Literary Terms

Question	Answer
Allegory	when the characters or setting of a literary work represent general concepts, moral qualities, political or religious beliefs, real persons from history etc.
Allusion	a brief reference, either explicit or indirect, to a person, place or event from real life/ history, or to other literature which may occur in any part of a literary work.
Alliteration	the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words in close succession
ambiguity	use of a word or expression or idea to signify or express two or more things diverse and even contradictory attitudes feelings at the same time
anachronism	when an element of a story is placed where it doesn’t belong chronologically
anagram	the letters of a word or phrase are transposed to form a new word
analogy	an extended comparison based on a partial resemblance between two different things
anaphora	is the repetition of a word or group of words at the beginning of successive sentences/clauses/lines
epistrophe	occurs when each sentence/clause/line ends with the same word.
apostrophe	addressing an absent or dead person, a thing, or an abstract idea as if it were alive or present
archetype	any idea, character, action, object, institution, event or setting containing essential characteristics which are primitive, general, universal and recur frequently throughout literature, mythology and folklore
assonance	the close repetition of identical-sounding vowel sounds, especially in stressed syllables
atmosphere	It may establish a feeling that it sets up readers' expectations as to what will happen in the text.
bathos	It is false or forced emotion in literature that is humorous rather than touching.
black comedy	humorous treatment of horrific, shocking and macabre subjects
carpe diem	in Latin this means “seize the day.”
chronology	the sequence in which events happen in a work of literature. This is sometimes called a timeline
conceit	a complex metaphor which is usually part of a larger pattern of imagery that combines objects and concepts in unconventional ways.
consonance	close repetition of identical consonant sounds which occur after different vowel sounds
denotation	the thing to which the word specifically (the dictionary definition of a word);
connotation	consist of the associated meanings it implies or suggests
diction	refers to the selection of words, the vocabulary used in a text.
didactic	any work of literature which teaches or instructs is called didactic.
epithet	an adjective or phrase expressing some quality or attribute which is characteristic of a person or thing or typifies it
euphony	the quality of having pleasant, easily pronounced or smooth-flowing sounds, free from harshness
cacophony	he use of harsh-sounding words that are hard to pronounce in close succession which may result from a variety of causes
figure (also called a trope)	any literary device which produces a certain effect in writing
metaphor	n implicit comparison without using like or as
simile	a comparison using like or as
irony	saying the opposite of what one really means
satire	using comedy as a “weapon” to criticise something

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	Created by gurleen_kang over 10 years ago