Rapelje
Literary Vocabulary
This list is not meant to be static. It is merely a
starting point for you to use in the composition of essays and exams, and should
be added to throughout your study of literature.
Allegory- a tale in prose
or verse in which the characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas
or moral qualities
Alliteration- the
repetition of consonant sounds in a group of words
Allusion- a recognizable
reference to a person, place, or event in a literary work
Analogy-a comparison
between two things to show the similarities in them
Anaphora- a rhetorical
device involving repetition of a word, or group of words in successive clauses
Anglo-Saxon Period- also
called the Old English Period, it spans the period from the Germanic invasions
of
Antagonist- the opposing
force in a drama or narrative
Aphorism- terse, pointed
statement expressing some clever observation in life
Apostrophe- a figure of
speech in which a thing, a place, or an abstract quality is addressed as if it
is capable of understanding
Aside- a short speech
spoken to the audience or in an undertone by a character
Assonance- the repetition
of vowel sounds in a group of words
Ballad- a story told in
verse and usually meant to be sung
Bildungsroman- a “coming
of age” story. Recounts the youthful development of a hero or heroine
Blank Verse- verse written
in unrhymed iambic pentameter
Cadence- the natural
rhythm of language. Any writer with any sense of style has a cadence that
distinguishes his or her work
Caesura- a break or pause
in a line of poetry. If it occurs early in a line, it is referred to as ‘initial
caesura’, if in the middle, it is ‘medial’ and at the end, it is ‘terminal’
Caricature- in literature,
just as in painting, a portrait that ridicules an individual by exaggerating
their most prominent features
Classicism- movement or
tendency in art, literature, and music reflecting the principles manifested in
the age of ancient
Climax- the decisive point
in a narrative or drama; the point of greatest intensity or interest
Comedy of Manners- a genre
in which the behavior and deportment of men and women are the central subject.
Marked by sophistication and humour.
Comic Relief- comic
episodes or interludes, usually in tragedy, that are meant to relieve tension
and provide contrast to the tragic elements of the piece
Conceit- a type of
metaphor that makes a comparison between two totally different things
Conflict- a struggle
between the two opposing forces in literature
Consonance- the repetition
of similar consonant sounds in a group of words
Couplet- two consecutive
lines of poetry that rhyme
Denouement- the outcome of
a plot
Deus Ex Machina- any
artificial, forced, or improbable device used to resolve the entanglements in a
play. In classical drama, this refers to the intervention of an actual god to
resolve the conflict.
Didactic- any literature
that is meant to instruct or teach
Elegy- a poem of mourning
Encomium- formal eulogy in
prose or verse, glorifying people, objects, ideas or events
Existentialism- the
philosophical idea that man fashions his own existence, and only exists by doing
so. The very process gives meaning to his existence
Exposition- writing that
is intended to present information
Expressionism- movement of
literature that emphasizes more on the life of the mind and feelings rather than
the realistic, external details of everyday life
Foot- a unit used to
measure the meter and rhythmic pattern of a line in poetry
Foreshadowing- hints and
clues in a narrative that suggest what is about to happen
Free verse- unrhymed verse
that has no metric pattern or an irregular pattern
Hubris- from the Greek
meaning ‘wanton insolence’, it is a shortcoming or defect in the classical
tragic hero that leads him to ignore the warnings of the gods and by doing so,
to bring about his downfall
Iambic pentameter- the
most common verse line in English and American poetry consisting of five verse
feet, with each foot an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
Imagery- words or phrases
that create pictures or images in the readers mind
Invective- speech or
writing which is highly denunciatory or abusive
Irony- contrast between
what is stated to happen to what actually happens
Lyric- a short poem that
expresses a speaker’s personal thoughts or feelings
Magical Realism- fiction
that is characterized by the mingling or juxtaposition of the realistic with the
fantastic or bizarre, skilful time shifts, labyrinthine narratives and plots,
and the miraculous, all presented as completely plausible or possible
Metaphor- figure of speech
that makes a comparison between two things that are strikingly dissimilar
Meter- the regular pattern
of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry
Mood- the prevailing
feeling or emotional climate in a piece of literature
Motif- one of the dominant
ideas in a work of literature; a part of the main theme
Narrative Verse- a poem
that tells a story
Naturalism- an extreme
form of realism
Ode- a lengthy, complex
lyric poem, written in a dignified formal style on some lofty or serious subject
Onomatopoeia- the use of a
word whose sound in some degree imitates or suggests its meaning
Parody- a humorous
imitation of a work of literature, art, or music
Personification- giving
something non-human human characteristics
Plot- the sequence of
events in a short story, novel, or play, or narrative poem
Protagonist- the central
character of a narrative poem, play, short story or novel
Quatrain- stanza or poem
of four lines
Realism- attempt in
literature and art to represent life as it really is, without sentimentalizing
or idealizing it
Refrain- a word, phrase,
line, or group of words repeated regularly in a poem, usually at the end of a
stanza
Resolution- the end or
conclusion of a piece of literature
Rhyme/Rhyme scheme- the repetition of the sounds of two or more words or phrases that appear close to each other in a poem
Romanticism- movement that
flourished in literature, philosophy, music, and art in Western culture during
most of the nineteenth century, beginning as a revolt against classicism
Satire- writing that
ridicules the weakness or wrongdoings of individuals, groups, or institutions
Sestet- six line poem or
stanza
Soliloquy- a long speech
in a drama done by a lone character
Sonnet- lyric of fourteen
lines in the iambic pentameter
Stanza- unit of a poem
that is longer than one line
Stream of Consciousness- a
technique that is meant to depict the many thoughts and feelings which pass
through a characters mind. Often characterized by jumbled, often confusing
phrasing and a lack of punctuation
Symbol- Any object,
person, place or action that has meaning in itself, but also stands for
something larger than itself,
such as a quality, an attitude, a belief, or value
Synecdoche- a figure of
speech in which a part stands for the whole such as, “all hands on deck” in
which “hands” stands for the whole sailor
Theme- the general idea
that the author wishes to convey
Tragedy- literary work in
which the protagonist meets an unhappy end
Transcendentalism-
philosophy which holds that basic truths can be reached through intuitions
rather that through reason
Verisimilitude- the
appearance or semblance of truth or reality
Voice- the style of
language adapted by the author to create the effect of a particular speaker
Zeitgeist- the spirit of
the age. The trend, fashion, or taste of a particular period