| A | B |
|---|
| Anecdote | A brief story or tale told by a character in a piece of literature |
| Perspective | A character's view of the situation or events in the story |
| Aphorism | A concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a commonly held belief. |
| Contradiction | A direct opposition between things compared; inconsistency |
| Apostrophe | A figure of speech in which a person, thing, or abstract quality is addressed as if present; for example, the invocation to the muses usually found in epic poetry. |
| Oxymoron | A figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory elements, as in "jumbo shrimp" or "deafening silence." |
| Allusion | A figure of speech which makes brief, even casual reference to a historical or literary figure, event, or object to create a resonance in the reader or to apply a symbolic meaning to the character or object of which the allusion consists. |
| Syllogism | A form of deduction. An extremely subtle, sophisticated, or deceptive argument |
| Satire | A literary style used to make fun of or ridicule an idea or human vice or weakness |
| Bildungsroman | A novel or story whose theme is the moral or psychological growth of the main character. |
| Devices | A particular word pattern or combination of words used in a literary work to evoke a desired effect or arouse a desired reaction in the reader |
| Foil | A person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast |
| Epistolary | A piece of literature contained in or carried on by letters |
| Epitaph | A piece of writing in praise of a deceased person |
| Parody | A satirical imitation of a work of art for purpose of ridiculing its style or subject. |
| Delayed sentence | A sentence that withholds its main idea until the end. For example: Just as he bent to tie his shoe, a car hit him. |
| Sarcasm | A sharp caustic remark. A form of verbal irony in which apparent praise is actually bitterly or harshly critical. |
| Expletive | A single word or short phrase intended to emphasize surrounding words. Commonly, expletives are set off by commas. |
| Irony | A situation or statement characterized by significant difference between what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant. |
| Eulogy | A speech or writing in praise of a person or thing; an oration in honor of a deceased person |
| Paradox | A statement that seems contradictory, but is actually true. |
| Epiphany | A sudden or intuitive insight or perception into the reality or essential meaning of something usually brought on by a simple or common occurrence or experience |
| Onomatopoeia | A word capturing or approximating the sound of what it describes, such as buzz or hiss. |
| Diction | An author's choice of words to convey a tone or effect |
| Utopia | An imaginary place of ideal perfection. |
| Hyperbole | An overstatement characterized by exaggerated language |
| Deus ex machina | As in Greek theater, use of an artificial device or contrived solution to solve a difficult situation, usually introduced suddenly and unexpectedly |
| Antagonist | Character or force in a literary work that opposes the main character, or protagonist |
| Analogy | Comparison of two things that are alike in some respects. |
| Inductive | Conclusion or type of reasoning whereby observation or information about a part of a class is applied to the class as a whole. |
| Nostalgia | Desire to return in thought or fact to a former time |
