Literary Terms

Group of lines within a poem

Objects and images used to symbolize things thatcannot be actually seen

Theassociations called up by a word that goes beyond its dictionary meaning.

Rhymed pair of lines within a poem

Poetrywithout a regular pattern of meter or rhyme

Reference to a famous person, place, or event ina work of literature

Means by which writers present & revealcharacter

The attribution ofhuman characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object.

Irregular use of capitalization, grammar, andpunctuation in a work of poetry

A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices,stupidities, and follies

Thetime and place of a literary work that establish its context.

A symbolic narrative in which the surface details imply a secondary meaning.

Humorous, mocking imitation of a literary work, sometimes sarcastic, but oftenplayful

Contrast or discrepancy between what happens & what is expected to happen inlife &  literature

Deliberate repeating of phrase or idea inliterary work to accentuate a point

Process by which writers carefully select wordsto give precision and impact to their writings

A long, stately serious poem in stanzas of variedlength, meter, and form on an exalted subject.

Afour-line stanza in a poem

Pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables ina life of poetry

Compares to unlike things using ‘like’ or ‘as’ or 'than'

Use of words in poetry to suggest sounds

The voice and implied speaker of a fictionalwork

Figurative Language & descriptions used toproduce mental images

Struggle between opposing forces in a story orplay; man vs nature; man vs man; manvs self

Repetition of beginning constant sounds of words in poetry

Acharacter who contrasts and parallels the main character in a play or story

Presenting someone else’s work as your own

Message about life or human nature that isconveyed by a work of literature

 Along narrative poem that records the adventures of a hero

Conveys the writer’s attitude toward thesubject; tone can stay the same or change within a poem

Theconversation of characters in a literary work

Comedy based ondeliberately clumsy actions and humorously embarrassing events

Afigure of speech involving exaggeration

natural aptitude for using words and ideas in a quick and inventive way to create humor

Theangle of vision from which a story is narrated

Repetition of same consonant/consonants at middle/end of words, with different vowels sounds 

Acommon expression understood figuratively, as the literal definition makes nosense.

Hintsof what is to come in the action of a play or a story

Pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables ina life of poetry; steady pace

An inclination tobelieve that people are motivated purely by self-interest; skepticism

Theunified structure of incidents in a literary work; what happens in a literarywork

Thesorting out or unraveling of a plot at the end of a play, novel, or story

Themain character of a literary work

A situation comedy.

Turning point of action in the plot of aplay or story; point of greatest tension in the work.

narrative poem written in 4 stanzas,characterized by swift action and narrated in direct style

isa character, group of characters, or an institution, that represents theopposition 

lines in a poem grouped together; stanza

The use of irony tomock or convey contempt

Shape of words and lines in a poem

a romantic comedy; not Mr. Smith's favorite movie genre, bu the watches for his wife's sake :)

Afigure of speech in which a writer or speaker says less than what he or shemeans

A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word 

Giving human qualities to objects, animals, orevents