literary terminology

a protagonist of a tragedys fatal flaw

used to indicate several people leaving the stage

a list of events, tending to focus on action rather than inner life

a foundation of which an opinion is based

a destructive reduction of an idea, image, concept or text which can employ exaggeration, mimicry, irony and tone

moments when a text goes beyond its own fictionality or makes readers aware of the conventions of its fiction

the narrator who conveys the story

a poem using the devices of an epic to create a parody of an epic's grandeur

a genre of plays in which impossible/ridiculous events make a statement about the strangeness/irrationality of existence

something that represents something but is more elusive than specific

usually used to designate overweening pride in a protagonist of a tragedy

a spontaneous or semi-spontaneous event in a public space that combined theatre and art

a remark to the audience which other characters on stage do not hear

a recurring word or phrase, not necessarily as formally arranged as a refrain

ridiculing a text through imitation

latin term for the list of characters in a play

the study of how words create meaning

a novel written in the form of letters

the telling over several inter-woven stories in one text

using something to convey a larger concept or idea

a comparison using 'like' or 'as'

a novel where the protagonist's travels and encounters are more important than their character

an extended speech by one person

used sometimes to refer to poetry in general

drama observing the rules of Greek and Roman drama following the idea of unity of time, place and plot

to invest with value

the trapper is caught by his own trap (ironic but apt justice)

movements that believe all writing should imitate precedents/genres created by the writers of classical civilisations

the flowing on of a line of poetry so there is no pause at the end of the line

used to indicate an attempt to decieve the public by over-rating the value of a commodity or experience

inclusion of documentary material or material which purports to be documentary

the repeating of the inital letter for aesthetic effect

a comparison that creates a direct correspondence

the culmination or result of an action, plan or plot

texts tend to be aware of their own artifice, be full of intertextual allusions and ironic rather than sincere

a poem lamenting a dead person or persons

an impassioned rant or angry speech of denunciation

satire that uses caricature

an emotional release engendered by an intense experience

a term describing the many ways texts can be interrelated (from quotes and echoing to parody)

informal language

a poem celebrating a wedding

more precise categorisation within literary forms

a term which describes the appropriation of a text or genre and a rewriting in response

16th/17th century form of court entertainment emphasising spectacle, costume and theatrical effects rather than plot

the use of exaggeration for effect

a drama designed to confront its audience through devices like the alienation effect, to put forward a political POV

the type of literary expression chosen by the author

a rhetorical device that creates a close, one-to-one comparison

a text that plays games with the readers expectations and/or the expectations aroused by the text itself

any of the devices (metaphor, simile etc) whereby art language differentiates itself from functional language

a medieval text that tells a story where barely possible and supernatural events are an essential feature of the action

an idealised depiction of rural life, sometimes set in 'Arcadia' (an Eden-like land)

a song that tells a story or a simple AB AB rhyme structure with simple rhythms

to emphasise or make prominent

Elizabethan/Jacobean drama ignoring rules of classical drama to use large time-spans, sub-plots and many scenes

repetition of a few lines at the end of each stanza or (Greek drama) a group of people on stage acting as a communal ch

the crossing of a boundary of culture or taste

used to indicate one person leaving the stage

the attribution of human emotions to inanimate things

generally a 14 line poem with a strict rhyme scheme

(at its simplest) the use of supernatural and/or medieval elements to create a horror story

a postmodern concept designed to eradicate distinction between literary genres

the repeating of a single line in a poem, often the last line of the stanza

the repeating of 's' sounds for aesthetic effect

a comedy featuring exaggerated situations and physical humour usually based around the attempt to preseve respectability

a lyric address, originally sung to music

a word meaning a spontaneous expression

originally someone who was in touch with their feelings, also a literary genre of the late 18th century

knowledge based on direct, sensory perceptions of the world (facts established by experience not theory)

(according to de Saussure) meaning is created by the partnership of the indicator and indicated, together making a sign

the use of devices that disrupt the illusion of realistic theatre (e.g breaking the fourth wall)

the use of props, sound, stage direction, and costume to present poetic truths through symbolism

a long poem concerned with large events of conflict

poetry containing predominantly song-like characteristics

the repeating of vowel sounds for aesthetic effect

the area of language from which a text draws most of its tropes

a solo speech by a character addressing no other characters, usually taking place when they are alone on the stage

the name given to experiments carried out in prose, poetry and art from around 1920-1939

inanimate things mirroring human emotion

an attempt to represent life on stage with minimum interference from convention

the divisions of a poem

the removal of conventional sentence structures and grammar in an attempt to imitate the free flow of thoughts

where two words with opposite meanings are placed side by side

a novel written in a realistic style which incorporates impossible or unlikely events

movement from the late 18th century onwards, valuing feelings above thought and originality above derivation