| A | B |
|---|
| allegory | A narrative in which characters and settings stand for abstract ideas or moral qualities |
| alliteration | Repetition of the same or very similar consonat sounds usually at the beginning of words that are close together in a poem |
| anecdote | Very, very brief story, usually told to make a point |
| connotation | All the meanings, associations, or emotions that have come to be attached to some words, in addition to their literal dictionary definitions |
| couplet | Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme |
| diction | A writer's or speaker's choice of words |
| dramatic monologue | A poem in which a speaker addresses one or more silent listeners, often reflecting on a specific problem or situation |
| epic | Long story told in elevated language (usually poetry), which related the great deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a particular society |
| epithet | Adjective or descriptive phrase that is regularly used to characterize a person, place, or thing |
| figure of speech | Word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of another and is not meant to be understood on a literal level |
| hyperbole | Figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion or create a comic effect |
| idiom | Expression peculiar to a particular language that means something different from the literal meaning of each word |
| imagery | Language that appeals to the senses |
| metaphor | Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike thinks, in which one thing becomes another thing without the use of the words like, as, than, or resembles |
| onomatopoeia | Use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning |
| personification | Kind of metaphor in which a nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as if it were human |
| protagonist | Main character in fiction or drama |
| satire | Type of writing that ridicules something - a person, a group of people, humanity at large, an attitude or failing, a social institution--in order to reveal a weakness |
| simile | Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, using a word such as like, as, resembles, or than |
| soliloquy | Long speech in which a character who is on stage alone expresses his or her thoughts aloud |
