Term | Definition |
Epigraph | A brief quotation which appears at the beginning of a literary work. |
Epithet | In literature, a word of phrase preceding or following a name which serves to describe the character. |
Euphemism | A mild word of phrase which substitutes for another which would be undesirable because it is too direct, unpleasant, or offensive. |
Exposition | In drama, the presentation of essential information regarding what has occurred prior to the beginning of the play. |
Fable | A brief tale designed to illustrate a moral lesson. |
Falling Action | The falling action is the series of events which take place after the climax. |
Farce | A type of comedy based on a humorous situation such as a bank robber who mistakenly wanders into a police station to hide. |
Figurative Language | In literature, a way of saying one thing and meaning something else. |
Figure Of Speech | An example of figurative language that states something that is not literally true in order to create an effect. |
Flashback | A reference to an event which took place prior to the beginning of a story or play. |
Foil | A character in a play who sets off the main character or other characters by comparison. |
Foot | The basic unit of measurement in a line of poetry. |
Foreshadowing | In drama, a method used to build suspense by providing hints of what is to come. |
Free Verse | Unrhymed Poetry with lines of varying lengths, and containing no specific metrical pattern. |
Genre | A literary type or form. |
Hyperbole | A figure of speech in which an overstatement or exaggeration |
Imagery | A word or group of words in a literary work which appeal to one or more of the senses |
Inference | A judgement based on reasoning rather than on direct or explicit statement. |
Irony | When an event happens that is painfully obvious or reverts itself. |
Local Color | A detailed setting forth of the characteristics of a particular locality, enabling the reader to "see" the setting. |
Lyric Poem | A short poem wherein the poet expresses an emotion or illuminates some life principle. |
Metaphor | A figure of speech wherein a comparison is made between two unlike quantities without the use of the words "like" or "as." |
Metonymy | A figure of speech in which a word represents something else which it suggests. |
Mood | The atmosphere or feeling created by a literary work, partly by a description of the objects or by the style of the descriptions. |
Myth | An unverifiable story based on a religious belief. |
Narrative Poem | A poem which tells a story. |
Novel | A fictional prose work of substantial length |
Ode | A poem in praise of something divine or expressing some noble idea. |
Onomatopoeia | A literary device wherein the sound of a word echoes the sound it represents. |
Oxymoron | A combination of contradictory terms |
Parable | A brief story, told or written in order to teach a moral lesson. |
Paradox | A situation or a statement that seems to contradict itself, but on closer inspection, does not. |
Parallel Structure | A repetition of sentences using the same structure. |