Literary Terms 1
Anthropomorphism
A style of poem characterized by its mournful tone, often about death or loss.
Elegy
This term refers to the repetition of sounds produced by vowels within a sentence or phrase. For example, "A long song."
Assonance
An accented syllable followed by an unaccented one.
Trochee
What is the best selling album of all time?
Thriller, by Michael Jackson
The step-by-step process wherein is introduced and then detailed upon for the reader to take notice of.
Characterization
A narrative poem, often set to music.
Ballad
A form of flash fiction popularized by Ernest Hemingway.
A Six-Word Story
The grammatical order of words in a sentence, line of verse, or dialogue, to create a well formed sentence.
Syntax
What are known as Shakespeare's "Four Great Tragedies?"
Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth.
This term refers to an uninterrupted and unhindered collection and occurrence of thoughts and ideas in the conscious mind.
Stream of Consciousness.
A verse written with the primary purpose of teaching, instructing, or imparting a moral, philosophical, or practical lesson to the reader, using literary devices like narrative, allegory, and symbolism to make complex ideas accessible, rather than purely to entertain.
Didactic Poem
A trusted, secondary character to whom the main protagonist shares secrets and information with, allowing the audience insight into the protagonist's mind.
Confidant/Confidante
A literary tool where grammatical constructions, or concepts, are repeated in reverse order.
Chiasmus
What is the capital of New Hampshire?
Concord
This is a literary device that depicts the manner in which a story is narrated.
Point of View
This kind of poem is normally a fourteen-line Iambic pentameter poem.
Sonnet
An adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or place mentioned.
Epithet
Sestina
This country is commonly associated with the origin of the now popular holiday, Halloween.
Ireland
A literary device referring to when an implausible event or character appears to resolve a conflict, bringing about a pleasing/satisfying ending to said conflict.
Deus ex Machina
A character who contrasts and parallels the main character in a play or story.
Foil
Popular form of storytelling where the author bases the plot on the overall growth of the central character throughout the timeline of the story.
Bildungsroman.
A kind of poem with 19 lines consisting of 5 tercets, and ending in a quatrain.
Villanelle
What does man love more than life, hate more than death or mortal strife; that which contented men desire; the poor have, the rich require; the miser spends, the spendthrift saves, and all men carry to their graves?
Nothing