| A | B |
|---|
| allegory | a story in which the character, settings, and events stand for abstract or moral concepts |
| alliteration | the repetition of consonant sounds in words that are close to one another |
| allusion | a reference to material in another piece of literature, history, myth or other media |
| analogy | a comparison of two thing to show that they are alike in certain respects |
| archetype | the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies |
| assonance | the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonants in words that are close together |
| character | the process by which an author reveals the personality of an individual in a story or play |
| comedy | a story that ends happily |
| conflict | a struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions |
| connotation | all the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests |
| consonance | the final consonant sounds after different vowel sounds |
| couplet | two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme |
| denotation | the literal, dictionary definition of a word |
| epic | a long narrative poem that relates the great deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a particular society |
| genre | category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content |
| gothic | literary works that contain primitive, medieval, wild, mysterious, or natural elements |
| hyperbole | figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion |
| idyll | a simple descriptive work in poetry or prose that deals with rustic life or pastoral scenes or suggests a mood of peace and contentment |
| irony | an outcome opposite or contrary to what is expected |
| litotes | extreme understatement to produce an opposite effect from what is stated |
| metaphor | figure of speech that compare two dissimilar things |
| metonymy | figure of speech in which something closely related to a thing or suggested by it is substituted for the thing itself |
| mood | the 'atmosphere' or feeling produced by a literary work |
| motif | a word, character, object, image, metaphor or idea that recurs in a work |
| myth | an anonymous traditional story that usually serves to explain a belief or custom |
| ode | a complex, generally long lyric poem on a serious subject |
| parody | the imitation of a work of literature, are, or music for amusement or instruction |
| pastoral | a type of poem that depicts rustic life in idyllic, idealized terms |
| pathetic fallacy | the ascription of human traits or feelings to inanimate nature |
| persona | a character assumed by an author in a written work |
| refrain | a repeated word, phrase, line, or group of lines |
| romantic | literature consisting of the imaginative or emotional appeal of what is heroic, adventurous, remote, mysterious, or idealized |
| scansion | the analysis of verse to show its meter |
| simile | figure of speech that makes a comparison using like, as, than, or resembles |
| sonnet | fourteen-line lyric poem that has one of several rhyme schemes |
| stanza | a group of consecutive lines in a poem that form a single unit |
| symbolism | the representation of an idea by an object, person, or place |
| synecdoche | a figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole |
| theme | the central idea or insight of a work of literature |
| tone | the attitude a writer takes toward his audience |
| tragedy | a story in which the major characters come to an unhappy ending |
| kenning | an imaginative compound used in place of an ordinary noun |
| epiphany | a moment of sudden insight |
| foil | a character whose attributes contrast another for emphasis |
| protagonist | main character, a central figure in a literary work |
| antagonist | a character pitted against a protagonist |
| satire | humorous writing or speech intended to point out errors, falsehoods, or failings |
| elegy | a long formal poem about death or loss |
| epithet | a characteristic word or phrase used alongside the name of a person, place, or thing |
| ballad | a simple narrative poem in four-line stanzas, usually meant to be sung |
| sarcasm | a form of criticism in which disapproval is expressed as ironic praise |
| pun | a play on words, one that exploits a double meaning |
| caesura | a major pause of a line of poetry |
| Spenserian Stanza | a nine-line stanza with the first eight lines in iambic pentameter and the ninth line in iambic hexameter |
| suspense | a feeling of expectation, anxiousness, or curiosity |
