The following are words that one should be familiar with in order to hold an intelligent discussion about a literary text. _______________________________________________________________________________________
Allegory: a universal symbol or personified abstraction. Example: Death portrayed as a cloaked "grim reaper" with scythe and hourglass, or Justice depicted as a blindfolded figure with a sword and balances. Also a literary work or genre (e.g., John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress) that makes widespread use of such devices. Alliteration: the repetition of similar initial sounds, usually consonants, in a group of words. “Maggie and Millie, and Molly and May / Went down to the beach to play one day” e e cummings. Allusion: an indirect or oblique reference within a text to another text or work. Hence a subtle artistic quotation or homage. For example, the opening sentence of Cat's Cradle--"Call me Jonah"--alludes to both an Old Testament prophet and the opening line of Melville's Moby Dick. Ambiguity: something uncertain as to interpretation Anachronism: something that shows up in the wrong place or the wrong time. Example, the clock that strikes in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar—there were no clocks in that day. Analogy:a comparison made between two things to show the similarities between them Analysis: a method in which a work or idea is separated into its parts, and those parts given rigorous and detailed scrutiny
Anecdote: a very short story used to illustrate a point. Example: George Washington and the cherry tree, opening scenes of Seinfeld where Jerry does his stand-up routines usually contain an anecdote. Antagonist:a person or force opposing the protagonist in a drama or narrative Antihero: a protagonist who does not embody or exhibit the qualities of the traditional hero. An antihero may even be downright dishonest and petty. Examples, Sawyer from Lost, Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman, Alex from A Clockwork Orange. Antithesis: a balancing of one term against another for emphasis or stylistic effectiveness. “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” Dickens A Tale of Two Cities. Aphorism: a terse, pointed statement expressing some wise or clever observation about life. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” Shakespeare. Apologia: a defense or justification for some doctrine, piece of writing, cause, or action; also apology Apostrophe: a figure of speech in which an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something inanimate or nonhuman is addressed directly. “Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll!” Childe Harold by Lord Byron. Argumentation: the process of convincing a reader by proving either the truth or the falsity of an idea or proposition; also, the thesis or proposition itself Assonance: the repetition of similar vowel sounds within a line or succeeding lines of verse. Example: the short i and e sounds in Shakespeare's, Antony and Cleopatra: "then is it sin/ To rush into the secret house of death/ Ere death dare come to us?" Assumption:the act of supposing, or taking for granted that a thing is true Audience: the intended listener or listeners Autobiography: an author's own life history or memoir. Example: The Education of Henry Adams. Thoreau's Walden is also an example of autobiography, and Whitman's Leaves of Grass, though it is not specifically an autobiography, contains numerous autobiographical elements. Blank Verse: a verse form consisting of unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter. Shakespeare's plays are largely in blank verse. Characterization: the means by which a writer reveals a character’s personality Chiasmus: a reversal in the order off words so that the second half of a statement balances the first half in inverted word order. “Fair is foul and foul is fair” Macbeth. Cliché: a phrase or situation overused within society Climax: the decisive point in a narrative or drama; the point of greatest intensity or interest at which plot question is answered or resolved Colloquialism: folksy speech, slang words or phrases usually used in informal conversation Comedy: film or dramatic work depicting the uphill struggle and eventual success of a sympathetic hero or heroine; usually about ordinary people in difficult but non-life-threatening predicaments. Examples: Shakespeare's, As You Like It; Shaw's, Pygmalion.Conflict: struggle or problem in a story causing tension Connotation: implicit meaning, going beyond dictionary definition Consonance: repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in a line or succeeding lines of verse. Example: the r and s repetitions in Shakespeare's, A Midsummer Night's Dream: "Or, if there were a sympathy in choice/ War, death, or sickness did lay seige to it . . ." Contrast: a rhetorical device by which one element (idea or object) is thrown into opposition to another for the sake of emphasis or clarity Drama: a literary work designed for presentation by actors on a stage. Examples: Shakespeare's, The Merchant of Venice; Miller's, Death of a Salesman. Dialect: the language of a particular district, class or group of persons; the sounds, grammar, and diction employed by people distinguished from others. Dialectics: formal debates usually over the nature of truth. Diction: the style of speaking or writing as reflected in the choice and use of words. Elegy: a mournful, melancholy poem, especially a funeral song or lament for the dead, sometimes contains general reflections on death, often with a rural or pastoral setting. Epic: a long narrative poem usually about gods, heroes, and legendary events; celebrates the history, culture, and character of a people. Examples: Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Milton's Paradise Lost, Beowulf. Epics are divided into two categories-- Primary Epic (author is known) and Secondary Epic (unknown author) Epitaph: any brief inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone; a short formal poem of commemoration often a credo written by the person who wishes it to be on his tombstone. Epithet: a short, descriptive name or phrase that may insult someone’s character, characteristics Essay: literally a "trial," "test run," or "experiment" (from the French essayer, "to attempt"); hence a relatively short, informal piece of non-fiction prose that treats a topic of general interest in a seemingly casual, impressionistic, and lively way. Euphemism: the use of an indirect, mild or vague word or expression for one thought to be coarse, offensive, or blunt. Evocative (evocation): a calling forth of memories and sensations; the suggestion or production through artistry and imagination of a sense of reality. Exposition: beginning of a story that sets forth facts, ideas, and/or characters, in a detailed explanation. Expressionism: movement in art, literature, and music consisting of unrealistic representation of an inner idea or feeling(s). Fable: a short, simple story, usually with animals as characters, designed to teach a moral truth. Fallacy: from Latin word “to deceive”, a false or misleading notion, belief, or argument; any kind of erroneous reasoning that makes arguments unsound. Falling Action: part of the narrative or drama after the climax. Flashback: a narrative device that flashes back to prior events. Foil: a person or thing that, by contrast, makes another seem better or more prominent.. Folk Tale: story passed on by word of mouth. Foreshadowing: in fiction and drama, a device to prepare the reader for the outcome of the action; “planning” to make the outcome convincing, though not to give it away. Form: metaphorically, the "container" or "mold" of a work of art, as opposed to its material or contents; hence any of the structural patterns or organizing principles that underlie and shape a work. Forms can be traditional and very rigid and specific--e.g., the sonnet in poetry, the sonata in classical music--or vague and flexible, as in most modern works. Free Verse: verse without conventional metrical pattern, with irregular pattern or no rhyme. Genre: a collective grouping or general category of literary works; a large class or group that consists of individual works of literature that share common attributes (e.g., similar themes, characters, plots, or styles). Examples: drama, epic, lyric poem, novel, etc. Hyperbole: an exaggerated statement often used as a figure of speech or to prove a point. “I am so hungry I could eat a horse.” Iambic Pentameter: popular English verse form consisting of five metrical feet--with each foot consisting of an iamb (i.e., an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable: daDUM). Rhymed pairs of iambic pentameter are called heroic couplets (a form associated with Chaucer and Pope). Unrhymed iambic pentameter is called blank verse (a form associated with Shakespeare and Milton). Imagery: a word or phrase in a literary text that appeals directly to the reader's taste, touch, hearing, sight, or smell. An image is thus any vivid or picturesque phrase that evokes a particular sensation in the reader's mind. Irony: originally a deceptive form of understatement (from the Greek eiron, a stock comic character who typically equivocated, misled his listeners, or concealed complex meanings behind seemingly simple words); hence an attribute of statements in which the meaning is different--or more complicated--than it seems. A subtle form of sarcasm, verbal irony is a rhetorical device in which the speaker either severely understates his point or means the opposite of what he says (as when a guest politely describes a host's unimpressive wine as "nicely chilled" or a conspicuously dull person is described as "not a likely Mensa candidate." Dramatic irony arises in situations where two or more individuals have different levels of understanding or different points of view. More specifically, it occurs when the audience or certain characters in a play know something that another character does not--as when Oedipus, ignorant that he himself is the person he seeks, vows to track down Laius's killer. Interior Monologue: a form of writing which represents the inner thoughts of a character; the recording of the internal, emotional experience(s) of an individual; generally the reader is given the impression of overhearing the interior monologue. Juxtaposition: the intentional placement of a word, phrase, sentences of paragraph to contrast with another nearby. Lyric: a short, highly formal, song-like poem, usually passionate and confessional, often about love; a song expressing a private mood or an intense personal feeling. The sonnet and the ode are two specific types of lyric. Metaphor: an analogy that compare two different things imaginatively. Extended Metaphor: a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it. Controlling Metaphor: a metaphor that runs throughout the piece of work. Mixed Metaphor: a metaphor that ineffectively blends two or more analogies. Meter: the expected pattern or theoretical number and distribution of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of verse of a given type. For example, in iambic pentameter the prescribed pattern is da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM--five iambs.(See Rhythm.) Monologue: an extended speech by a character in a play, short story, novel, or narrative poem. Mood: the predominating atmosphere evoked by a literary piece. Motif: a recurring feature (name, image, or phrase) in a piece of literature. Myth: a story, often about immortals, and sometimes connected with religious rituals, that attempts to give meaning to the mysteries of the world. Narrative: a story or description of events. Narrator: one who narrates, or tells, a story. Novel: a long fictional narrative in prose, usually about the experiences of a central character. Novella: short story; short prose narrative, often satirical. Examples, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Chopin’s The Awakening. Ode: a classical lyric form, typically of medium length with complex stanzas and ornate prosodic effects. Ancient odes were usually written to commemorate ceremonial occasions such as anniversaries or funerals. The Romantic poets wrote odes in celebration of art, nature, or exalted states of mind. Omniscient Point of View: knowing all things, usually the third person. Onomatopoeia: literally "name poetry"; in verse, the use of words (e.g., clank, buzz, hiss, etc.) that imitate natural sounds. Oxymoron: a figure of speech in which two contradicting words or phrases are combined to produce a rhetorical effect by means of a concise paradox. Paradox: a statement apparently self-contradictory or absurd but really containing a possible truth; an opinion contrary to generally accepted ideas. “I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now” Bob Dylan Parallelism: the principle in sentence structure that states elements of equal function should have equal form. Parody: a literary or artistic work that mimics in an absurd of ridiculous way the conventions and style of another work. Also known as travesty, lampoon, or burlesque. Personification: a figure of speech attributing human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract ideas. Plot: in narrative or dramatic works the sequence of events or episodes that link up to provide a sense of unified action Poignant: eliciting sorrow or sentiment. Point of View: the attitude unifying any oral or written argumentation; in description, the physical point from which the observer views what he is describing. Prose: the ordinary form of spoken and written language; language that does not have a regular rhyme pattern. Protagonist:the central character in a work of fiction; opposes antagonist. Pun: play on words; the humorous use of a word emphasizing different meanings or applications. Purpose: the intended result wished by an author. Refrain: a phrase or verse recurring at intervals in a poem or song; chorus. Resolution: point in a literary work at which the chief dramatic complication is worked out; denouement. Rhetoric: use of language, both written and verbal in order to persuade. Rhetorical Question: question suggesting its own answer or not requiring an answer; used in argument or persuasion. Rhyme: the use of the same or similar sounds either internally or at the ends of lines in order to produce an audible echo effect; when this effect is regularly repeated over the course of a poem or stanza and obeys a precise and predictable formal pattern, it is called a rhyme scheme. To avoid rhyming notes that are too blatant or insistent, modern poets sometimes use near rhyme (e.g., bald, cold; brim, stream), which produces a subtler musical effect. Rhythm: the actual number and distribution of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of verse of a given type when it is naturally spoken. Rising Action: plot build-up, caused by conflict and complications, advancement towards climax. Romance: a literary genre typically involving fantastic or perilous adventures. Medieval verse romances were usually about knights and ladies, sorcerers and dragons, daring deeds, and secret love. Example: the tales of King Arthur and his knights. Satire: a genre or mode that exposes and ridicules human vice and folly. Its characters are usually braggarts, bullies, shady tricksters, and scalawags--often detestable and seldom commendable or sympathetic. Examples: Swift's Gulliver's Travels; Orwell's Animal Farm. Setting: the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem occur. Simile: a figure of speech comparing two essentially unlike things through the use of a specific word of comparison. Soliloquy: an extended speech, usually in a drama, delivered by a character alone on stage. “To Be or Not To Be” or “O What a Rogue and Peasant Slave Am I” from Hamlet Sonnet: a lyric form consisting of fourteen lines of iambic pentameter and exhibiting a regular rhyme scheme. Example: Bryant's "Sonnet--To an American Painter Departing for Europe." Two major sonnet divisions are the English or Shakespearean Sonnet and the Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet. Speaker: a narrator, the one speaking in the text. Style: the manner of putting thoughts into words; a characteristic way of writing or speaking. Symbolism: the systematic use of recurrent symbols or images in a work to create an added level of meaning. Theme: a controlling idea or a subject for philosophical reflection in a literary work. Themes can be mythical and archetypal (e.g., the fall of man, symbolic death and rebirth, a quest for knowledge) or moral and psychological (passion vs. reason, the futility of anger, the vanity of selfishness, the need for love, etc.). Thus the same themes can be found in works by different authors in different eras in a variety of genres and styles. Tragedy: drama or film portraying the doomed struggle and eventual downfall of an admirable but flawed hero. Usually about powerful leaders or extraordinary individuals torn between opposing goals or difficult choices. Victorian Literature: Victorian novels tend to be idealized portraits of difficult lives in which hard work, perseverance, love and luck win out in the end; virtue would be rewarded and wrongdoers are suitably punished. They tended to be of an improving nature with a central moral lesson at heart. While this formula was the basis for much of earlier Victorian fiction, the situation became more complex as the century progressed. Examples: Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss.