Literary Vocabulary [Summer Assignment]

Bathos

(especially in a work of literature) an effect of anticlimax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous. MARY: "John - once we had something that was pure, and wonderful, and good. What's happened to it?" JOHN: "You spent it all." When Mary says "something pure and wonderful," she is actually referring to the deep, sacred, noble form of love. However, the description is vague enough for John to manipulate.

Caesura

(greek/latin) a break between words within a metrical foot./(modern) a pause in the middle of a line./any interruption or break. Ex: I'm nobody! || Who are you? Are you nobody, too? Then there's a pair of us || - don't tell! They'd banish || - you know! Dickinson has used masculine caesural pauses in the middle of verses. These breaks create a staccato effect, an uneven rhythm in the flow of sound, conveying the depth of an idea.

Colloquial

(of language) used in ordinary or familiar conversation or literary. Ex: "I didn't want to go back no more. I had stopped cussing, because the widow didn't like it; but now I took to it again because pap hadn't no objections... But by-and-by pap got too handy with his hick'ry, and I couldn't stand it. I was all over with welts. He got to going away so much, too, and locking me in. Once he locked me in and was gone three days. It was dreadful lonesome." The use of double negatives is evident in the above passage, and was used as a typical characteristic of black-American vernacular.

Lyric

(of poetry) expressing the writer's emotions, usually briefly and in stanzas or recognized forms./(or a singing voice) using a light register. Ex: ode; An ode is a lyric poem that expresses intense feelings, such as love, respect, or praise for someone or something. Like an elegy, an ode does not follow any strict format or structure, though it uses refrains or repeated lines. It is usually longer than other lyrical forms, and focuses on positive moods of life.

Genre

a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter. Ex: Fiction; Popular examples of literary fiction include, James Joyce's novel A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.

Farce

a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations. In Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot, most of the situations have deeper meanings than just their apparent meanings. For instance, we have a funny situation in which Vladimir and Estragon put on and take off their hats. Though it is a farcical situation, the aim is to tell the audience that the world of tramps has no significant actions and place, except to do trivial things. Perhaps the most hilarious farcical situation occurs when the tramps test the strength of a string in order to hang themselves. The Estragon's trousers fall down to his ankles while pulling the cord, and due to strain, the cord breaks.

Analogy

a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification. Ex:"The white mares of the moon rush along the sky Beating their golden hoofs upon the glass Heavens." Here, the poet constructs an analogy between clouds and mares. She compares the movement of the white clouds in the sky at night with that of the white mares on the ground.

Exposition

a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory. Ex: "Once upon a time, there were three bears. There was a Daddy Bear, who was very big, a Mama Bear, who was middle-sized, and a Baby Bear, who was very small. They all lived together in a little cottage in the middle of the woods. Their favorite breakfast was porridge. One morning, after they made their porridge, Daddy Bear said, 'Let's go for walk in the woods until it cools.' Mama Bear and Baby Bear liked the idea, so off they went. While they were away, a little girl named Goldilocks came walking through the forest and smelled the porridge..." With the help of a single passage, the author of the story has given us an overview of the bear family, their residence, and information that sets the story in motion.

Motif

a distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition. Ex: Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness has a motif of observation and eavesdropping. Marlow, the protagonist, gets information about the world by either observing his surroundings or listening to the conversations of others. Similarly, there is another evident motif of comparison between the exterior and the interior. Initially, Marlow is a person who keenly observes things and people from the surface, but as he continues his journey into the heart of darkness, he gains an insight into his deeper nature, as well as that of others.

Synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa. Ex: The Lady or the Tiger? (By Frank R. Stockton) "His eye met hers as she sat there paler and whiter than anyone in the vast ocean of anxious faces about her." "Faces" refers to people, not just their faces.

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. Ex: "She's all states, and all princes, I ..." John Donne, a metaphysical poet, was well-known for his abundant use of metaphors throughout his poetical works. In his well-known work, The Sun Rising, the speaker scolds the sun for waking him and his beloved. Among the most evocative metaphors in literature, he explains "She is all states, and all princes, I." This line demonstrates the speaker's belief that he and his beloved are richer than all states, kingdoms, and rulers in the entire world because of the love that they share.

Oxymoron

a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction. Ex: "I will bestow him, and will answer well The death I gave him. So, again, good night. I must be cruel, only to be kind: Thus bad begins and worse remains behind. One word more, good lady." In the above lines taken from "Hamlet," Shakespeare draws two contradictory ideas: "be cruel ... to be kind". The contradiction is understood in the context of the play. Hamlet wants to kill Claudius, the murderer of his father, who has married his mother. Hamlet does not want his mother to be the beloved of his father's murderer. Therefore, he is of the view that this murder will purge her.

Simile

a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind used to make a description more emphatic or vivid. Ex: The Daffodils (By William Wordsworth) "I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er vales and hills." The poet envisions himself as a free cloud that floats alone in a blue sky above valleys and the mountains. By choosing this simile, Wordsworth describes his loneliness.

Meter

a fundamental unit of length in the metric system/a race over a specified number of meters. Ex: "Shadows pointed towards the pithead: In the sun the slagheap slept. Down the lane came men in pitboots Coughing oath-edged talk and pipe-smoke Shouldering off the freshened silence." This extract contains trochaic meter in which stressed syllables are pronounced loudly. Larkin has written frequently in trochaic (accented/unaccented) tetrameter with four trochees.

Canon

a general law, rule. or criterion by which something is judged. "In a summer season when soft was the sun, I clothed myself in a cloak as I shepherd were, Habit like a hermit's unholy in works, And went wide in the world wonders to hear. But on a May morning on Malvern hills, A marvel befell me of fairy, me thought." Taken from The Plowman's Tale, these lines exemplify the third definition of canon. Chaucer's canon includes "The Canterbury Tales", for instance, but it does not include the apocryphal work, "The Plowman's Tale," which has been mistakenly attributed to him in the past. The canon is the use of archaic language that Chaucer used in his works but not used in this part.

Stanza

a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in the poem; a verse. Ex: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (By S. T. Coleridge) "The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, The furrow followed free; We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea." The poet has used quatrain (four-line stanza) in the given example. It is one of the most popular forms known as "ballad stanza," which uses a rhyme scheme of abxb, in which the third line does not rhyme. This is called "common meter."

Epic

a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation. Ex: Paradise Lost (1667) Written on the same traditions but on a different subject, Paradise Lost, is an English epic by yet another blind poet of English origin, John Milton. It also is known colloquially as the Protestant Epic. In this epic, Milton argues Satan's fall from the heaven as well as Adam and Eve's fall from the Garden of Eden. Despite his blindness, Milton did not stop from explaining "the ways of God to men." He has depicted Satan as a highly complex character, who is at war with God. Despite his different subject, Milton has used several epic devices introduced by Homer such as invocation to the muse, extended similes and grand style.

Ode

a lyric in the form of an address to a particular subject, often evaluated in style or manner and written in varied or irregular meter. Ex: "A thousand rills their mazy progress take: Now the rich stream of music winds along Deep, majestic, smooth, and strong ... Now rolling down the steep amain, Headlong, impetuous, see it pour: The rocks and nodding groves rebellow to the roar." In the above mentioned ode, the speaker is addressing to poetry that is coming out among from different places to find its echoes in the nature.

Style

a manner of doing something Ex: Dorian Gray (By Oscar Wilde) "The studio was filled with the rich odor of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden... The sullen murmur of the bees shouldering their way through... or circling with monotonous insistence..." This is a good example of descriptive writing style since the author gives visualizations, feelings, description of a location and details about bees that could be seen and heard.

Euphemism

a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. Ex: "For the time being," he explains, "it had been found necessary to make a readjustment of rations." Substituting the word "reduction" for "readjustment" was an attempt to suppress the complaints of other animals about hunger. It works because reduction means "cutting" the food supply, while readjustment implies changing the current amount of food.

First-person narrative

a mode of storytelling in which a narrator relays events from their own point of using the first person

Voice

a particular opinion or attitude expressed.

Antithesis

a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else./a contrast or opposition between two things./a figure of speech/the negation of the thesis as the second stage in the process of dialectical reasoning

Antagonist

a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary. Ex: "Man is not truly one, but truly two." He means that a human soul is a mixture of evil and good. In other words, every man's antagonist exists within himself. Hyde is the manifestation of the evil that existed in the honorable Dr. Jekyll. Well-known as a respectable Victorian gentleman, Jekyll could never have fulfilled his evil desires. He separated his "evil-self" and gave him a separate identity, thus inventing his own antagonist who, as a result, brings his downfall.

Narrator

a person who narrates something, especially a character who recounts the events of a novel or narrative poem. Ex: The narrator may be the author or a character in the story through whom the author speaks. Novella: A work In television, lemony snicket in A Series of Unfortunate Events

Caricature

a picture, description, or imitation of a person or thing in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect. Ex: "Mr. Chadband is a large yellow man, with a fat smile, and a general appearance of having a good deal of train oil in his system. Mrs. Chadband is a stern, severe-looking, silent woman. Mr. Chadband moves softly and cumbrously, not unlike a bear who has been taught to walk upright. He is very much embarrassed about the arms, as if they were inconvenient to him." It is beautiful example of caricaturing through words. The dominating impression is made by words like "oily" and "fat," which sound quite literal initially. However, you realize shortly that the literal oiliness is a representation of the character Chadband. Chadband has a 'fat' smile, and on the whole he appears to be slightly unctuous, like a phony preacher.

Aphorism

a pithy observation that contains a general truth, such as, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" Ex: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." The above statement holds truth, as we cannot claim to judge a person unless we understand the way he views the world and its affairs.

Elegy

a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead. Ex: My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will; The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done; From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won; 20 Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells! But I, with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead." (O Captain! My Captain!) Whitman wrote this elegy for Abraham Lincoln (16th president of the United States).

Ballad

a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas. Traditional ballads are typical of unknown authorship, having been an orally from one generation to the next as part of the folk culture. Ex: "From the sunburnt plains of far off North Australia Came a fella born to ride the wide brown land Oh he grew up running wil But soon by all was styled As the country's greatest-ever droving man" Bush ballad- Drover (by Elton John)

Omniscient point of view

a point of view where the narrator knows all the thoughts, actions, and feelings of all characters. (the author may move from character to character to show how each one contributes to the plot. Ex: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (By J.K. Rowling) "Harry had taken up his place at wizard school, where he and his scar were famous ... but now the school year was over, and he was back with the Dursleys for the summer, back to being treated like a dog that had rolled in something smelly ... The Dursleys hadn't even remembered that today happened to be Harry's twelfth birthday. Of course, his hopes hadn't been high?" Rowling employs omniscient limited narrator voice, in which readers see what Harry observes, and know what he feels and thinks. They are, however, unable to follow what the Dursleys feel or think about Harry.

Apostrophe

a punctuation mark used to indicate either possession or the omission of letters or numbers Ex: "Oh! Stars and clouds and winds, ye are all about to mock me; if ye really pity me, crush sensation and memory; let me become as naught; but if not, depart, depart, and leave me in darkness." Talking to stars, clouds, and winds is apostrophe.

Pathos

a quality that evokes pity or sadness These lines are taken from Ol' Man River, a lyric composed by Paul Robeson: "Darkies work on de Mississippi Darkies work while de white folks play" We feel overcome by pity for Black Americans ["Darkies"] who were enslaved to White Americans ["white folks"]. The contrast of the words "work" and "play" shows the social disparity between the two races.

Rhetorical question

a question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer. Ex: The Solitary Reaper (By William Wordsworth) "Will no one tell me what she sings?" Notice, an answer is not expected to this question. The poet prefers a rhetorical question to a plain statement to emphasize his feelings of pleasant surprise. Thus, the poem's meaning is enhanced by the use of a rhetorical question

Flashback

a scene in a movie, novel, etc., set in a time earlier than the main story. Ex: Death of a Salesman (By Arthur Miller) Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman uses flashback to narrate Willy Loman's memories of the past. At one moment, Willy talks with his dead brother while playing cards with Charley. He relives a past conversation in the present. This demonstrates a character that is physically living in the present, but mentally living in the memories and events of the past.

Anecdote

a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. Ex: is that? Bells, dogs again! Is it a dream? I sob and cry. See! The door opens, fur-clad men Rush to my rescue; frail am I; Feeble and dying, dazed and glad. There is the pistol where it dropped. "Boys, it was hard - but I'm not mad ... Look at the clock - it stopped, it stopped. Carry me out. The heavens smile. See! There's an arch of gold above. Now, let me rest a little while - Looking to God and Love ... and Love..." In this poem, the speaker is freezing slowly in the Arctic. He recollects the memories of his life and tells the whole story to the readers, but sees flashes of his life before he dies. In fact, he is using anecdotes to tell his life story.

Epigram

a short poem, especially a satirical one, having a witty or ingenious ending. Ex: "Both robb'd of air, we both lie in one ground Both whom one fire had burnt, one water drown'd." While we cannot see any apparent humor, the contradiction is clearly visible in how two people could die with water and fire both. Therefore, the poem has some satirical purposes wrapped up in just two witty lines.

Adage

a short statement expressing a general truth. Ex: "Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all." (Alfred Lord Tennyson) In these lines, Tennyson is giving advice about having love in one's life.

Fable

a short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral. Ex: "Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies ... and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end ... No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery ..." Here, old Major is speaking to other animals. It is presented as the story of the development and emergence of Soviet communism, through an animal fable. He advises the animals to struggle against the humans, telling them that rebellion is the only feasible way out of their miserable situation.

Parable

a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. Ex: Hans Christian Anderson wrote a short parable, "The Emperor's New Clothes. The author tells about the life of a silly and vain emperor, whom two cheaters approached, pretending to be artists. They suggested that he wear their clothes, which they said would make him invisible in front of incompetent and stupid people. The emperor agreed, and paid them to make such clothes, as he enjoyed wearing fancy dress.

Paradox

a situation, person, or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities. Ex: From William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet: "The earth that's nature's mother is her tomb; What is her burying grave, that is Rainbow in her womb..." The contradictory ideas of the earth being the birthplace and a graveyard make these lines paradoxical.

Quatrain

a stanza of four line, especially one having alternate rhymes. Ex: In Memoriam A. H. H (By Alfred Lord Tennyson) "So word by word, and line by line, The dead man touch'd me from the past, And all at once it seem'd at last The living soul was flash'd on mine." This example of memoriam stanza with rhyme scheme of abba follows the iambic tetrameter pattern (each line contains four iambs).

Allegory

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or a political one. Ex: "All animals are equal but a few are more equal than others." (George Orwell) The animals on the farm represent different sections of Russian society after the revolution.

Rhythm

a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound. Ex: Anapests are total opposites of dactyls. They have three syllables; where the first two syllables are not stressed, and the last syllable is stressed. For example: " 'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house," ('Twas the Night Before Christmas, by Clement Clarke Moore)

Mood

a temporary state of mind or feeling Ex: Charles Dickens creates a calm and peaceful mood in his novel Pickwick Papers: "The river, reflecting the clear blue of the sky, glistened and sparkled as it flowed noiselessly on." The depiction of idyllic scenery imparts a serene and non-violent mood to the readers.

Anachronism

a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists, especially a thing that is conspicuously old-fashioned. Ex: Brutus: "Peace! Count the clock." Cassius: "The clock has stricken three." Mechanical clocks referred to in the above-mentioned dialogue had not been invented at that time, but were present in Shakespeare's time. Thus, the mention of a clock in this play is an anachronism.

Shakespearean sonnet

a type of sonnet written in iambic pentameter and consisting of three quatrains and a final couplet with the rhyme scheme (abab cscs efef gg.) The Shakespearean sonnet, (perfected though not invented by Shakespeare), contains three quatrains and a couplet, with more rhymes (because of the greater difficulty finding rhymes in English). The most common rhyme scheme is A-B-A-B C-D-C-D E-F-E-F G-G. In Shakespeare, the couplet often undercuts the thought created in the rest of the poem.

Archetype

a very typical example or a certain person or thing/an original that has been imitated/a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology. Ex: The mentor-Gandalf in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings His or her task is to protect the main character. It is through the wise advice and training of a mentor that the main character achieves success in the world. Examples of mentor include:

Foreshadowing

a warning or indication of (a future event). Ex: "Away from the wind, and landed in gentian and saxifrage Spilled on the moss ... Cliff and splashed unseen into mist in the shadows." (David by Earle Birney) This excerpt gives descriptions of "darkening firs," "sudden whirring of water," and "splashed unseen," foretelling a pending danger and some disaster about to happen.

Stereotype

a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or the bad idea of a particular type of person or thing. Ex: In the entertainment industry directors often make blondes seem less intelligent due to stereotypes.

Pastoral

a work of literature portraying an idealized version of country life. Ex: . In a pastoral, characters and language of a courtly nature are often placed in a simple setting. The term pastoral is also used to classify dramas, elegies, and lyrics that exhibit the use of country settings and shepherd characters. The Passionate Shepherd to his Love by Christopher Marlowe is a pastoral.

Consonance

agreement or compatibility between opinions or actions. Ex: "A Quietness distilled As Twilight long begun, Or Nature spending with herself Sequestered Afternoon— Here, Emily Dickinson has relied on the consonant "n" to create the intended effect.

Soliloquy

an act or speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any, hearers, especially by a character in a play. Ex: "To be, or not to be? That is the question— Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune..." Hamlet is in a state of mind that only Shakespeare can describe through his magnificent pen. Uncertain, reluctant Prince Hamlet was literally unable to do anything but merely wait to "catch the conscience of the king" to complete his supposed plan.

Terza rima

an arrangement of triplets, especially in iambs, that rhyme (aba, bcb, cdc, etc.) Ex: One rhyme sound is used for the first and third lines of each stanza, and a new rhyme introduced for the second line, this new rhyme, in turn being used for the first and third line of the next stanza

Tragedy

an event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe. Ex: William Shakespeare Shakespeare, the most popular of all playwrights, knew the Greek tragedy style well and he used several Greek themes but modified them to his own purpose. He intentionally violates the unity of action and mixes tragic actions with comical. Examples of tragedy written by Shakespeare include: Hamlet Othello King Lear Macbeth

Allusion

an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference. Ex: "The two knitting women increase his anxiety by gazing at him and all the other sailors with knowing unconcern. Their eerie looks suggest that they know what will happen (the men dying), yet don't care" (Joseph Conrad). The thread they knit represents human life. The two women knitting black wool foreshadows Marlow's horrific journey in the "Dark Continent".

Connotation

an idea or feeling that word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning. Ex: "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears." Here, the word "ear" connotes the idea of people listening to him attentively.

Parody

an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect. Ex: Robinson Crusoe (By Daniel Defoe) Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe was a travel narrative. Swift adopted a similar mode to describe Gulliver's travels to the strange land of Lilliput, and other such places where he meets "Lilliputians," and the giant "Brobdingnagians." He also meets other strange creatures like "Laputians" and "Houyhnhnms," and the "Yahoos". The parody for Swift was intended as a satire on English society.

Syllogism

an instance of a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn (whether validly or not) from two given or assumed propositions (premises), each of which shares a term with the conclusion, and shares a common or middle term not present in the conclusion. Ex: Compressed syllogism is found in famous metaphysical poet John Donne's Elegy 2 The Anagram: "All love is wonder; if we justly do Account her wonderful, why not lovely too?" If we expand the above syllogism, it will have the following organization of statements: All that is lovable is wonderful, and the mistress is wonderful. Therefore, the mistress is lovable.

Deus ex machina

an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel. Ex: In the end of the play, Thetis the sea goddess appears to Peleus. She comes to take Peleus back with her to her ocean home. The play ends with Peleus going with Thetis his wife, into the ocean. Andromache (by Euripides)

Rhyme

correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry. Ex: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (By Jane Taylor) "Twinkle, twinkle little star How I wonder what you are" Classification: Tail Rhyme This is the most common type of rhyme. It occurs in the final syllable of a verse or line.

Falling action

defined as the parts of a story after the climax and before the very end. An example of falling action is act four in a five-act play. Ex: The Fault in Our Stars, a novel by John Green. The story revolves around two teenage lovers, Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters, who are cancer patients. The rising action takes place, when they start liking each other, and the climax occurs with their tour to Amsterdam, where they express their feelings and consequently their love blossoms. Nevertheless, their whirling romance comes to a halt, because Augustus' health worsens, and he sees very few chances of his survival. The falling action follows with their return to Indianapolis, where Hazel decides to be with him to take good care of him. But, deep down she is aware of this reality that he has not much time to live. Augustus, on the other hand, remembers that he had planned to would write Hazel's eulogy, but the situation reverses instead.

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. Ex: "He cried all night, and dawn found him still there, though his tears had dried and only hard, dry sobs shook his wooden frame. But these were so loud that they could be heard by the faraway hills ..." The crying of Pinocchio all night until his tears became dry is an example of Hyperbole.

Conceit

excessive pride in oneself. Ex: "Oh stay! three lives in one flea spare Where we almost, yea more than married are. This flea is you and I, and this Our marriage-bed and marriage-temple is..." In the above lines, the poet tells his darling that she has no reason to deny him sexually, as the flea has sucked blood from both of them, and their blood has mingled in its gut, so the flea has become their "marriage bed," though they are not married yet.

Abstract

existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence. Ex: As an adjective applied to write or literary works, abstract refers to words or phrases that name things not knowable through the five senses.

Assonance

in poetry, the repetition of the sound of a vowel or diphthong in non rhyming stressed syllables near enough to each other for the echo to be discernible. Ex: "And stepping softly with her air of blooded ruin about the glade in a frail agony of grace she trailed her rags through dust and ashes, circling the dead fire, the charred billets and chalk bones, the little calcined ribcage." The repetition of the long vowel sound in the above passage lays emphasis on the frightening atmosphere that the writer wants to depict.

Rising action

in the rising action, a series of events build toward the point of greatest interest. (In a story, the series of events that begin immediately after the introduction and builds up to the climax.) Ex: The Hobbit (By J. R. R. Tolkien) The conflict begins in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, as Gandalf meets Bilbo and asks him to play the role of a burglar in the dwarves' expedition to recover the treasure of Thorin from Smaug. Rising action occurs as he agrees to act as a burglar during this adventure. His heroism begins merely by shouting to wake up Gandalf, who rescues the company from goblins, and then the action slowly intensifies when he finds the magic ring. Gradually, Bilbo overcomes difficulties by killing a big spider, and establishes his potential as a hero and leader.

In medias res

into the middle of a narrative; without preamble. Ex: It refers to the technique of beginning a story at its midpoint and then using various flashback devices to reveal previous action. This technique is used in Homer's Odyssey.

Litotes

ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary Ex: "I am not unaware how the productions of the Grub Street brotherhood have of late years fallen under many prejudices." Now just see how Swift has used double negatives to emphasize the point that he is totally aware of it. The irony is that he is aware, but he is saying it as if he is unaware that he is not.

Juxtapose

place or deal with close together for contrasting effect. Ex: "O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear;" Here, the radiant face of Juliet is juxtaposed with a black African's dark skin. Romeo admires Juliet by saying that her face seems brighter than brightly lit torches in the hall. He says that, at night, her face glows like a bright jewel that shines against the dark skin of an African.

Free verse

poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter. Ex: "Come slowly, Eden Lips unused to thee. Bashful, sip thy jasmines, As the fainting bee, Reaching late his flower, Round her chamber hums, Counts his nectars—alights, And is lost in balms!" Emily Dickinson is famous as the mother of American English free verse. This poem does not have consistent metrical patterns, musical patterns, or rhyme. Rather, following the rhythm of natural speech, it gives an artistic expression to the ideas it contains.

Foil

prevent (something considered wrong or undesirable) from succeeding. Ex: "Man is not truly one, but truly two." He means that the human soul is a mixture of evil and good. In other words, every man's foil exists in himself. Hyde is the manifestation of the evil that existed in otherwise honorable Dr. Jekyll. Being a respectable Victorian gentleman, Jekyll can never fulfill his evil desires. Therefore, he separates his "evil-self," giving him a separate identity, and thus invents his own foil.

Refrain

stop oneself from doing something. Ex: "O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up — for you the flag is flung — for you the bugle trills..." The poet uses refrain throughout this poem to emphasize elegiac theme. See the repetition of the words "captain," "rise up," and "for you" in just these two lines. This theme continues throughout.

Structure

the arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex. Ex: Often used in writing structure is needed to help explain the story.

Syntax

the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language. Ex: Romeo and Juliet (By William Shakespeare) "What light from yonder window breaks?" Instead of using the common expression, "What light breaks from yonder window," Shakespeare emphasized his meaning by using different syntax.

Persona

the aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others. Ex: "Now when I was a little chap I had a passion for maps. I would look for hours at South America, or Africa, or Australia, and lose myself in all the glories of exploration ... and when I saw one that looked particularly inviting on a map (but they all look that) I would put my finger on it and say, 'When I grow up I will go there ... Well, I haven't been there yet, and shall not try now. The glamour's off ... well, we won't talk about that..." Marlow is probably one of the most famous persona examples in novels. In this novel, Marlow is used as Conrad's mouthpiece. In this extract, Conrad is telling us through Marlow about his own visit to the Congo, his experiences of sailing to distant places, and his boyhood ambition of sailing. Hence, Marlow is used as a persona in this novel.

Realism

the attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is and being prepared to deal with it accordingly. Ex: In his play, "The Crucible," Arthur Miller presents realism, which is based on making his character appearing lifelike figures. Miller has created a chain of events to demonstrate iconic realism by using characterization, language, and dialogue. He has chosen a story of human interaction to describe his own concern for the cultural future of the United States, and humanity at large. It is true that the witch trials in Salem actually happened, and people such as Rebecca and John Proctor were killed. The murders of these innocent people have a powerful impact on readers, not because of the author's style, but because of the horrifying subject matter. Miller's use of language is also very powerful, especially where the judges and the accusers twisted ideas and words to create contrasts and paradoxes from which the accused could not escape. This was the reality of life at that time.

Personification

the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form. Ex: Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene II (By William Shakespeare) "When well-appareled April on the heel Of limping winter treads." There are two personification examples here. April cannot put on a dress, and winter does not limp, nor does it have a heel on which a month can walk. Shakespeare personifies the month of April and the winter season by giving them two distinct human qualities.

Diction

the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing. Ex: "Busy old fool, unruly Sun, Why dost thou thus, Through windows, and through curtains, call on us? Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run? Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide. " Treating the sun as a real human being in this excerpt, the poet speaks to the sun in an informal way, using colloquial expressions. He rebukes the sun because it has appeared to spoil the good time he is having with his beloved. Further, he orders the "saucy pedantic sun" to go away.

Enjambment

the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza. Ex: "I am not prone to weeping, as our sex Commonly are; the want of which vain dew Perchance shall dry your pities; but I have That honorable grief lodged here which burns Worse than tears drown ..." Shakespeare frequently used enjambment in his plays. This extract is filled with the heavy use of enjambment. In each line, the linguistic unit finishes mid-line with a caesura. The meaning flows from one line to next, and readers are forced to read the subsequent lines.

Irony

the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. Ex: Shakespeare employs this verbal irony in Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene II: CASSIUS: " 'Tis true this god did shake." Cassius, despite knowing the mortal flaws of Caesar, calls him "this god".

Onomatopoeia

the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (often used for rhetorical effect.) Ex: The Tempest (By William Shakespeare) "Hark, hark! Bow-wow. The watch-dogs bark! Bow-wow. Hark, hark! I hear The strain of strutting chanticleer Cry, 'cock-a-diddle-dow!'"

Tone

the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc. Ex: A River Runs Through It (By Norman Maclean) "This was the last fish we were ever to see Paul catch. My father and I talked about this moment several times later, and whatever our other feelings, we always felt it fitting that, when we saw him catch his last fish, we never saw the fish but only the artistry of the fisherman." The extract contains tones of loss and nostalgia; however, the characters look quite satisfied with the way things are moving forward.

Protagonist

the leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text. Ex: Hamlet (By William Shakespeare) Protagonist examples in many stories are not shown to be flawless. They generally undergo some change that causes a turn of events, which makes a story interesting and helps deliver a message. Sometimes, a moral weakness is highlighted that causes the fall of the protagonist. For example, in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, the protagonist experiences terrible events because of his indecisiveness, which troubles him while murdering his evil uncle. So, Hamlet's struggle in dealing with the antagonist is what precedes the story.

Plot

the main events of a play, novel, movie, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence. Ex: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (By J. K. Rowling) Among the examples of plot in modern literature, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is probably the most familiar to both readers and moviegoers. The plot of the story begins when Harry learns that Professor Snape is after the Sorcerer's Stone. The Professor lets loose a troll, who nearly kills Harry and his friends. In addition, Harry finds out that Hagrid let out the secret of the giant dog to a stranger in return for a dragon, which means that Snape can now reach the Sorcerer's Stone.

Climax

the most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or apex. "This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." This line from Martin Luther King's famous speech, I Have a Dream, qualifies as the climax of the speech. It criticizes and rejects racial discrimination suffered by black Americans at the hands of white Americans.

Alliteration

the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. Ex: "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes; A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life." (William Shakespeare) This is an example of alliteration with the "f" and "l." in words "forth, fatal, foes" and "loins, lovers, and life".

Ellipsis

the omission from speech or writing of a word or words that are superfluous or able to be understood from contextual clues. Ex: An example of the use of ellipsis in filmmaking would be Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The movie directly proceeds to the modern technology (space station) from the most primitive tool of mankind (a bone). In film language, this kind of ellipsis is often called a match cut. It is bridged by the symbolic comparison between the two things.

Setting

the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place. Ex: In William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, weather plays a very important role, as it represents mood, behavior, and attitudes of young boys throughout the storyline. During the day, the beach looks bright, while the ocean is calm, and there is no conflict. The author describes the dense areas of the jungle as scary and dark. One night, when Simon is killed, there comes a violent storm, and the ocean looks very rough in the black night. Thus, its setting includes weather conditions, and the ocean representing dark forces of nature present in human nature.

Ambiguity

the quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness. Ex:"Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness..." (John Keats) The use of the word "still" is ambiguous in nature. Here, it may mean "an unmoving object," or it may be interpreted as "yet unchanged."

Theme

the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person's thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic. Ex: Crime and Mystery Themes Crime and mystery are utilized in detective novels. Such narratives also include sub-themes, such as "crimes cannot be hidden," "evil is always punished," and others. Some well-known crime and mystery theme examples include: Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Metonymy

the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant. Ex: These lines are from Countee Cullen's poem Yet Do I Marvel: "The little buried mole continues blind, Why flesh that mirror Him must someday die..." Here, Cullen uses "flesh" to represent humans, and questions God about why we have to die when we are created in His likeness.

Satire

the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. Ex: "...that for above seventy Moons past there have been two struggling Parties in this Empire, under the Names of Tramecksan and Slamecksan from the high and low Heels on their shoes, by which they distinguish themselves." During Swift's times, two rival political parties, the Whigs and the Tories, dominated the English political scene. Similarly, "The Kingdom of Lilliput" is dominated by two parties distinguished by the size of the heels of their boots. By the trivial disputes between the two Lilliputian parties, Swift satirizes the minor disputes of the two English parties of his period.

Sarcasm

the use of irony to mock or convey contempt. Ex: In the television series Teen Wolf the sidekick of the main character often answers questions with sarcasm. "Personally i'm a huge fan of ignoring the problem until eventually it just goes away.'

Symbolism

the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. Ex: William Blake goes symbolic in his poem Ah Sunflower. He says: "Ah Sunflower, weary of time, Who countest the steps of the sun; Seeking after that sweet golden clime Where the traveler's journey is done;" Blake uses a sunflower as a symbol for human beings, and "the sun" symbolizes life. Therefore, these lines symbolically refer to their life cycle and their yearning for a never-ending life.

Couplet

two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit. Ex: "O, no, poor suff'ring Heart, no Change endeavour, Choose to sustain the smart, rather than leave her; My ravish'd eyes behold such charms about her, I can die with her, but not live without her: One tender Sigh of hers to see me languish, Will more than pay the price of my past anguish..." This excerpt is an example of closed heroic couplets. The lines are following an iamb pentameter pattern. All the couplets are forming complete separate thoughts and ideas, and the rhyme scheme is perfect.

Blank verse

verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter. Ex: Something there is that doesn't love a wall. That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun; This poem has no proper rhyme scheme. However, there is consistent meter in 10 syllables of each line. It is following the iambic pentameter pattern with five feet in each line. Only the first line is written in trochee pattern. All the stressed syllables are marked in bold.

Imagery

visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work. Ex: "The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep ... " Robert Frost uses visual imagery in these lines of his famous poem as, "the woods are lovely, dark and deep."