DEFINITIONS

DEFINITIONS 

Here is my video of literary terms' definitions. You can have a look at the definitions in company with a relaxing music.

ALLEGORY story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other

people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities.

EXAMPLE: Animal Farm; Dante’s Inferno; Lord of the Flies

ALLITERATION repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are

close together.

EXAMPLE: “When the two youths turned with the flag they saw that much of the

regiment had crumbled away, and the dejected remnant was coming slowly

back.” –Stephen Crane (Note how regiment and remnant are being used; the

regiment is gone, a remnant remains…)

ALLUSION reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature,

religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture. An indirect reference to

something (usually from literature, etc.).

AMBIGUITY deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting,

meanings in a work. An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way-

- this is done on purpose by the author, when it is not done on purpose, it is vagueness,

and detracts from the work.

ANALOGY Comparison made between two things to show how they are alike

ANAPHORA Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more

sentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer’s

point more coherent.

ANASTROPHE Inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a

sentence. Purpose is rhythm or emphasis or euphony. It is a fancy word for inversion.

ANTAGONIST Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a

Moliere: “One should eat to live, not live to eat.” In poetry, this is called chiasmus.

ANTITHESIS Balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by

means of grammatical structure.

ANTHROPOMORPHISM attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate
object (Personification)
APHORISM brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life,
or of a principle or accepted general truth. Also called maxim, epigram.
APOSTROPHE calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or
thing, or a personified abstract idea. If the character is asking a god or goddess for
inspiration it is called an invocation.
Josiah Holland ---“Loacöon! Thou great embodiment/ Of human life and human history!”
ASSONANCE the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant
sounds especially in words that are together
STATIC CHARACTER is one who does not change much in the course of a
story.
DYNAMIC CHARACTER is one who changes in some important way as a
result of the story’s action.
FLAT CHARACTER has only one or two personality traits. They are one
dimensional, like a piece of cardboard. They can be summed up in one phrase.
ROUND CHARACTER has more dimensions to their personalities---they are
complex, just a real people are.
CHIASMUS In poetry, a type of rhetorical balance in which the second part is
syntactically balanced against the first, but with the parts reversed. Coleridge: “Flowers
are lovely, love is flowerlike.” In prose this is called antimetabole.
CLICHE is a word or phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because
of overuse. Avoid clichés like the plague. (That cliché is intended.)
COLLOQUIALISM a word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal
writing but is inappropriate for formal situations.

Example: “He’s out of his head if he thinks I’m gonna go for such a stupid idea.
CONFLICT the struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story.
EXTERNAL CONFLICT conflicts can exist between two people, between a
person and nature or a machine or between a person a whole society.
INTERNAL CONFLICT a conflict can be internal, involving opposing
forces within a person’s mind.
CONNOTATION the associations and emotional overtones that have become attached
to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition.
COUPLET two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry.
DIALECT a way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the
inhabitants of a certain geographical area.
Literary Terms page 4
DICTION a speaker or writer’s choice of words.
EPIGRAPH a quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive of
the theme.
EPISTOLARY-Used to describe a novel that tells its story through letters written from one character to another.
 EUPHEMISM-The act of substituting a harsh, blunt, or offensive comment for a more politically accepted or positive one.
(short=vertically challenged)
 EUPHONY-A succession of words which are pleasing to the ear. These words may be alliterative, utilize consonance, or
assonance and are often used in poetry but also seen in prose.
EPITHET an adjective or adjective phrase applied to a person or thing that is frequently
used to emphasize a characteristic quality. “Father of our country” and “the great
Emancipator” are examples. A Homeric epithet is a compound adjective used with a
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Words which are inaccurate if interpreted literally, but
are used to describe. Similes and metaphors are common forms.
FORESHADOWING the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a
plot.
GOTHIC NOVEL-A genre of fiction characterized by mystery and supernatural horror, often set in a dark castle or other
medieval setting.
HUBRIS- Used in Greek tragedies, refers to excessive pride that usually leads to a hero’s downfall. HYPERBOLE a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement,
for effect. “If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times….”
IMAGERY the use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person ,
a thing, a place, or an experience.
IRONY a discrepancy between appearances and reality.
JUXTAPOSITION poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas,
words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit.
Ezra Pound: “The apparition of these faces in the crowd;/ Petals on a wet, black bough.”
Juxtaposition is also a form of contrast by which writers call attention to
dissimilar ideas or images or metaphors.
Martin Luther King: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
MOTIF-A dominant theme or central idea.
METAPHOR-A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate
another, thus making an implicit comparison; this comparison does not use like or as.

PROLOGUE- An introduction or preface, especially a poem recited to introduce a play.
ONOMATOPOEIA-The formation or use of words such as buzz or murmur that imitate the sounds associated with the
objects or actions they refer to.
OXYMORON a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a
brief phrase. “Jumbo shrimp.” “Pretty ugly.” “Bitter-sweet”
PARADOX- Statement which seems to contradict itself. i.e. His old face was youthful when he heard the news. 
PARODY-A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule.
i.e. SNL or Weird Al Yankovich.
SIMILE-A figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by like or
as.
PLOT-the series of related events in a story or play, sometimes called the storyline.

Here there are some glogsters prepared about literary terms
http://www.glogster.com/mgschw/the-abcs-of-literary-terms-by-mgschw/g-6l6tddj6ltadkfrc6jj46a0

http://www.glogster.com/kkraker/literary-terms-e4/g-6ln29uku7isgpls2ln91ra0
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http://www.glogster.com/baylie95/literary-terms/g-6l6r8g3v3njqca5j6lm6ja0