" is a "RAARRRRR" sound) | 34 | |
| 6610637092 | Metric Feet | The standard measurement of a line of poetry; first word is the type of feet (Ex. iambic) and the second word is the number of feet (Ex. pentameter) | 35 | |
| 6610695224 | Iamb | An unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable ("To BE or NOT to BE"); the most common type of foot in English poetry (when in doubt, assume it's this!) | 36 | |
| 6610699756 | Pentameter | Five feet of poetry | 37 | |
| 6610702433 | Tetrameter | Four feet of poetry | 38 | |
| 6610702434 | Trimeter | Three feet of poetry | 39 | |
| 6610637095 | Stanzas | Grouping of lines in a poem | 40 | |
| 6610706175 | Octave | 8 line stanza | 41 | |
| 6610707075 | Sestet | 6 line stanza | 42 | |
| 6610707084 | Quatrain | 4 line stanza | 43 | |
| 6610637097 | Rhyme Scheme | end rhyme expressed alphabetically (abbacdcd) | 44 | |
| 6610637098 | Blank Verse | Unrhymed poetry WITH METER (Has a Beat) | 45 | |
| 6610637099 | Free Verse | Poetry with NO rhyme or meter | 46 | |
| 6610637100 | Heroic Couplet | Two rhymed lines in iambic pentameter; complete thought | 47 | |
| 6610637102 | Lyric Poetry | Short verse stressing emotion over story (Ex. "He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven," "My Life Had Stood a Loaded Gun") | 48 | |
| 6610637103 | Narrative Poetry | Verse that tells a story (Ex: "Richard Cory," "The Raven") | 49 | |
| 6610637104 | Epic Poetry | Long story in verse (Ex. Beowulf) | 50 | |
| 6610637106 | English Sonnet | Fourteen line poem with three quatrains and a couplet | 51 | |
| 6610637107 | Italian Sonnet | Fourteen line poem with octave and sestet | 52 | |
| 6610727284 | Volta | The turn/shift in a sonnet | 53 | |
| 6610637108 | Epigram | Witty poem or saying | 54 | |
| 6610728126 | Epigraph | a quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of the theme. | 55 | |
| 6610637110 | Enjambment | Running over of a sentence from one line or stanza to another | 56 | |
| 6610637111 | Refrain | Repetition of line or phrase at regular intervals (like chorus) | 57 | |
| 6743073077 | Ode | A lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings toward the subject. | 58 | |
| 6610637113 | Atmosphere | Effect of physical environment in a text | 59 | |
| 6610637114 | Tone | Author's or speaker's attitude | 60 | |
| 6610637115 | Conflict | Interplay of opposing forces in a literary text | 61 | |
| 6610637118 | Deus Ex Machina | Contrived ending, literally "God from the machine," everything works out a little too perfectly in the end | 62 | |
| 6610637119 | Epiphany | Sudden awareness | 63 | |
| 6743073076 | Caesura | A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line. | 64 | |
| 6610637120 | Flashback | A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events | 65 | |
| 6610637121 | Foreshadowing | Hints at coming events | 66 | |
| 6610637122 | Stream of Consciousness | Thoughts and feelings recorded as they occur | 67 | |
| 6610637123 | Theme | Central idea of a literary work; A truth about life or human nature that the writer shares with the reader | 68 | |
| 6610637125 | Plot | Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action | 69 | |
| 6610637126 | Denouement | Resolution of the plot, outcome replicating thought | 70 | |
| 6610637127 | In media res | Beginning a story in the middle of the action | 71 | |
| 6610637129 | Round Character | Complex, multi-faceted, not predictable, changes over the course of a story; aka a dynamic character | 72 | |
| 6610637130 | Flat Character | Recognizable type of character; lacks complexity; does not change over the course of a story | 73 | |
| 6610637131 | Confidant | Protagonist's intimate in whom he or she confides | 74 | |
| 6610637132 | Foil | Character's illuminator through contrast | 75 | |
| 6610637133 | Protagonist | Character around which the action is centered | 76 | |
| 6610637134 | Antagonist | Person or force working against the protagonist | 77 | |
| 6610637135 | Omniscience | Teller knows all about everyone | 78 | |
| 6610637136 | Limited Omniscience | Teller knows all about one character | 79 | |
| 6610637138 | Doppelganger | Mysterious double for a character | 80 | |
| 6610637139 | Antihero | An ordinary, modern man/woman groping through life (Ex. Milkman) | 81 | |
| 6610637141 | Renaissance | 14th—17th Century, rebirth of humanism (Ex. Hamlet) | 82 | |
| 6610637143 | Romanticism | 18th—19th c., imagination over reason | 83 | |
| 6610637144 | Realism | Verisimilitude; A 19th century artistic movement in which writers and painters sought to show life as it is rather than life as it should be | 84 | |
| 6610637145 | Naturalism | Extreme realism; A nineteenth-century literary movement that was an extension of realism and that claimed to portray life exactly as it was. | 85 | |
| 6610637146 | Existentialism | A philosophical movement based on the belief that humans are inadequate to explain a complex world; a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will. | 86 | |
| 6610637147 | Magical Realism | Begins real, gets weird; A genre of fiction in which elements of fantasy, myth, or the supernatural are included in a narrative that is otherwise objective and realistic. (Ex. Song of Solomon) | 87 | |
| 6610637150 | Tragedy | Starts good, gets bad, hero destroyed; A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow | 88 | |
| 6610637151 | Comedy | Starts bad, gets good, hero triumphs; A literary work which ends happily because the hero or heroine is able to overcome obstacles and get what he or she wants | 89 | |
| 6610637152 | Comedy of Manners | Elevated, often satirical, from Restoration Period; A comic drama in which the attitudes and customs of a society are critiqued and satirized according to high standards of intellect and morality (Ex. Pride and Prejudice) | 90 | |
| 6610637154 | Melodrama | Excessive appeal to emotions A literary form in which events are exaggerated in order to create an extreme emotional response. | 91 | |
| 6610637155 | Bildungsroman | Novel about young person's maturation (Coming of Age) | 92 | |
| 6610637156 | Allegory | A literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. (Ex. Animal Farm) | 93 | |
| 6610637157 | Satire | Text that aims to improve human conditions through exaggeration, comedy | 94 | |
| 6610637158 | Novel | Extended fictional narrative | 95 | |
| 6610780943 | Aloof (Tone) | Not emotionally involved; distant | 96 | |
| 6610781895 | Apathetic (Tone) | showing or feeling no interest, enthusiasm, or concern. | 97 | |
| 6610784412 | Condescending (Tone) | possessing an attitude of superiority, patronizing | 98 | |
| 6610785350 | Caustic (Tone) | Harshly critical, often sarcastic; biting | 99 | |
| 6610787835 | Choleric (Tone) | easily made angry, bad-tempered | 100 | |
| 6610790408 | Churlish (Tone) | Boorish, rude; lacking politeness or good manners; lacking sensitivity; difficult to work with or deal with | 101 | |
| 6610793045 | Diffident (Tone) | Lacking self-confidence; shy | 102 | |
| 6610794216 | Earnest (Tone) | Heartfelt and serious; sincere | 103 | |
| 6610795467 | Erudite (Tone) | scholarly, learned, bookish, pedantic | 104 | |
| 6610797521 | Facetious (Tone) | Joking, humorous, esp. inappropriately; not serious, sarcastic | 105 | |
| 6610799451 | Flippant (Tone) | Frivolously disrespectful | 106 | |
| 6610800873 | Incredulous (Tone) | Skeptical or unbelieving | 107 | |
| 6610802053 | Laudatory (Tone) | Praising | 108 | |
| 6610802992 | Obsequious (Tone) | overly obedient, dutiful, brown-nosing, fawning | 109 | |
| 6610804471 | Poignant (Tone) | producing keen or strong emotion; totally touching | 110 | |
| 6610805549 | Reticent (Tone) | reluctant or restrained | 111 | |
| 6610806795 | Ribald (Tone) | abusive, or irreverent; vulgar or indecent | 112 | |
| 6610807413 | Sardonic (Tone) | scornful derision, mocking, cynical | 113 | |
| 6610808466 | Supercilious (Tone) | haughty, disdainful, arrogantly rude, or contemptuous | 114 | |
| 6610810927 | Unctuous (Tone) | smug, oily (verbally that is) or excessively pious | 115 | |
| 6610811719 | Effusive (Tone) | emotionally unrestrained; gushy | 116 |
