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Allegory

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a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one Ex. Animal Farm by George Orwell is a political allegory of events in Russia and Communism.

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Alliteration

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the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. Ex. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers

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Allusion

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a reference to another work of literature, person, or event Ex. "He was a real Romeo with the ladies." Romeo was a character in Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, and was very romantic in expressing his love for Juliet.

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Analogy

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a comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification. Ex. "The relationship between them began to thaw. This means that the relationship was changing."

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Anastrophe

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inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence. Purpose is rhythm or emphasis or euphony. It is a fancy word for inversion Ex. How Yoda speaks.. "Powerful you have become; the dark side I sense in you"

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Animism

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belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life

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Aphorism

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a brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life. Ex. "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." or "Give a man a fish and he eats for one night. Teach him how and he eats for life"

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Apostrophe

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a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love Ex. "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky." This nursery rhyme from 'The Star', written by Jane Taylor, is a child's address to a star. Talking to a star being an imaginary idea, this rhyme makes for a classic example of an Apostrophe.

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Archetype

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an archetype is a typical character, an action or a situation that seems to represent such universal patterns of human nature Ex. The Hero, the Villain, Battle of Good and Evil

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Assonance

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repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity Ex. "the engineer held the steering to steer the vehicle"

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Cacophony

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a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds Ex. "His fingers rapped and pounded the door, and his foot thumped against the yellowing wood"

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Caesura

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a natural pause, a break in a line of poetry, usually indicated by a punctuation mark. Ex. "When will the bell ring, and end this weariness?"

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Characterization

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actions, dialogue, and narrative description that reveal a sense of a character's personality to the reader Ex. "Characterizing a rich man: He chortled heartily before deeply puffing on his high end Cuban cigar, briefly glancing at his Rolex. He announced his driver would arrive at any moment, then tossed back the rest of his high end scotch."

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Conflict

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a struggle between the protagonist and another character against nature or some outside force Ex. Man v. Man, Man v. Nature, Hero v. Villain

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Connotation

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all the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests Ex. Childish and childlike implies that someone is immature, but youthful infers that someone is lively and energetic

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Consonance

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refers to repetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase Ex. She ate seven sandwiches on a sunny Sunday last year

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Denotation

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literal meaning of a word (dictionary definition) Ex. The dictionary definition of dove is "a type of pigeon, a wild and domesticated bird having a heavy body and short legs." In literature, however, you frequently see "dove" referred to as a symbol of peace.

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Diction

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a speaker or writer's choice of words (formal, informal, colloquial, full of slang, poetic, ornate, plain, abstract, concrete, etc.) Ex. "Could you be so kind as to pass me the milk?" Vs. "Give me that!"

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Emulation

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effort or desire to equal or excel others Ex. A little boy trying to be like his father

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Epilogue

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A short poem or speech spoken directly to the audience following the conclusion of a play, or in a novel the epilogue is a short explanation at the end of the book which indicates what happens after the plot ends Ex. The epilogue to Animal Farm is chapter 10. The epilogue presents the situation of the Manor Farm after many years have passed, describing the fate of the characters who participated in the revolution

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Epithet

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a descriptive literary device that describes a place, a thing or a person in such a way that it helps in making the characteristics of a person, thing or place more prominent than they actually are Ex. "Alexander the Great" is the epithet commonly used to refer to Alexander III of Macedon

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Euphemism

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a polite or vague word or phrase used to replace another word or phrase that is thought of as too direct or rude Ex. Passed away instead of died

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Fable

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a brief story with a moral; often uses animals that act and speak like human beings Ex. The tortoise and the hare

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Faulty Parallelism

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occurs when the elements put into pairs and series "go in different directions" because they do not have the same form Ex. It was both a long ceremony and very tedious (Correction: The ceremony was both long and tedious)

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Figurative Language

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language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling Ex. "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" or "I told you a million times"

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Flashback

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a scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time Ex. When he bought his first car he had a flashback of when he got his driver's license

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Foil

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a character who acts as a contrast to another character (usually the protagonist) in order to highlight particular qualities of the other character Ex. Scar and Mufasa in the Lion King

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Foreshadowing

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a narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader Ex. Fitzgerald foreshadow's the death of Myrtle by mentioning automobiles and their careless drivers throughout the book

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Hyperbole

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purposeful exaggeration for effect Ex. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse

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Imagery

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language that appeals to the senses Ex. The music coursed through us, shaking our bodies as if it came from within us

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Internal Rhyme

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a word inside a line rhymes with another word on the same line Ex. I went to town to buy a gown. / I took the car and it wasn't far

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Inversion

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the reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase Ex. Yoda's speech

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Irony

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an unexpected twist or contrast between what happens and what was intended or expected to happen. It involves dialogue and situation, and it can be intentional or unplanned. Dramatic irony centers around the ignorance of those involved while the audience is aware of the circumstance Ex. The Titanic was promoted as being 100% unsinkable; but, in 1912 the ship sank on its maiden voyage

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Juxtaposition

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placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts Ex. Weakness and strength; young and old

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Kennings

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metaphorical phrases or compound words used to name a person, place, things or event indirectly Ex. Book work (someone who reads a lot)

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Malapropism

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the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar Ex. I have no delusions to the past. (allusions)

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Metaphor

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a comparison that establishes a figurative identity between objects being compared Ex. Laughter is the music of the soul

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Motif

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a principal idea, feature, theme, or element; a repeated or dominant figure in a design Ex. In Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" recurrent images of gloomy and haunted settings, supernatural events, full moon etc

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Mood

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feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader Ex. After the dramatic death of the protagonist the reader was left feeling mournful

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Nemesis

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a long-standing rival; an archenemy Ex. Batman's nemesis is The Joker

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Onomatopoeia

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a word that imitates the sound it represents Ex. Crash, pop, bang

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Oxymoron

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a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase Ex. Jumbo Shrimp or Act naturally

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Paradox

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a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. Ex. "I can resist anything but temptation."-Oscar Wilde

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Periodic Structure

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a sentence in which the main clause or predicate is withheld until the end. Ex. Despite the heavy winds and nearly impenetrable ground fog, they landed safely.

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Personification

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a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes Ex. The leaves danced in the breeze

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Point of View

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the perspective from which a story is told Ex. First person POV, Second person POV, and third person POV

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Plot

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a series of related events in a story, each connected to the next Ex. The plot of of the Great Gatsby was Gatsby's struggle to obtain his dream of being with Daisy

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Prologue

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a speech, passage, or event coming before the main speech or event Ex. the book is introduced in the prologue

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Puns

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a play on words Ex. Santa's helpers are known as subordinate Clauses

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Rhyme Scheme

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a regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem Ex. Twinkle twinkle little star song

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Rhythm

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correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry Ex. White founts falling in the Courts of the sun

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Rhyme

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repetition of sounds at the end of words Ex. "Twinkle, twinkle little star How I wonder what you are"

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Satire

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a work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. It doesn't simply abuse (as in invective) or get personal (as in sarcasm). It targets groups or large concepts rather than individuals. Ex. Most political cartoons in newspapers and magazines

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Setting

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the context in time and place in which the action of a story occurs Ex. In the Hunger Games the setting was a dystopian country called Panem

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Simile

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a comparison using like or as Ex. fast like a cheetah

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Stanza

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a group of lines in a poem Ex. a couplet poem

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Stream of Consciousness

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literary style in which a character's thoughts, feelings, and reactions are depicted in a continuous flow uninterrupted by objective description or conventional dialogue Ex. He is young Leopold, as in a retrospective arrangement, a mirror within a mirror (hey, presto!), he beholdeth himself. That young figure of then is seen, precious manly, walking on a nipping morning from the old house in Clambrassil to the high school, his book satchel on him bandolier wise, and in it a goodly hunk of wheaten loaf, a mother's thought."

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Symbol

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a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract Ex. The green light in The Great Gatsby symbolizes Gatsby's dream

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Synecdoche

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a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole Ex. the law for a police officer, the words suits refers to businessmen, all hands on deck

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Syntax

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the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language; sentence structure and grammar rules Ex. "The car was parked in an alley"

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Theme

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central idea of a work of literature Ex. The theme of the Great Gatsby was the corruption in America during the 1920s

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Tone

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a writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels Ex. Can someone tell me what the heck is going on here?" This has an aggressive tone.

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Tragedy

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a serious form of drama dealing with the downfall of a heroic or noble character Ex. Romeo and Juliet is a famous love story/tragedy. The main characters die at the end

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Understatement

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a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said; a statement which lessens or minimizes the importance of what is meant Ex. "It rained a bit more than usual" while describing an area being flooded after heavy rainfall.

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Verse

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a single line of poetry Ex. After the Sea-Ship—after the whistling wind (After the Sea-Ship by Walt Whitman)

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