Poetry
The repetition of initial consonant sounds, such as “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,” in two or more words of close proximity.
alliteration
One who carries out the action of the plot in literature. Major, minor, static, and dynamic are types.
character
An internal characterization criteria that acts as the reason behind a character's specific action or behavior.
motivation
Oral or written accounts of connected events meant to be entertaining, educational, or informative for audiences.
narratives
A category of composition in music or literature characterized by similarities in form or subject matter.
genre
An un-rhyming verse written in iambic pentameter.
blank verse
The character, group of characters, or force that opposes the main character/protagonist.
antagonist
The situation of a work, shaped by the values beliefs, customs, and activities shared by a group of people from a specific time period.
millieu
The implied meaning (positive, negative, or neutral) of a word based on its associated images rather than its literal meaning.
connotation
The main argument of an essay that defines the scope and line of reasoning to be supported by evidence and commentary.
claim
The formative unit of meter in poetry; comprised of stressed and unstressed syllables.
foot
A clash between opposing forces in a literary work (e.g. man vs. man; man vs. nature; man vs. supernatural; man vs. self; man vs. technology; man vs. society).
conflict
According to Aristotle, the release of emotion that the audience of a tragedy experiences.
catharsis
A word, object, action, character, or concept that stands for or suggests something else.
symbol
A written examination and evaluation of the author's choices.
literary analysis
A direct address in poetry, made to a subject who is not literally present. Yeats’s line “Be with me Beauty, for the fire is dying” is a good example.
apostrophe
The portion of a narrative leading up to the exciting force that introduces the reader to the setting, character(s), and conflict.
exposition
The inclusion of a humorous character or scene to contrast with the tragic elements of a work, thereby intensifying the next tragic event.
comic relief
Occasionally confused with "personification," this term means to give human characteristics or behaviors to an animal.
anthropomorphism
Placing two things side by side for the sake of comparison and contrast.
juxtaposition
A rhythmical pause or break within a line of poetry, indicated by punctuation or a parallel symbol (||).
caesura
perspective
A traditional aspect of a literary work, such as a soliloquy in a Shakespearean play or a tragic hero in a Greek tragedy.
convention
The use of figurative language to evoke a sensory response/experience.
sensory imagery
Different ways to approach interpreting a work of literature, also known as critical perspectives.
critical lenses