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Essential Literary Terms

This document defines and provides examples of various essential literary terms used to analyze and describe elements of fiction, poetry, and other creative works. It covers common literary devices such as metaphor, simile, imagery, symbolism, allusion, and more. The definitions give readers a foundation for understanding how authors craft their writing and convey meaning through language.

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449 views2 pages

Essential Literary Terms

This document defines and provides examples of various essential literary terms used to analyze and describe elements of fiction, poetry, and other creative works. It covers common literary devices such as metaphor, simile, imagery, symbolism, allusion, and more. The definitions give readers a foundation for understanding how authors craft their writing and convey meaning through language.

Uploaded by

duhnees
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Essential Literary Terms

Alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant sounds in words to create an effect [Example: Merry maids a-milking] Allusion: a reference within a literary text to some person, place, or event outside the text. Analepsis: more commonly known as a flash!ack" Analogy: a comparison !ased upon a similarity !etween two things. #t can function as an extended simile or metaphor. Anaphora: a figure of speech in which a word or words are repeated, usually at the !eginning of successive sentences or lines of verse. Example: #n every cry of every man #n every infant$s cry of fear #n every vice, in every !an %he mind-forg$d manacles # hear. &illiam 'lake, London Assonance: the repetition of a vowel sound in words to create an effect [Example: (a)y, ha)y days] Atmosphere: the mood or tone created !y descri!ing the characters and the setting in a piece of writing Blank Verse: a form of poetry which does not rhyme Consonance: a form of rhyme in which the vowels are the same !ut pronounced differently [Example: love, prove] Enjambment: the running on of thought in poetry, from one line or couplet to the next Foreshadowing: a hint of events to come or later developments Free Verse: poetry without a rhythmic pattern or rhyme Hyperbole: deli!erate and a!surd exaggeration for effect [Example: #t$s raining cats and dogs.] magery: the images evoked !y the author$s descriptions to enhance the readers$ understanding* images may involve all of the five senses or may !e figurative nternal !hyme: the rhyming of two or more words in a single line [Example: %he mate, that fate had me created for +,ohnny Mercer, That Old Black Magic+] rony: the meaning the speaker or writer intends to convey is different from the literal meaning

"etaphor: a device often used in poetry in which one thing is descri!ed in terms of another "ood: the emotion of a piece of writing created !y the writer "oti#: a recurring theme, idea, image throughout a literary work $nomatopoeia: the sounds of the words used resem!le their meaning [Example: splat-] $%ymoron: a com!ination of words or terms that appear contradictory [Example: working holiday] &arado%: an apparent contradiction that asserts the truth [Example: the last shall !e first] &athetic Fallacy: giving human feelings to o!.ects in nature &ersoni#ication: giving human /ualities to inanimate o!.ects, ideas, or animals !epetition: a literary device used as a function of emphasis !hyme: words with the same terminal sounds* often used at the end of lines of poetry !hythm: a regular pattern or flow of language, usually in poetry 'etting: the place, time, and culture in which the action of a narrative takes place 'imile: a comparison, using the words like" or as", !etween two things which may !e dissimilar 'tan(a: a group of lines in a poem* similar to a paragraph in prose 'tyle: the literary devices used !y an author in constructing text 'uspense: a !uild up of events to capture the attention of the audience until the outcome is revealed 'ymbolism: the use of images and sym!ols to represent complex ideas 'ynecdoche: a figure of speech in which the part stands for the whole or the whole for the part. [Example: in !rave hearts and steady hands," hearts and hands stand for people. #n the police are investigating the case," the police stands for some police.] Theme: the central point a!out which the text is composed Tone: a reflection of the attitude of the writer

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