Lit Terms 1-30

1.Allegory- a tale in prose or verse in which characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities; a story that uses symbols to make a point
2.Alliteration- the repetition of similar initial sounds, usually consonants, in a group of words
3.Allusion- a reference to a person, a place, an event, or a literary work that a writer expects a reader to recognize
4.Ambiguity- something uncertain as to interpretation
5.Anachronism- something that shows up in the wrong place or the wrong time
6.Analogy- a comparison made between two things to show similarities between them
7.Analysis- a method in which a work or idea is separated into its parts and those parts are given rigorous and detailed scrutiny
8.Anaphora- a device or repetition in which a word or words are repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, phrases, clauses or sentences
9.Anecdote- a very short story used to illustrate a point
10.Antagonist- a person or force opposing the protagonist in a drama or narrative
11.Antithesis- a balancing of one term against another for emphasis or stylistic effectiveness
12.Aphorism- a terse, pointed statement expressing some wise or clever observation about life
13.Apologia- a defense or justification of some doctrine, piece of writing, cause, or action
14.Apostrophe- a figure of speech in which an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something inanimate or nonhuman is addressed directly
15.Argument(ation)- process of convincing a reader by providing either the truth or falsity of an idea in proposition
16.Assumption- the art of supposing or taking for granted that a thing is true
17.Audience- the intended listener(s)
18.Characterization- the means by which a writer reveals a character's personality
19.Chiasmus- a reversal in the order of words so that the second half of a statement balances the first half in inverted word order
20.Circumlocution- a roundabout or evasive speech or writing, in which many words are used but a few would have served
21.Classicism- art, literature, and music reflecting the principle of ancient Greece and Rome
22.Cliche- a phrase or situation overused within society
23.Climax- the decisive point in a narrative or drama; the point of greatest intensity or interest at which plot question is answered
24.Colloquialism- folksy speech, slang words, or phrases usually used in formal conversation
25.Comedy- originally a nondramatic literary piece of work that was marked by a happy ending
26.Conflict- struggle or problem in a story causing tension
27.Connotation- implicit meaning, going beyond dictionary definition
28.Contrast- a rhetorical device by which one element is thrown into opposition to another for the sake of emphasis or clarity
29.Denotation- plain dictionary definition
30.Denouement- loose ends tied up in a story after the climax, closure, conclusion