Literary Terms

Poetry that expresses a speaker’s personal thoughts and feelings.

The repetition of consonant sounds, typically within or at the end of non-rhyming words.

The repetition of the same stressed vowel sounds and any succeeding sounds in two or more words

Two lines of rhymed verse that work together as a unit to express an idea or make a point.

A reflection of the writer’s attitude toward a subject

The repetition of the same vowel sounds that don't rhyme

The central struggle between two opposing forces in a story or drama

The recurrence of sounds, words, phrases, lines, or stanzas in a speech or piece of writing

Comparison between two seemingly unlike things

The point of greatest emotional intensity, interest, or suspense in a literary work

A major unit of a drama, or play

A person or a force that opposes the protagonist or central character in a story or drama

A lyric poem of fourteen lines, usually following strict patterns of stanza division and rhyme.

An author’s intent in writing a literary work

Language not meant to be interpreted literally used for descriptive effect

A person animal place object or event existing on a literal level and on a figurative level

The repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds, especially in a line of poetry

A four-line stanza in which the first and third lines have four stressed syllables

A narrative song or poem

Figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express emotion, make a point or evoke humor.

A group of lines forming a unit in a poem. In a poem, it is similar to a paragraph in prose.

A brief account of an interesting event

The methods a writer uses to reveal the personality of a character

The emotional quality, or atmosphere, of a work of literature.

A figure of speech that uses the words like or as to compare two seemingly unlike things.

A person portrayed in a literary work

Poetry or lines of dramatic verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

Two consecutive, paired lines of rhymed verse usually forming a stanza

A comparison that shows similarities between two things that are otherwise dissimilar

A contrast or discrepancy between expectation and reality.

The repetition of initial consonant sounds.

Rhyme that occurs within a single line of poetry.

A Tale that is based on history and handed down from one generation to the next

A figure of speech in which an animal, object, force of nature or idea is given human qualities

A 19 line poem divided into 6 stanzas 5 with 3 lines with a rhyme of aba and 1 with 4 lines

The "word pictures" that writers create to help evoke an emotional response in readers.

The story of a person’s life written by that person

The chief character in a literary work, typically one with admirable qualities

The assignment of human characteristics to gods, animals, or inanimate objects

The pattern of beats created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables

An account of a person’s life written by someone other than the subject

The pattern that end rhymes form in a stanza or a poem