Terms : Hide Images
| 7300357803 | allegory | a literary work in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions | 0 | |
| 7300357804 | alliteration | the repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words | 1 | |
| 7300358384 | allusion | a reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize | 2 | |
| 7300360215 | analogy | a comparison of two different things that are similar in some way | 3 | |
| 7300361098 | anaphora | the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences | 4 | |
| 7300361099 | anecdote | a brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event | 5 | |
| 7300364426 | antecedent | the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers | 6 | |
| 7300364427 | aphorism | a concise statement that expresses succinctly a general truth or idea, often using rhyme or balance | 7 | |
| 7300366567 | apostrophe | a figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction | 8 | |
| 7300366568 | archetype | a detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response | 9 | |
| 7300367230 | argument | a statement of the meaning or main point of a literary work | 10 | |
| 7305314452 | chiasmus | a statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed ("Susan walked in, and out rushed Mary") | 11 | |
| 7305314453 | cliche | an expression that has been overused to the extent that its freshness has worn off | 12 | |
| 7305314454 | climax | the point of highest interest in a literary work | 13 | |
| 7305318245 | conceit | a fanciful, particularly clever extended metaphor | 14 | |
| 7305318246 | denotation | the literal meaning of a word | 15 | |
| 7305318826 | dialect | a variety of speech characterized by its own particular grammar or pronunciation, often associated with a particular geographical region | 16 | |
| 7305321349 | diction | the word choices made by a writer | 17 | |
| 7305321350 | dissonance | harsh, inharmonious, or discordant sounds | 18 | |
| 7305321351 | elegy | a formal poem presenting a meditation on death or another solemn theme | 19 | |
| 7305326591 | ellipsis | the omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the context ("Some people prefer cats; others, dogs"). | 20 | |
| 7305326592 | epic | a long narrative poem written in elevated style which presents the adventures of characters of high position and episodes that are important to the history of a race or nation | 21 | |
| 7305326593 | epigram | a brief, pithy, and often paradoxical saying | 22 | |
| 7305329952 | epigraph | a saying or statement on the title page of a work, or used as a heading for a chapter or other section of a work | 23 | |
| 7305329953 | epiphany | a moment of sudden revelation or insight | 24 | |
| 7305330695 | epitaph | an inscription on a tombstone or burial place | 25 | |
| 7305334135 | epithet | a term used to point out a characteristic of a person. Homeric epithets are often compound adjectives ("swift-footed Achilles") that become an almost formulaic part of a name. Epithets can be abusive or offensive but are not so by definition. For example, athletes may be proud of their given epithets ("The Rocket"). | 26 | |
| 7305334136 | eulogy | a formal speech praising a person who has died | 27 | |
| 7305335070 | euphemism | an indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant | 28 | |
| 7305335071 | expletive | an interjection to lend emphasis; sometimes, a profanity | 29 | |
| 7305353529 | fable | a brief story that leads to a moral, often using animals as characters | 30 | |
| 7305353530 | fantasy | a story that concerns an unreal world or contains unreal characters; a fantasy may be merely whimsical, or it may present a serious point | 31 | |
| 7305353531 | flat character | a character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of a story | 32 | |
| 7305356470 | foreshadowing | the presentation of material in such a way that the reader is prepared for what is to come later in the work | 33 | |
| 7305356471 | frame device | a story within a story. An example is Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, in which the primary tales are told within the "frame story" of the pilgrimage to Canterbury | 34 | |
| 7305356472 | genre | a major category or type of literature | 35 | |
| 7305360412 | homily | a sermon, or a moralistic lecture | 36 | |
| 7305360413 | hubris | excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy | 37 | |
| 7305360414 | hyperbole | intentional exaggeration to create an effect | 38 | |
| 7305363206 | hypothetical question | a question that raises a hypothesis, conjecture, or supposition | 39 | |
| 7305363207 | idiom | an expression in a given language that cannot be understood from the literal meaning of the words in the expression; or, a regional speech or dialect | 40 | |
| 7305363208 | imagery | the use of figures of speech to create vivid images that appeal to one of the senses | 41 | |
| 7421751007 | invective | an intensely vehement, highly emotional verbal attack | 42 | |
| 7421751008 | irony | the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; or, incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs | 43 | |
| 9557569140 | jargon | the specialized language or vocabulary of a particular group or profession | 44 | |
| 9557569141 | juxtaposition | placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast | 45 | |
| 9557582005 | limerick | light verse consisting of five lines of regular rhythm in which the first, second, and fifth lines (each consisting of three feet) rhyme, and the second and third lines (each consisting of two feet) rhyme | 46 | |
| 9557585228 | limited narrator | a narrator who presents the story as it is seen and understood by a single character and restricts information to what is seen, heard, felt, or thought by that one character | 47 | |
| 9557625687 | litotes | a type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite (describing a horrific scene by saying, "it was not a pretty picture") | 48 | |
| 9557644084 | malapropism | the mistaken substitution of one word for another word that sounds similar ("the doctor wrote a subscription") | 49 | |
| 9557656777 | maxim | a concise statement, often offering advice; an adage | 50 | |
| 9557665718 | metaphor | a direct comparison of two different things | 51 | |
| 9557665719 | metonymy | substituting the name of one object for another object closely associated with it ("the pen [writing] is mightier than the sword [war/fighting]") | 52 | |
| 9557685472 | mood | the emotional atmosphere of a work | 53 | |
| 9557685473 | motif | a standard theme, element, or dramatic situation that recurs in various works non sequitir- an inference that does not follow logically from the premises (literally, "does not follow) | 54 | |
| 9557704445 | non sequitir | an inference that does not follow logically from the premises (literally, "does not follow") | 55 | |
| 9557719875 | omniscient narrator | a narrator who is able to know, see, and tell all, including the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters | 56 | |
| 9557728864 | onomatopoeia | a word formed from the imitation of sounds | 57 | |
| 9557736905 | oxymoron | an expression in which two words that contradict each other are joined | 58 | |
| 9557746859 | parable | a simple story that illustrates a moral or religious lesson | 59 | |
| 9557751258 | paradox | an apparently contradictory statement that usually contains some truth | 60 | |
| 9557758197 | parallelism | the use of corresponding grammatical or syntactical forms | 61 | |
| 9557767603 | paraphrase | a restatement of a text in a different form or in different words, often for the purpose of clarity | 62 | |
| 9557778199 | parody | a humorous imitation of a serious work | 63 | |
| 9557783410 | parenthetical | a comment that interrupts the immediate subject, often to qualify or explain | 64 | |
| 9557791469 | pathos | the quality in a work that prompts the reader to feel pity | 65 | |
| 9557826855 | personification | endowing non-human objects or creatures with human qualities or characteristics | 66 | |
| 9557837738 | philippic | a strong verbal denunciation. the term comes from the orations of Demosthenes against Philip of Macedonia in the 4th century | 67 | |
| 9557890851 | romantic | a term describing a character or literary work that reflects the characteristics of Romanticism, the literary movement beginning in the late 18th century that stressed emotion, imagination, and idividualism | 68 | |
| 9557907325 | satire | the use of humor to emphasize human weaknesses or imperfections in social institutions | 69 | |
| 9557922857 | setting | the time, place, and environment in which action takes place | 70 | |
| 9557937742 | simile | a comparison of two things using "like" or "as" | 71 | |
| 9557940776 | simple sentence | a sentence consisting of one independent clause and no dependent clause | 72 | |
| 9557948414 | structure | the arrangement or framework of a sentence, paragraph, or entire work | 73 | |
| 9557955945 | style | the choices a writer makes; the combination of distinctive features of a literary work | 74 | |
| 9557962255 | surrealism | an artistic movement emphasizing the imagination and characterized by incongruous juxtapositions and lack of a conscious control | 75 | |
| 9557972856 | synecdoche | using one part of an object to represents the entire object (referring to a car as "wheels") | 76 | |
| 9557982071 | syntax | the manner in which words are arranged into sentences | 77 | |
| 9557987192 | theme | a central idea of a work | 78 | |
| 9557987193 | thesis | the primary position taken by a writer or speaker | 79 | |
| 9557993225 | tone | the attitude of a writer, usually implied, toward the subject or audience | 80 | |
| 9558000894 | tragedy | a work in which the protagonist, a person of high degree, is engaged in a significant struggle and which ends in ruin or destruction | 81 |
