| Abstract Language | | repetition of identical consonant sounds before and after different vowel words (ex: fulfill or Ping-Pong) |
| Ad hominem | | an element in literature that conveys a realistic portrayal of a specific geographical locale, using the locale and its influences as a major part of the plot |
| Allegory | | reference to another famous work or figure that is assumed to be well-known enough to be recognized |
| Alliteration | | an event, object, custom, person, or thing that is out of order in time. (ex: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court) |
| Allusion | | a brief tale used in medieval times to illustrate a sermon or teach a lesson |
| Ambiguity | | a work that ridicules the style of another work by imitating and exaggerating its elements |
| Anachronism | | short tale that teaches a moral; similar to but shorter than an allegory |
| Analogy | | harsh, awkward,or dissonant sounds used DELIBERATELY. |
| Anaphora | | the demand made that the reader accept the incidents recounted in the literary work |
| Anecdote | | emotional attitude of a work |
| Aphorism | | a short descriptive narrative, usually a poem, about an idealized country life. |
| Apostrophe | | reversing the customary order of elements in a sentence or phrase: it is used effectively in many cases (ex: Are you going to the store? To the store, are you going? |
| Assonance | | a narrator, referred to as I, reveals their actions/thoughts |
| Antithesis | | the repetition of vowel sounds between different consonants, such as in neigh/fade |
| Cacophony | | qualities of a fictional or nonfictional work that evoke sorrow or pity. Over emotionalism can be the result of an excess of pathos |
| Colloquialism | | the use of symbols or anything that is meant to be taken both literally and as representative of higher and more complex significance |
| Conceit | | an event/situation that may be interpreted in more than one way. |
| Connotation | | word/phrase used in everyday language that is INAPPROPRIATE in FORMAL writing |
| Consonance | | sentence that begins by stating what is not true, then ending by stating what is true |
| Conundrum | | A comparison of TWO SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT things, usually to clarify an action or a relationship. (ex: a heart to a pump) |
| Denotation | | third person narrator who only reports what would be visible to a camera; thoughts, feelings only revealed if a character speaks of them |
| Didactic | | a literary, artistic, and philosophical movement that began in the 18th century as a reaction to neoclassicism; the focal points of the movement are imagination, emotion, and freedom, stressing subjectivity, individuality, the love and worship of nature, and a fascination with the past. |
| Dissonance | | a third-person narrator who reports the thoughts of only one character |
| Epigram | | a sentence that is not grammatically complete until its last phrase |
| Epigraph | | technique of arranging words, phrases, clauses, or larger structures by placing them side by side and making them similar in form |
| Euphony | | a figure of speech that uses the name of an object, person, or idea to represent something with which it is associated. (ex: "the crown" to refer to the monarch) |
| Exemplum | | places reader inside the character's head, making the reader privy to the continuous flow of disconnected, half- formed thoughts and impressions in the character's mind |
| Freight Train | | contradictory words or phrases (ex: wise fool) |
| Hubris | | sentence consisting of three or more very short independent clauses joined by conjunctions |
| Hyperbole | | a succession of harmonious sounds used in poetry or prose |
| Idyll | | "against the man" writer attacks opponents rather than the arguement |
| Interior Monologue | | a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun; may also be a paradox or difficult problem |
| Inversion | | sentence consisting of three parts of equal importance and length, usually three independent clauses |
| Loose Sentence | | a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent a whole. |
| Metonymy | | a short, simple narrative of an incident; often used for humorous effect to make a point |
| Mood | | term used to describe fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking |
| Motif | | writing that records the conversation that occurs inside a character's head |
| Negative positive | | a short, often witty statement of a principle or a truth of life |
| Objectivity | | an elaborate figure of speech- two seemingly DISSIMILAR things/situations are compared |
| Oxymoron | | an impersonal presentation of events and characters |
| Parable | | the excessive pride or ambition that leads a tragic hero to disregard warnings of impending doom. |
| Paradox | | a work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. |
| Parallelism | | literal meaning of a word as defined |
| Parody | | a balancing of two opposite/contrasting words, phrases, or clauses |
| Pathos | | language describing ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people, or places. |
| Periodic Sentence | | the way a written work conveys an author's attitude |
| P.O.V. first person narrative | | a statement that seems to contradict it but that turns out to have a rational meaning. |
| P.O.V. stream of consciousness | | sentence that is grammatically complete before its end. |
| P.O.V. omniscient | | device of calling out to a imaginary, dead, or absent person or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction |
| P.O.V. objective | | a witty saying that either stands alone or is part of a larger work |
| Realism | | harsh or grating sounds that do not go together |
| Regionalism | | main theme or subject of a work that is elaborated on in the development of the piece; a repeated pattern or idea |
| Romanticism | | an extended narrative (in prose or verse) in which characters, events, and setting represent abstract qualities intends a second meaning |
| Satire | | specific type of repetition, word, phrase, or clause repeated at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. |
| Suspension of Disbelief | | repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are close together. (ex: beautiful blossoms blooming between the bushes) |
| Symbolism | | deliberate exaggeration in order to create humor or emphasis |
| Synecdoche | | 19th century literary movement in Europe and the United States that stressed accuracy in the portrayal of life, focusing on characters with whom middle-class readers could easily identify |
| Tricolon | | implied/suggested meaning of a word because of its association in reader's mind |
| Voice | | a quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of theme |
