Literary Terms

A narrative in which the agents and actions, and sometimes, the setting, are chosen in order that they make sense literally, but also communicate a second order of meaning (e.g. Lord of the Flies)

The repetition of a speech sound at the beginnings of a sequence of nearby words

A reference made of a literary or historical person, place, event, or piece of literature; usually not pointed out explicitly

A deliverate drop from the serious and elevated to the trivial and lowly in order to achieve a comic or satiric effect

A direct address to a person who is not present, or to a non-human entity

The repetition of identical or similar vowels, especially in stressed syllables, in nearby words.

A narrative lyric poem, often in song form, which is characterized by a detached narrator, focus on events (rather than description), and a specific rhyme scheme (ABCB); often makes use of incremental repetition

Unintentional descent in literature occurring when the author attempts to be pathetic, passionate, or elevated, but is, in fact, trivial or ridiculous

Unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter

A strong phrasal pause within a line, commonly occurs in Anglo-Saxon poetry after the second strong beat in a line (lines typically consisted of four strong beats)

The persons represented in a dramatic or narrative piece

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A sequence of two phrases or clauses which have parallel syntax, but in which the order of the corresponding words is reversed (e.g. verb adjective noun, noun adjective verb)

A sense of completion or conclusion at the end of a literary work

A figure of speech which establishes a striking parallel between two seemingly dissimilar things