| A | B |
|---|
| allusion | a reference in a work of literature to something outside the work |
| diction | word choice |
| figurative language | words or phrases that mean something other than their literal meaning |
| imagery | the sensory details of a work |
| irony | a figure of speech in which intent and actual meaning differ |
| metaphor | a figurative use of language in which a comparison is expressed without the use of comparative terms like "like", "as", or "than" |
| omniscient point of view | the vantage point of a story in which the narrator can know, see, and report whatever he chooses- access to thoughts of characters |
| point of view | any of several possible vantage points from which a story is told |
| satire | writing that seeks to arouse a reader's disapproval of an object by ridicule |
| setting | the background of a story; the physical location |
| simile | a directly expressed comparison comparing two objects, usually with words such as like, as, than |
| symbol | something that is simultaneously itself and a sign of something else |
| syntax | the structure of a sentence; the arrangement of words in a sentence |
| theme | the main thought expressed by a work |
| tone | the manner in which an author expresses his or her attitude |
| connotation | the implications of a word or phrase, as opposed to its exact meaning |
| denotation | the dictionary meaning of a word |
| hyperbole | deliberate exaggeration, overstatement |
| jargon | the special language of a profession or group |
| literal | not figurative; accurate to the letter; matter of fact or concrete |
| lyrical | songlike; characterized by emotion, subjectivity, and imagination |
| oxymoron | a combination of opposites; the union of contradictory terms |
| paradox | a statement that seems to be self-contradicting but, in fact, is true |
| parody | a composition that imitates the style of another composition normally for comic effect |
| personification | a figurative use of language which gives the nonhuman the characteristics of the human |
| rhetorical question | a question asked for effect, not in expectation of a reply |
| soliloquy | a speech in which a character who is alone speaks his or her thoughts out loud |
| stereotype | a conventional pattern, expression, character, or idea |
| thesis | the theme, meaning, or position that a writer undertakes to prove or support |
| alliteration | the repetition of identical or similar consonant sounds, normally at the beginning of words |
| assonance | the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds |
| blank verse | unrhymed iambic pentameter |
| internal rhyme | rhyme that occurs within a line, rather than at the end |
| onomatopoeia | the use of words whose sound suggest the meaning |
| sonnet | normally a 14 line iambic pentameter poem |
| stanza | usually a repeated grouping of three or more lines with the same meter and rhyme scheme |
| antecedent | that which goes before, especially the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers |
| parallel structure | a similar grammatical structure within a sentence or within a paragraph |
| epithet | a descriptive word or term, often complimentary or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing |
| inversion | changing the normal order of words or phrases |
| visual | sight imagery |
| auditory | sound imagery |
| gustatory | taste imagery |
| olfactory | smell imagery |
| kinesthetic | movement imagery |
| thermal | heat imagery |
| antagonist | the character in fiction or drama who stands directly opposed to the main character |
| aside | a dramatic convention by which an actor directly and audibly addresses the audience but is not heard by the other characters |
| autobiography | the story of a person's life written by that person |
| biography | a written account of a person's life written by someone else |
| climax | the point of highest interest; in rhetoric the arrangement of ideas to form a rising order of importance |
| colloquialism | an expression used in informal conversation but not accepted as good usage in formal speech or writing |
| comic relief | a humorous scene, incident, or speech in the course of serious fiction or drama |
| conflict | the struggle which grows out of the interplay of two opposing forces |
| couplet | 2 successive rhyming lines |
| dialogue | conversation between two or more people |
| dramatic irony | the audience knows something that the characters do not know |
| dynamic character | a character in a fiction or drama who develops or changes as a result of the actions of the plot |
| end rhyme | rhyme occurring at the ends of the verse in a poem |
| flashback | device by which the writer of a fiction or drama presents scenes or incidents that occurred prior to the opening scene of the work |
| flat character | a term used to describe a character constructed around a single idea or quality |
| foil | a person or thing that through strong CONTRAST underscores or enhances the distinctive characteristics of another |
| mood | atmosphere of the story |
| narrator | the teller of a story |
| plot | pattern of events |
| protagonist | chief character in a play or story |
| verisimilitude | the appearance or emblance of truth and actuality ina work |
