EnglishLiteraryTerms

WHS English Department
HANDBOOK OF LITERARY TERMS

Grade	Literary Term
12	abstract language Refers to general ideas or qualities (i.e. “Earth’s the right place for love:/I don’t know where it’s likely to get better” (Frost ll. 52 – 53)).
12	aesthetic distance A total objectivity of a writer wherein his or her views and judgments are withheld in his or her account of human experience. (i.e. Ernest Hemingway's writing style)
9	allegory A story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities, and can be read on two levels for both a literal and symbolic (allegorical) meaning. (i.e. See Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Haunted Palace")
12	alliteration The practice of beginning several consecutive or neighboring words with the same consonant sound. (i.e. Sally sells seashells by the sea shore.)
12	allusion A reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place, or thing. (i.e. "Boy at the Window" by Richard Wilbur)
12	ambiguity Literary ambiguity refers to any wording, action, or symbol that can be read in divergent ways. Intentional ambiguity in literature can be a powerful device, leaving something undetermined in order to open up multiple possible meanings. (i.e. "Harlem" by Langston Hughes)
10	anachronism An event or detail in apiece of literature that is inappropriate or that doesn’t fit the time period. (i.e. "The clock hath stricken three" from Shakespeare's Julius Ceasar)
11	antihero A protagonist who carries the action of the literary piece but does not embody the classic characteristics of courage, strength, and nobility.(i.e. See Holden Caulfied in "Catcher in the Rye")
12	antithesis A direct juxtaposition of structurally parallel words, phrases, or clauses for the purpose of contrast. (i.e. "A Bunch of Roses" by Andrew Barton Paterson)
12	apostrophe A form of personification in which the absent or dead or the inanimate are spoken to as if present. These are all addressed directly. (i.e. Anothony adresses Ceasar's corpse after his assasination "O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth")
11	archetype A character, situation, or symbol that is familiar to people from all cultures because it occurs frequently in literature, myth, religion, or folklore. (i.e. The 'clan warfare' in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is an example of an archetype)
9	aside Words that are spoken by a character in a play to the audience or to another character but that are not supposed to be overheard by the others onstage. (i.e. In Act I Scene 5 of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Juliet says only for the nurse to hear even though other characters are present on the stage "Go ask his name. If he be married/My grave is like to be my wedding bed.")
12	assonance The repetition of accented vowel sounds in a series of words. (i.e. Fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese.) (i.e. "He hadn't faught at all" by Elizabeth Bishop)
12	atmosphere/mood The predominant emotion a reader perceives in a literary work. (i.e. Shakespeare start's his play "Othello" on a dark street of Venice at night with a heated argument between two characters. The reader feels a sense of foreboding and it establishes a sinister mood) (i.e. Shakespeare's play "Othello" takes place on a dark street in Venice, creating a sinister mood)
11	aubade A song or poem with a motif of greeting the dawn, often involving the parting of lovers, or a call for a beloved to arise. (i.e. "She wakes having flown half a dozen illegal ones…" - "AUBADE" by Olga Broumas)
12	authorial voice (poetic speaker) he voices or speakers used when they seemingly speak for themselves in the literary work. Often the writer will assume a false persona of attitudes or beliefs that cannot possibly be equated with the author herself. (i.e. "In Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" the speaker, Geoffrey, seems to be a dumbed-down version of the author Geoffrey Chaucer, but he has little skill with writing and admires character traits that "Canterbury Tales" as a whole condemns.")
12	ballad A story in a song, usually a narrative song or poem. It is a phythmic saga of a past affair, which may be heroic, romantic or satirical, political; almost inevitable catastophic, which is related in the third person; usually with foreshortened alternating four - and three-stress lines ('ballad meter') and simple repeating rhymes; and often with a refrain. If it is based on political or religious themes, a ballad may then be a version of a hymn. (i.e. "The Ballad of the Green Berets" by SSgt. Barry Sadler)
10	blank verse Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. (i.e. "Out, Out--" by Robert Frost)
11	cacophony/dissonance Harsh, discordant sounds, unpleasant to the ear; the sound of nails scratching a blackboard is cacophonous. Cacophony is used by poets for effect. (i.e. "CALIBAN UPON SETEBOS" by Robert Browning)
9	caesura A pause or break in a line of poetry, sometimes indicated by punctuation, sometimes suggested by phrasing or meaning. (i.e. England - how I long for thee!)
12	carpe diem A latin expression that means "seize the day". Carpe diem poems urge the reader (or the person to whom they are addressed) to live for today and enjoy the pleasures of the moment. (i.e. "To Helen in a Huff" by Nathaniel Parker Willis)
9	catalog In poetry, a list of things, people, or events. (i.e. See "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman)
12	catastrophe The outcome of a tragedy; from the Greek meaning “a downward turn.” (i.e. See "The Oddesey" by Homer)
11	catharsis An emotional cleansing or feeling of relief. (i.e. "Calm of mind, all passions spent" by John Milton)
9	characterization The process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.(i.e. "The patient boy and quiet girl were both well mannered and did not disobey their mother."
9	characterization - direct characterization Writer tells reader directly what the character is like and/or what the character's motives are. (i.e. "The patient boy and quiet girl were both well mannered and did not disobey their mother.")
9	characterization - dynamic character Changes in some important way as a result of the story's action. (i.e. The Capulets and Montegues are all dynamic. By the end of the story they have changed and have stopped hating each other)
9	characterization - flat character Have few personality traits and can be summed up by a single phrase (wicked stepmother, nosy neighbor). (i.e. Snow White's evil stepsisters)
9	characterization - indirect characterization Reader must exercise judgment to put clues together to infer what a character is like, using the character's actions, words, or thoughts. (i.e. In the "Cat in the Hat", any of the words spoken by the cat at the beginning of the story are ubeat. For instance, the cat says to the children, "But we can have/Lots of fun that is funny!")
9	characterization - round character Have more dimensions to their personalities; they are complex as real people are. (i.e. Romeo is a round character, we see sensitive, romantic, and aggressive sides of him)
9	characterization - static character Is not changed by or through the course of events in a story. (i.e. The evil step-mother in Cinderella is a static character, she is still evil at the end and throughout the story)
9	climax The turning point in a plot of a story that creates the greatest intensity, suspense or interest. The conflict will bring about an important event, decision, or discovery that (sometimes) leads to a resolution. (i.e. The death of Romeo and Juliet in the Capulet's tomb in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet")
11	colloquial Of or relating to slang or regional dialect, used in familiar everyday conversation. In writing, an informal style that reflects the way people spoke in a distant time and/or place. (i.e. "when I couldn't stand it no longer" by Mark Twain)
12	conceit An intricate or extended metaphor or simile that arouses a feeling of surprise, shock, or amusement. (i.e. "Shall I compare thee to a midsummer's day?" by Shakespeare's sonnet)
12	concrete language Language that describes or portrays specific or observable persons, places or things rather than general qualities; appeals to the senses (i.e. “[Birches] click upon themselves/As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored/As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel” (Frost ll. 7 – 9)).
9	conflict The struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story. (i.e. Romeo fighting Capulet in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet")
9	conflict - external conflict Can exist between two people (man vs. man), between a person and nature (man vs. nature) or a machine (man vs. technology) or between a person and a whole society (man vs. society).(i.e. Romeo fighting Capulet in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet")
9	conflict - internal conflict Involves opposing forces within a person's mind (man vs. self). "i.e. Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tall Heart", the protagonist ends up struggling with his own guilt after comminting murder)
9	connotation The associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition, called denotation. (i.e. "She gazed at me" vs. "She glared at me" - gazed has a positive overtone, glared a negative one. If one were simply to say "She looked at me," there is no connotation.)
12	consonance The repetition of a consonant sound in the middle or end of words to produce a harmonious effect. (i.e. Don't eat in that tent!)
10	consonance The repetition of a consonant sound in the middle or at the end of words. (i.e. "That rattles the double glass" by Theodore Roethke's "Night Journey")
9	couplet A pair of lines of verse that form a unit. Most couplets rhyme aa, but this is not a requirement. Couplets with a meter of iambic pentameter are called heroic couplets. Couplets can also play a role in more complex rhyme schemes. (i.e. "Morning Swim" by Maxine Kumin)
12	details The facts revealed by the author or speaker that support the attitude or tone in a piece of poetry or prose. (i.e. The dark and somber tone of Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher", is supported when the story talks about Madeline's strange and awful disease, when Madeline awakens from her grave to attack her brother and when the house craks and the narrator tries to flee.)
12	deus ex machina Any unexpected or unlikely event that changes the outcome of a drama. In ancient drama, a god who descended upon the stage to rescue the protagonist from doom; Latin for “the god from the machine.” (i.e. In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum", there is a deus ex machina, when the narrator is pushed over the edge of the bottomless pit and reaches up and grabs the arm of the general who has les the French Army to seize the fortress where the narrator has been imprisoned.)
10	dialect A way of speaking that is characteristic of a particular region or a particular group.(i.e. "Sawyer hunted me up" in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"
10	diction Word choice intended to convey a certain effect. (i.e. "During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day" in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher")
12	diction Word choice intended to convey a certain effect. (i.e. "During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day" in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher")
9	dramatic monologue A poem in which a character speaks to one or more listeners; the reactions of the listener must be inferred by the reader. (i.e. See the peom "Mrs. George Reece" by Edgar Lee Masters)
11	elegy A poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died. (i.e. "Elegy for Jane" by Theodore Roethke)
11	epigram A short poe, with a clever twist at the end or a concise and witty statement. They are amoung the best examples of the power to compress insight and wit. (i.e. "Little strokes/fell great oaks." - [Untitled] by Benjamin Franklin)
10	epiphany A moment of sudden insight or revelation that a character experiences. (i.e. In Nancy Drew novels, Nancy epiphanies when she finally realizes who the real criminal is)
11	epistolary novel A novel in letter form written by one or more of the characters. The novelist can use this technique to present varying first-person points of view and does not need a narrator.
11	euphemism Substitution of an inoffensive word or phrase for another that would be harsh, offensive, or embarrassing. A euphemism makes something sound better than it is but is usually more wordy than the original. (i.e. "W.C.", wash closet is a euphorism for bathroom)
11	euphony The quality of a pleasant or harmonious sound of a word or group of words for an intended effect. Often achieved through long vowels and some consonants, such as “sh.” (i.e. ripple)
12	figures of speech Words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of something else. They always involve some sort of imaginative comparison between seemingly unlike things. Not to be taken literally, figurative language is used to produce images in a reader’s mind and to express ideas in fresh, vivid, and imaginative ways. The most common examples of figurative language, or figures of speech used in both prose and poetry. (i.e. "You are a tulip" by Robert Herrick)
12	figures of speech - metaphor Makes a comparison between two unlike things. (i.e. "You are a tulip" - Robert Herrick)
12	figures of speech - metaphor extended A metaphor that is extended, or developed over several lines of writing or throughout an entire poem. (i.e. "The Hound" by Robert Francis)
12	figures of speech - metaphor implied Does not tell us directly that on thing is something else: e.g., The phrase :Burst into bloom" implies the feeling of love is like a budding flower. (i.e. The phrase:"Burst into bloom", implies the feeling of love is like a budding flower.)
12	figures of speech - personification Kind of metaphor in which a nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as if it were human. (i.e. The tree winked at me.)
12	figures of speech - simile Makes a comparison between two unlike things using the words such as Like, as, resembles, or than. (i.e. He eats like a pig.)
12	flashback A scene that interrupts the action of a work to show a previous event. (i.e. Henry Flemming in "Red Badge of Courage" flashbacks to fleeing in battle)
9	foil A character who acts as a contrast to another character. (i.e. In Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Hamlet and Laertes are foils)
9	foot A unit of meter in poetry; the division of syllables, one of which is long or accented. (i.e. "With a leap and a bound" from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "A Lesson for a Boy")
9	foot - anapest Two short (unaccented) syllables followed by one long (accented) syllables (i.e., in-ter-VENE, for a WHILE).
9	foot - dactyl One long (accented) syllable followed by two short (unaccented) syllables (i.e., MERR-I-ly, LO-ver-boy).
9	foot - iamb One short (unaccented) syllable followed by one long (accented) syllable i.e., a-VOID the RUSH)
9	foot - spondee Two long or equally accented syllables (i.e., BREAD-BOX, SHOE-SHINE).
9	foot - trochee One long (accented) syllable followed by one short (unaccented) syllable (i.e., ON-ly, TO-tal).
12	foreshadowing The use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action. (i.e. In Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, The Chorus's first speech declaring the Romero and Juliet are doomed to die and "star-crossed")
9	free verse Poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme and often reproduces the rhythm of the spoken language. (i.e. Walt Whitman's "I Dream'd in a Dream")
12	genre A term used to describe various types of literature. ( i.e. prose can be divided into fiction, autobiography, biography, history, essays, letters, etc.)
9	hamartia In Greek drama, the protagonist’s tragic flaw or error in judgment (i.e. hubris).
12	imagery Consists of the words or phrases a writer uses to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and ideas descriptively by appealing to the senses. (i.e. When the evening is spread out against the sky" by T.S. Elliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock")
12	imitative harmony When onomatopoeia is used on an extended scale in a poem. (i.e. see Poe's "Silver Bells")
12	in medias res The technique of starting a story in the middle and then using flashback to tell what happened earlier; Latin for “in the middle of things.” (i.e. See Homer's "Odyssey")
10	innocent-eye narrator A type of point of view in which an innocent or naïve character serves as the narrator. The character may be a child or a developmentally disabled person. (i.e. Scout in "To Kill a Mockingbird" is such a narrator)
12	invective In satirical writing, the use of denunciatory, angry, or insulting language. (i.e. "snaggleteeth, red-headed Judases, wastels, and shitabeds" from Rabelais's "Gargantua and Pantagruel)
11	inversion A switch in the normal word order, often used for emphasis or rhyme scheme. (i.e. Here by the rose-tree/they planted once/ of love in Jeopardy/ an Italian bronze.)
12	irony A contrast or discrepancy between expectation and reality. (i.e See "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson)
12	irony - dramatic irony Occurs when the audience or the reader knows something important that a character in the play or story does not know (i.e., In Romeo and Juliet the audience knows, but Romeo does not, that when he finds Juliet in the tomb, she is drugged, not dead.)
12	irony - situational irony Occurs when there is a contradiction between what we expect to happen and what really does take place( i.e., "The deep sea diver drowned in his bathtub.")
12	irony - tragic/cosmic irony Similar to dramatic irony. The incongruity between a situation developed in a Greek drama that is understood by the audience, but not the actors (i.e., Oedipus curses the murderer of Laios, not realizing that he is himself the murderer.)
12	irony - verbal irony Occurs when a writer or speaker says one thing but really means something completely different (i.e., "It is easy to stop smoking, I've done it many times.")
12	juxtaposition Occurs when two images that are otherwise not commonly brought together appear side by side or are placed structurally close together; forces the reader to reconsider the meaning of the text through the contrasting images, ideas, or motifs. (i.e. Shakespeare's "Hamlet", "I must be cruel only to be kind")
9	limerick A light humorous, nonsensical, or bawdy verse of five anapestic lines usually with the rhyme scheme, aabba. (i.e. "Requiem" by Ogden Nash)
9	lyric poem A poem that expresses the speaker's personal feelings and thoughts rather than tell a story. (i.e. See "Thanatopsis" by William Cullen Bryant)
9	meter The measure of the rhythmic quality of a poem; a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. (i.e. "The curfew tollst he knell of parting day" by Thomas Grey)
11	metonymy A figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing is referred to by something closely associated with it. (i.e. Calling a king or queen "the crown", the President "boss" or a car "wheels")
10	motif A word, character, object, image, metaphor, or idea that recurs in a work or in several works. (i.e. Cinderella)
12	motivation A circumstance or set of circumstances that prompts a character to act in a certain way or that determines the outcome of a situation or work. (i.e. Juliet seeing her true love Romeo die, motivates her to kill herself)
12	narration Type of writing which tells a story. (i.e. "The man commited the crime,not me!" by Thomas Pierre)
12	ode A form of stately and elaborate lyrical verse. A classic ode is structured in three parts - the strophe, the antistrophe and the epode, but different forms such as the homostrophic ade and the irregular ode exsist. Horatian odes were frequently set to music in the 16th century, and odes to dignitaries were also often set. (i.e. "Ode to Billy Joe" by Bobbie Gentry)
12	onomatopoeia The use of words that mimic the sounds they describe. (i.e. cock-a-doodle-do, hiccup, beep, and tick-tock)
12	oxymoron A pair of opposite terms combined to form a single unusual expression. (i.e. hot ice or cold fire)
12	paradox Occurs when the elements of a statement contradict each other. Although the statement may appear illogical, impossible, or absurd, it turns out to have a coherent meaning that reveals a hidden truth. (i.e. "Love is not Love" by Shakespeare)
10	paradox A statement or situation that seems to be a contradiction but that reveals a truth. (i.e. "Love is not Love…" - from Shakespear's Sonnet 116)
11	parody A comical imitation of a serious piece with the intent of ridiculing the author or his work. (i.e. Alicia Randall published a parady of "Gone with the Wind" called "The Wind Done Gone")
12	pastoral An artistic composition dealing with the life of shepherds or with a simple, rural existence. It usually idealizes shepherds' lives in order to create an image of peaceful and uncorrupted existence. More generally, pastoral describes the simplicity, charm, and serenity attributed to country life, or any literary convention that places kindly, rural people in nature-centered activities. (i.e. See Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepard to His Love")
12	pathos Feelings of tender sympathy or pity evoked by the closing scenes of a drama; used especially in tragedy. (i.e. In Shakespear's "Julius Caesar", Marc Antony's speech over the conspirator's betrayl. "Look, in this place ran Cassius' dagger through;"…)
9	persona The speaker in a poem; the “mask” that an author projects in a particular text (i.e. Geoffrey in "Canterbury Tales" by Chaucer, takes on a dim-witted persona)
12	plot The sequence of events or actions in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem. (i.e. In Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", the plot is two lovers then discover they are of feuding familes, but continue their romance in secret. After getting married, each finds eachother's supposed death and commits suicide)
12	point of view The perspective from which a narrative is told. (i.e. "I did it all" by James Frey)
12	point of view - 1st person The narrator is the character in the story. (i.e. "Night" by Elie Wiesel is told in first person)
12	point of view - 3rd person limited The narrator is outside the story - like omniscient - but tells the story from the vantage point of only one character. Therefore, the reader does not know what the other characters are thinking. (i.e. Nancy Drew novels the reader only knows the thoughts of Nancy, and not other characters)
12	point of view - 3rd person omniscient All knowing. The narrator or person telling the story knows everything that is going on in the story, including the thoughts of each character. (i.e. In Animal Farm the reader knows the thoughts of all the animals, and are referred to as "they")
10	prosody The study of sound and rhythm in poetry. (i.e. This is concerned with the meter, rhythm, and rhyme, see the definitions for these words)
12	protagonist The central character of a drama, novel, short story, or narrative poem. Conversely, the antagonist is the character who stands directly opposed to the protagonist. (i.e. The protagonist of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is Hamlet, since most of the action revolves around him)
12	pun A play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings. (i.e. Mercutio after having just been stabbed, knows he is dying and says - "Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man." - from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet")
11	refrain A regularly recurring phrase or verse especially at the end of each stanza or division of a poem or song. (i.e. "Reck not, nor stay/ Be gay,begay,/For soon, ah soon, spring passes away." - "Turkish Refrain" by Alphonso Gerald Newcomer)
12	repetition The deliberate use of any element of language more that once – sound, word, phrase, sentence, grammatical pattern, or rhythmical pattern. (i.e. See Gwendolyn's "We Real Cool". Notice the deliberate use of 'we')
9	resolution The conclusion of a story, when all or most of the conflicts have been settled. (i.e. The resolution of Romeo and Juliet is when the Capulets and the Montagues decide to end their feud, due to the tragic deaths of their children)
12	rhyme The repetition of sounds in two or more words or phrases that appear close to each other in a poem. (i.e. Go, Row, Sow, Know)
12	rhyme - end rhyme Occurs at the end of lines. (i.e. Robert Browning's "What your dammed flowerpots do, God's blood, would not mine kill you!")
12	rhyme - internal rhyme Occurs within the line of poetry. (i.e. I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers.)
12	rhyme - rhyme scheme The pattern of end rhymes. (i.e. "Those Annual Bills" by Mark Twain. The order in which the rhymes recur is aabbccdd…etc)
12	rhyme - slant rhyme An approximate or near rhyme. (i.e. I sat in my chair, while the lady knit her scarf.)
12	sarcasm The use of verbal irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it. (i.e. Mark Twain said that the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco)
9	satire A type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an attempt to bring about a change. (Jonathon Swift's "Gulliver's Travels")
9	setting The time and location in which a story takes place. (i.e. Act 1 Scene 1 of "Romeo and Juliet" is in a public square in Verona, Italy.)
12	setting The time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem take place. (i.e. Act 1 Scene 1 of "Romeo and Juliet" is in a public square in Verona, Italy.)
10	shift (turn) A change or movement in a piece of literature resulting from a realization or insight gained by the speaker, a character, or the reader. (i.e. See "Harry Potter" when Harry finds out neither him nor Voldemort can survive while the other one lives)
12	shift or turn A change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization, or insight gained by the speaker, a character, or the reader. (i.e. See "Harry Potter" when Harry finds out neither him nor Voldemort can survive while the other one lives)
9	soliloquy A long speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are on stage; the character seems to be thinking aloud rather than addressing a specific listener. (i.e. "Now I am alone. O' what a rouge and peasant slave am I" by Shakespeare)
12	sound devices Stylistic techniques that convey meaning through sound. (i.e. assonance, alliteration, consonance)
11	stream of consciousness A form of writing which replicates the way the human mind works. Ideas are presented in random order; thoughts are often unfinished. (i.e. "Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" by Edgar Allen Poe and "Ulysses" by James Joyce)
12	structure The framework or organization of a literary selection. (i.e. Most novels are structured in chapter format)
12	suspense The quality of a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem that makes the reader or audience uncertain or tense about the outcome of events. (i.e. In "The Tell Tale Heart", Edgar Allen Poe uses phrases like those that follow to create a feeling of suspense: "The length of time before the attack"; "The time taken over checking the body was dead"; "I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.")
12	symbol Any object, person, place or action that has both a meaning in itself and that stands for something larger than itself, such as a quality, attitude, belief, or value. (i.e. "Little lamb, who made thee?/ He is called by thy name/For he calls himself a lamb;" - from William Blake's "The Lamb". Lamb is a symbol that stands for Jesus Christ (Lamb of God))
11	synecdoche A figure of speech in which a part represents a whole. (i.e. "And I have known the arms already…" - T.S. Eliot "In the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (arms stands for women))
12	synesthesia One sensory image is placed together with another image that appeals to an unrelated sense. (i.e. I'll clutch - and clutch" by Emily Dickinson. This poem uses and images that appeals to the sense of sight which is put with an image that appeals to the sense of touch in the wordes 'golden touch')
10	syntax The arrangement of words and the order of grammatical elements in a sentence. (i.e. "Buffalo Bill's Defunct" by E.E. Cummings)
12	terza rima Poem written in rhyming verse stanza form. (i.e. "Acquainted with the Night" by Robert Frost. This poem uses a chain rhyme scheme of aba, bcb, cdc, ded, ee.)
12	thematic statement The theme expressed as a sentence or general statement about life or human nature. (i.e. A possible thematic statement for Romeo and Juliet is that fate is inevitiable)
12	theme The central message of a literary work. It is not the same as the subject, which can be expressed in a word or two. (i.e. George Orwell's "1984", has a theme of social dangers of totalitarianism)
12	tone The writer’s/speaker’s attitude toward a subject, character, or audience is conveyed through the author’s choice of words and detail. Tone can be serious, humorous, sarcastic, indignant, objective, etc. (i.e. serious, humorous, sarcastic, indignant, objective, etc.)
9	tragic hero The protagonist of a tragedy, whose downfall generally occurs because of some combination of fate, an error in judgment, or a personality failure known as hamartia or tragic flaw; the character usually gains wisdom at the price of defeat or even death. (i.e. Brutus is caught up in his patriotism for Rome, so he murders his friend, he later regrets it and suffers the consequences; he is a tragic hero)
10	verisimilitude The resemblance to truth or believability in a work of literature. (i.e. A novel with a narator of a child would have less verisimilitude than a novel with a reliable narrator)
10	vernacular The local language or dialect of common speech. (i.e. "Tom told me what his plan was, and I see in a minute it was worth fifteen of mine for style" by Mark Twain)
11	voice The dominating ethos or tone of a literary work. The voice existing in a literary work is not always identifiable with the actual words of the author. In writing, voice is simply the way you, the writer, projects yourself artistically. (i.e. The voice in Orwell's "1984" is dark and pessimistic)