aestheticism
|
19th-century European literary
movement advocating "art for art's sake"
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alexandrine
|
iambic hexameter verse
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allegory
|
narrative functioning as
extended metaphor; highly symbolic literary work
|
alliteration
|
close repetition of similar
consonant sounds
|
allusion
|
brief reference to a familiar
person or object
|
anachronism
|
something out of its proper
place or time
|
antagonist
|
major character opposing the
hero or protagonist
|
anti-hero
|
protagonist lacking qualities
traditionally associated with a hero
|
apostrophe
|
address to an absent character
or an inanimate object, or a digression
|
archetype
|
a standard pattern of plot or
character
|
argument
|
a brief plot synopsis prefixed
to a work
|
assonance
|
close repetition of similar
vowel sounds
|
ballad
|
a narrative poem originally
designed to be sung
|
bard
|
a poet
|
bibliography
|
a list of works consulted for
research
|
Bildungsroman
|
an initiation novel; centers on
the development of a character from youth to maturity
|
biography
|
an account of a person's life
|
black (or gallows)
humor
|
juxtaposition of grotesque and
humorous elements
|
blank verse
|
unrhymed iambic pentameter verse
|
burlesque
|
parody or satirical imitation
|
Byronic hero
|
a character who is passionate,
melancholic, rebellious, and often an exile
|
cacophony
|
a discordant sound effect used
as a poetic device
|
cadence
|
rhythmic flow of language
|
canon
|
an established body of writings
recognized as authentic
|
caricature
|
a description in which a
character's features are exaggerated or distorted for comic effect
|
carpe diem
|
"seize the day"; a common theme
of lyric poetry
|
catharsis
|
purgation of emotions
|
Cavalier poetry
|
17th-century English Royalist
poetry characterized by concise form and precise diction
|
Chaucerian stanza
(rhyme royal)
|
7-line iambic pentameter stanza
rhyming ababbcc
|
chivalric romance
|
medieval tales of courtly love
and chivalric adventure
|
classicism
|
literature characterized by
balanced form and unified theme, simplicity, and restraint
|
cliché
|
a trite expression
|
climax
|
moment of greatest intensity or
fullest development of the action
|
comedy of manners
|
witty comedy concerned with
aristocratic society |
comic relief
|
humorous element introduced into
a tragedy, often to relieve dramatic tension
|
commedia dell'arte
|
16th-century Italian masked
comedy revolving around stock characters and plots
|
conceit
|
an elaborate, extended
comparison, often between apparently dissimilar objects
|
conflict
|
a clash, or opposition of two
characters
|
connotation
|
a word's implied meaning
|
consonance
|
close repetition of identical
consonant sounds
|
convention
|
a generally accepted custom,
device, tradition, or form
|
couplet
|
two successive lines of verse,
usually rhymed
|
courtly love
|
secret, extramarital (and often,
though not always, platonic) love between a knight and a lady
|
crisis
|
a brief but crucial turning
point in the action leading up to a climax
|
débat
|
medieval argument or discussion
of a question
|
Decadence
|
period of decline
|
deconstruction
|
critical analysis of a text
following principles established by Jacques Derrida
|
denotation
|
the literal meaning of a word
|
denouement
|
final resolution of the plot
|
deus ex machina
|
resolution of the plot by the
appearance of a new character or a god
|
dialogue
|
exchange of conversation between
two or more characters
|
diction
|
word choice, use, and arrangement
|
didactic
|
instructive; often moral in scope
|
dissonance
|
cacophonous; discordant
|
doggerel
|
awkward, trivial, crudely
written verse, usually humorous
|
Doppelgänger
|
the Double; a character who is
the mirror-image of another character
|
drama
|
generally, any work written for
the stage; a serious play
|
dramatic monologue
|
a poem in which a single speaker
reveals his character and the situation, often to an implied audience
|
| dramatis personae |
the characters in a play
|
dream allegory
|
medieval poem centering on a
dream of allegorical significance
|
edition
|
total number of copies of a
publication issued at one time
|
elegy
|
a poem lamenting or praising the
dead
|
epic
|
an extended, formal narrative
poem, usually about the exploits of a hero
|
epic simile
|
an extended, elaborate simile
|
epigram
|
short, witty poem, often
satirical
|
epilogue
|
an afterword; in a fable, the
conclusion containing the moral of the story
|
epiphany
|
a revelation, usually spiritual
in nature
|
epistle
|
a letter
|
epistolary novel
|
a novel written in the form of a
letter or letters
|
epitaph
|
a poem expressing respect (or
sometimes disrespect) for the dead
|
epithet
|
a descriptive word or phrase
used to characterize a person or object
|
essay
|
a short prose composition
|
exposition
|
that part of a play which sets
the scene or provides necessary background information
|
fable
|
a brief tale which illustrates a
moral truth
|
fabliau
|
medieval short comic verse tale,
often bawdy
|
fairy tale
|
a short tale involving fantastic
creatures like fairies, elves, giants, witches, etc., usually ending
with good triumphing over evil
|
farce
|
comedy characterized by broad
humor, stereotypes, and slapstick action
|
fiction
|
prose narratives which are
wholly or partly imaginary
|
figurative language
|
language using figures of speech
(eg., metaphors, similes, epithets, etc.)
|
fin de siècle
|
"end of the century"; literature
characterized by religious confusion, fatalism, weariness
|
flat and round
characters
|
flat = simple, one-dimensional
characters; round = complex characters
|
folklore
|
traditions, beliefs, songs,
myths, and stories preserved and transmitted orally by the common
people of a culture
|
free verse
|
verse with no regular meter or
rhyme
|
Freytag's Pyramid
|
description of plot structure of
a typical five-act play: exposition, rising action, climax, falling
action, denouement
|
genre
|
literary type or category
|
Gothic novel
|
18th- and 19th-century novels
usually set in crumbling medieval castles, surrounded by an aura of
mystery and suspense, with damsels in distress, and often with
supernatural elements
|
Greek tragedy
|
acknowledged by many as the
origin of drama; Greek tragedy follows an established structure of
prologue, parodos, episodes, and exodos.
|
hero
|
traditionally, a character
embodying admirable traits
|
heroic couplet
|
a pair of rhymed iambic
pentameter lines of verse
|
Higher Criticism
|
application of the scientific
method to scriptural study; study of the genesis and historical milieu
of a work
|
hubris
|
pride; often the tragic flaw of
a hero of Greek tragedy
|
humours
|
fluids of the human body,
believed in the medieval and Renaissance periods to influence a
person's mental, physical, and moral character
|
hyperbole
|
exaggeration
|
idyll
|
a pastoral poem or prose piece
|
illusion
|
a quality of belief evoked by a
literary work
|
imagery
|
use of descriptive language
|
impressionism
|
a literary style that attempts
to create moods or impressions
|
incremental
repetition
|
repetition incorporating minute
but important changes of phrase
|
in media res
|
in the middle of things (or in
the middle of the action)
|
invective
|
violent denunciation, abusive
verbal attack
|
invocation
|
an appeal to the muse
|
irony
|
sarcastic discourse in which
meaning is contradictory to what is said
|
lament
|
a work expressing grief or
mourning
|
legitimate theater
|
spoken drama as opposed to
musical drama
|
linguistics
|
the scientific study of language
|
local color
|
description of a region used to
add interest to a narrative
|
lyric
|
a poem (usually of limited
length) expressing the thoughts and feelings of the speaker
|
malapropism
|
misuse of words; substituting
for one word another similar in sound but different in meaning
|
marginalia
|
commentary written in the margin
of a text
|
masque
|
17th-century English dramatic
performance elaborately staged; masquerade
|
melodrama
|
drama displaying extravagant
emotions and sensationalized plot elements
|
metaphor
|
comparison in which one object
is likened to another by identification or substitution
|
meter
|
pattern of stressed and
unstressed syllables in verse; measured rhythm
|
mimesis
|
imitation
|
miracle play
|
medieval English religious drama
revolving around the lives of saints, miracles, and/or scriptural
stories
|
morality play
|
late medieval and Renaissance
allegorical drama involving the struggle between good and evil over
man's soul
|
motif
|
a recurrent theme, character, or
pattern in literature
|
motivation
|
combination of elements inciting
the actions of a character
|
mystery play
|
religious dramatizations of
stories taken from scripture; in England, analogous to miracle play
|
myth
|
traditional tale, usually
focusing on the deeds of gods and heroes or attempting to explain
natural phenomena
|
novel
|
a lengthy fictional prose
narrative
|
novelette
|
a short fictional prose narrative
|
novella
|
a short prose tale; often
analogous to novelette
|
ode
|
a lyric poem usually serious in
tone, lofty in style, and tributary in subject
|
onomatopoeia
|
use of words to imitate sounds
(example = clang, bowwow, plink, whoosh, etc.)
|
oxymoron
|
use of contradictory words to
express an apparent paradox (example = jumbo shrimp, pretty ugly, etc.)
|
palindrome
|
a word or sentence that reads
the same backward or forward (example = "Able was I ere I saw Elba,"
attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte upon his exile)
|
pantomime
|
18th-century English theatrical
entertainment acted out in song and dance
|
parable
|
a short, simple story conveying
a moral lesson
|
paradox
|
a statement apparently absurd or
self-contradictory but containing a basis of truth
|
| parallelism |
presentation of ideas using
similar grammatical constructions
|
paraphrase
|
a restatement of the meaning of
a passage in different words
|
pastoral
|
literature concerning country
life or rural themes |
personification
|
assigning human qualities to
inanimate objects or abstract concepts
|
play
|
a dramatized story intended to
be performed by actors on a stage
|
plot
|
the action or progression of
incidents in a narrative or play
|
poem
|
a composition in verse
|
poetic justice
|
the ideal that evil is punished
and good is rewarded
|
poetic license
|
the liberty to depart from fact
for artistic effect
|
poet laureate
|
title bestowed (traditionally by
the British monarch, though other countries have adopted the title) to
signify the recipient as the official poet of the realm
|
poetry
|
the art or craft of writing poems
|
point of view
|
perspective from which a story
is told or seen
|
preface
|
a brief introduction to a work
|
prologue
|
the opening part of a longer
work, sometimes used to introduce situations, characters, or themes
|
prose
|
literary expression lacking
metrical structure
|
prosody
|
the study of poetical forms
|
| protagonist |
the main character
|
proverb
|
a short saying, often morally
instructive in intent
|
pun
|
humorous use of a word with two
different, often incongruous, meanings, or use of a word pronounced
and/or spelled similarly to the word intended but having different
meaning
|
realism
|
depiction of life as it is lived
|
refrain
|
a line or lines of verse
repeated intermittently throughout a poem
|
repetition
|
the reappearance of words,
lines, characters, actions, themes, patterns, etc. in a literary work
|
rhetoric
|
the rules or principles
governing the use of language in writing and/or speaking
|
rhyme
|
repetition of sounds at regular
intervals in verse
|
rhythm
|
repetition of accents, stress,
or beat in verse to create a pattern
|
romance
|
a fictitious narrative about
love and adventure
|
romanticism
|
belief in the natural goodness
of mankind; exaltation of emotions and individualism
|
saga
|
medieval Scandinavian or
Icelandic narrative about the legendary exploits of a famous hero
|
sarcasm
|
contemptuous expression, bitter
irony
|
satire
|
ridicule; a work intended to
expose abuses, vices, or folly using humor
|
scansion
|
the analysis of the metrical
patterns of verse
|
scene
|
a division of an act of a play;
setting; the place where the action occurs
|
science fiction
|
fiction employing scientific
facts or theories
|
semantics
|
the study of the meanings of
words
|
sentimentality
|
a writer's appeal to and/or
manipulation of the reader's feelings or emotions over reason
|
short story
|
a prose narrative shorter than a
novelette
|
simile
|
a comparison of two dissimilar
objects or ideas using the words like
or as
|
soliloquy
|
the speech of a character alone
onstage; a monologue
|
song
|
can refer to any poem, but
usually refers to a poem intended to be set to music
|
sonnet
|
a poem usually containing
fourteen lines, regular meter, and a complicated rhyme scheme, and
presenting two phases of a single thought or idea
|
stanza
|
a group of poetic lines which
make up a division of a poem
|
stream of
consciousness
|
literary depiction of thoughts
and emotions as they flow through a character's mind; interior monologue
|
symbol
|
something that represents
something else
|
theme
|
the central idea or subject of a
work
|
thesis
|
a proposition or premise
|
tone
|
the mood or attitude of a work
|
tragedy
|
drama in which the protagonist
is brought to disaster by a flaw in his own character or by social or
psychological forces
|
tragicomedy
|
drama in which tragic and comic
scenes are intermingled
|
unities
|
harmonious agreement of parts to
the whole; Aristotle identified the three unities of drama to be time,
place, and action
|
verse
|
lines arranged in metrical
patterns; poetry
|