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| 4305864268 | allegory | A story in which the narrative or characters carry an underlying symbolic, metaphorical, or possibly an ethical meaning. The story and characters represent values beyond themselves. Example: Christian met Faith and traveled to Heaven, Oregon. | 0 | |
| 4305865541 | allusion | A reference to a person, place, or event meant to create an effect or enhance the meaning of an idea. Example: Any quote from Shakespeare, Dickens, The Bible, etc. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." | 1 | |
| 4305871285 | analogy | A comparison that points out similarities between two dissimilar things. Example: "Structure of an atom is like a solar system. Nucleus is the sun and electrons are the planets revolving around their sun." | 2 | |
| 4305871712 | antithesis | A rhetorical opposition or contrast of ideas by means of a grammatical arrangement of words, clauses, or sentences. Example: "Setting foot on the moon may be a small step for a man but a giant step for mankind." | 3 | |
| 4305871713 | apostrophe | A rhetorical device in which a speaker addresses a person or personified thing not present. Example: "Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand? / Come, let me clutch thee! / I have thee not, and yet I see thee still." | 4 | |
| 4305886990 | caricature | An often amusing characterization or cartoon of a person. | 5 | |
| 4305888450 | chiasmus | a verbal pattern (a type of antithesis) in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first with the parts reversed. Example: "Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You." | 6 | |
| 4305891855 | cliche | An expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being trite or irritating. Example: "Put your nose to the grindstone. Give it the old college try." | 7 | |
| 4305893085 | connotation | The suggested or implied meaning of a word or phrase. Contrast with denotation, which is the word's actual definition. | 8 | |
| 4305898255 | contrast | a rhetorical device through which writers identify differences between two subjects, places, persons, things or ideas. Simply, it is a type of opposition between two objects highlighted to emphasize their differences. | 9 | |
| 4305901101 | dénouement | The resolution that occurs at the end of a play or work of fiction. | 10 | |
| 4305903323 | didactic (tone or attitude) | The author attempts to educate or instruct the reader. Example: "Know then thyself, presume not God to scan the proper study of Mankind is Man." | 11 | |
| 4305909756 | dialogue | A literary technique in which writers employ two or more characters to be engaged in conversation with each other. | 12 | |
| 4305910631 | diction | The choice of words in oral and written discourse. Alliteration (repeated beginning sounds) and assonance (repeated vowel sounds) are two VERY common uses of diction. | 13 | |
| 4305915223 | empathy | A feeling created by the author--association or identification with an object or person. Readers FEEL empathy--it's a feeling. This is different from Pathos, which is a technique used by the author in an attempt to arouse empathy. | 14 | |
| 4305917894 | epiphany | A sudden realization--a flash of recognition in which someone or something is seen in a new light. | 15 | |
| 4305921305 | figurative language | In contrast to literal language, figurative language implies meanings. It includes metaphors, similes, and personification, among many others. | 16 | |
| 4305920167 | flashback | A return to an earlier time in a story or play in order to clarify present action or circumstances. It might also be a character's account of the past, a dream, or a sudden association with past events. | 17 | |
| 4305952350 | foil | A minor character whose personality or attitude contrasts with that of the main character. Juxtaposing one character against another intensifies the qualities of both, to advantage or sometimes to disadvantage. Example: Scar and Mufasa. | 18 | |
| 4305920168 | foreshadowing | Providing hints of things to come in a story or play. | 19 | |
| 4305920169 | frame story | A narrative that provides the framework within which a number of different stories, which may or may not be connected, can be told. | 20 | |
| 4305927595 | gaps | A missing piece or explanation in a story | 21 | |
| 4305927596 | genre | A term used to describe literary forms, such as a novel, play, and essay. | 22 | |
| 4305927597 | hyperbole | Overstatement; gross exaggeration for rhetorical effect. Example: "I had to walk 500 miles to get there!" | 23 | |
| 4305930434 | imagery | To use figurative language to represent objects, actions and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses. | 24 | |
| 4305930435 | interior monologue | A narrative technique that exhibits the thoughts passing through the minds of the protagonists. | 25 | |
| 4305930436 | irony | A mode of expression in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is stated, often implying ridicule or light sarcasm; a state of affairs or events that is the reverse of what might have been expected. | 26 | |
| 4305934099 | malapropism | The mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with unintentionally amusing effect, as in, for example, "dance a flamingo" (instead of flamenco). | 27 | |
| 4305934100 | metaphor | A figure of speech that compares unlike objects. Example: "He is a beast!" | 28 | |
| 4305957231 | mood | The emotional tone in a work of literature. | 29 | |
| 4305934896 | narrative pace | Narrative pace determines how quickly or how slowly the writer takes a reader through a story. | 30 | |
| 4305936189 | narrator | A character who recounts the events of a novel or narrative poem. | 31 | |
| 4305937976 | oxymoron | A figure of speech in which two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect. Example: "Jumbo shrimp" or "terribly funny." | 32 | |
| 4305938948 | paradox | A statement that seems self-contradictory but is nevertheless true | 33 | |
| 4305938949 | parallel scenes | Two or more scenes dealing with different individuals that happen at the approximate same time | 34 | |
| 4305938950 | parallel structure | Words, phrases and clauses that are linked together in a series or connected through identical style. Think of "I have a dream." Example: "He went to the mall, he bought some jeans, and he went home." | 35 | |
| 4305940299 | parody | A composition that imitates somebody's style in a humorous way. Think of Saturday Night Live or Weird Al Yankovic. | 36 | |
| 4305940300 | pastoral | A work of literature dealing with rural, country life. | 37 | |
| 4305940301 | pathos | That element in literature that stimulates pity or sorrow | 38 | |
| 4305941389 | persona (mask) | The role or facade that a character assumes or depicts to a reader, a viewer, or the world at large | 39 | |
| 4305941390 | personification | A figure of speech in which objects and animals are given human characteristics. Example: "The car farted out black smoke." | 40 | |
| 4305942427 | point of view | The relation in which a narrator or speaker stands to the story or subject matter of a poem. | 41 | |
| 4305943069 | projection into future (flash forward) | A scene or event from the future that appears in a narrative out of chronological order, usually for dramatic effect or irony. | 42 | |
| 4305945280 | realism | The depiction of people, things, and events as they really are without idealization or exaggeration for effect. This method usually results in depressing stories that don't sugarcoat life's trials. | 43 | |
| 4305945281 | repetition | Repeating of a word, phrase, or idea for emphasis or rhythmic effect | 44 | |
| 4305946766 | rhetorical question | Question asked for effect, no answer required. | 45 | |
| 4305947569 | rhyme | The repetition of similar sounds at regular intervals, used mostly in poetry. | 46 | |
| 4305947570 | rhythm/meter | The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that make up a line of poetry | 47 | |
| 4305948314 | romance | An extended narrative about improbable events and extraordinary people in exotic places. | 48 | |
| 4305949254 | sarcasm | A sharp, caustic expression or remark; a bitter jibe or taunt; different from irony, which is more subtle | 49 | |
| 4305949255 | satire | A literary style used to poke fun at, attack, or ridicule an idea, vice, or foible, often for the purpose of inducing change. Think Saturday Night Live or Family Guy/South Park. | 50 | |
| 4305949591 | simile | A figurative comparison using the words like or as | 51 | |
| 4305950203 | stream of consciousness | A style of writing in which the author tries to reproduce the random flow of thoughts in the human mind | 52 | |
| 4305950907 | subplot | A subordinate or minor collection of events in a novel or play, usually connected to the main plot | 53 | |
| 4305951237 | symbolism | The use of one object to evoke ideas and associations not literally part of the original object | 54 | |
| 4305951238 | syntax | Sentence structure or word order. The organization of language into meaningful structure; every sentence has a particular pattern of words. | 55 | |
| 4305967621 | tone | The author's attitude toward the subject being written about. The spirit or quality that is the work's emotional essence | 56 | |
| 4305951239 | tragic hero | A great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat. Tragic heroes have one flaw that usually leads to this downfall. | 57 | |
| 4305951897 | understatement | Figure of speech were literal sense is short of magnitude, the opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended. Example: "Deserts are sometimes hot, dry and sandy" | 58 |
