Analyzing & Interpiting Lit

Poetry
Prose
Drama

American Literature
British Literature
Works in Translation

The most common form of written language following natural speech
patterns and grammatical structure

Pertaining to sound from speech

Imaginary narrative; the information or events are created by the author

Writing that delivers factual events and observations

Literary form that ridicules human vices or shortcomings

Fact or reality that transcends genres

An extended fictional narrative written in prose that includes characters,
plot, and setting

Longer prose narrative, originally associated with the legendary,
imaginative and poetic

A broad literary method not tied to one specific form or genre, such as
irony or satire
i.e. realism, romanticism, impressionism, expressionism, naturalism, or neo-classicism

Delivering subject from third-person objective point of view with no
added interpretation or elaboration

An artistic and literary movement originating in the second half
of the eighteenth century in Europe, emphasizing emotions, idealism, adventure,
and chivalry

Subjective or personal literary style that relies on associations;
style adapted from nineteenth century school of painters including Monet and Renoir

Subjective depiction of the real world through imagination, the
abstract and symbols

Literary movement that depicts life as accurately as possible, illustrating transformation in society through environment and hereditary.

A style of prose and poetry from the 17th and 18th centuries,
reviving a classical style from Greek and Roman cultures.

A character who stays the same throughout a literary work.

A character whose personality changes over the course of a narrative
or who has the ability for such a change
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Analyzing and Interpreting Literature

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Main character in a literary work; literally, one who struggles toward
or for something

The one who struggles against or contends with the protagonist;
the antagonist may be another individual or an obstacle or challenge, such as fear
or death

A well understood and accepted interpretation of an image, symbol or
character; a character who exists for necessity of a plot

A popularly held belief about a particular group of individuals

A character who highlights through contrast opposite characteristics in
another character

A narrative that is an extended metaphor; the elements of the
narrative carry significance on a literal and figurative level

Statement summarizing the message or the big idea of a story

Phrase stating subject or theme of a work or speech

An object, concept or structure repeated in a literary work; thereby giving
it symbolic significance in the story

The perspective or vantage point from which the author chooses
to tell the story

speculative, argumentative, narrative, and expository

Writing or discourse that explores ideas

Describes writing - usually an essay - that establishes a position and supports it with evidence

Has speculative and arguementative; the events that tell the story

Writing or discourse with the primary purpose of informing, clarifying, or explaining

The speaker. In non-fiction, the author; in fiction, the narrator; may also
refer to the style chosen by the writer, such as formal or informal

How an author writes; incorporates diction, syntax, use of narration and
dialogue, choice point of view, and description

Organization of a literary work

Idea the essayist is conveying

Discrepancy between what is said and what is done or meant

A work that mocks an original work, character or style through humerous imitation

Doing or saying the opposite or unexpected; using irony

Exaggeration or overstatement

Expression of an idea with less force or strength than expected for the sake of humor

Harsh or biting verbal irony
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Analyzing and Interpreting Literature

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Intellectual humor; in poetry, wit works through word play to emphasize
concepts

Writing that attacks a person or idea through emotional language

A line of poetry (versus); often used to refer to a section or stanza of a
poem

Basic rhythmic structure for lines in poetic verse

In poetry, a group of lines set off by space; also referred to as a verse

Pattern of repetition of rhyme within a poem designated by
aabb or abab, where a marks the first line and all the other lines rhyming with it

Repetition of similar sounds in two or more words, found in the final
syllable(s) of the lines of poetry

A word rhyming at the end of a line with a word in the middle of
a line

Repetition of final consonant in only 2 words; also referred to as
near rhyme or off rhyme, it is consonance in the consonants of the rhyming words
such as "all" and "bell" or "mirth" and "hearth"

A rhyme that matches just one syllable, often a stressed
syllable found at the end of lines

Two or more syllables match in the rhyming words; the final
syllable or syllables are unstressed

poetry using natural rhythms of word and phrases instead of required
metrical feet

Unrhymed iambic pentameter

rising and falling rhythm in poetry from alternating stressed and
unstressed syllables

an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

Line of five feet, each with an unstressed syllable followed
by a stressed syllable

Basic unit of meter consisting of a set number of stressed and unstressed
syllables

Line with six metrical feet; most common

Line with one metrical foot

Line with two metrical feet

Line with three metrical feet

Line with four metrical feet

Line with seven metrical feet

Line with eight metrical feet

Metrical foot used in poetry consisting of 2 short syllables followed by
a long syllable
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Analyzing and Interpreting Literature

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A foot in meter in poetry; in Greek or Latin verse, it is a long syllable
followed by 2 short syllables; in English verse, it is a stressed syllable followed by 2
unstressed syllables

Stressed rhythmic structure of poetic lines

compares 2 unlike things, feelings or objects

compares 2 dissimilar things; always using "as if" (for a clause) or "like"
(for a word or phrase)

A reference to a person, place or thing from another literary work or
history.

Figure of speech that attributes human characteristics to inanimate objects or animals

Word picture painted by the writer

To visualize the picture(s) evoked by the writer through the senses

Term coined by Ezra Pound for free imagery, open to many interpretations

An object, image, word or feeling that represents something greater

A well-understood and accepted interpretation of an image, symbol or
character; a character who exists for the necessity of the plot

Following acceptable standards; a well-understood interpretation

the repetition of consonants at the beginning of words that are close
by each other

the direct address of someone or something that is not present

the repetition of vowel sounds usually internally rather than initially

the deliberate anticlimax to make a definite point or draw attention to a
falseness

the pause, marked by punctuation (/) or not within the line

very elaborate comparisons between unlikely objects

the repetition of consonant sounds without the vowel being
repeated

word choice

the running-on of one line of poetry into another

a large overstatement used to draw attention to a mark of beauty or
virtue or an action that the poet disagrees with

discrepancy between what is said and what is meant or done

the name for something closely related to it which then takes on a
larger meaning

a device in which the word captures the sound
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a form of paradox in which contradictory words are used next to
each other i.e. painful pleasure

a situation or action or feeling that appears to be contradictory but on
inspection turns out to be true or at least make sense

a play on words for a humorous or sarcastic effect

when verbal irony is too harsh

when a part of an object is used to represent the whole or vice
verse

the ordering of words into a particular pattern

the voice or attitude of the speaker

speech delivered by a single character who addresses
the reader or an internal listener and reveals his or her innermost thoughts and
feelings

pattern or design of a poem; open/closed form

poetry that does not follow a predetermined form; freedom in the
form of a poem

poetry conforming to pre-specified requirements of rhyme, meter,
line length, and number of lines; two examples are haiku and sonnet

any one of three 14th and 15th century French poetic forms; the
ballad, the virelai, and rondeau

specific poetic pattern of 14 lines arranged in a set rhyme scheme;
two common sonnets are Italian or Petrarchan, with a rhyme scheme of abba, abba,
cdecde, and English or Shakespearean with abab, cdcd, efef, gg

poetic verse of 8 lines of iambic pentameter, usually with a rhyme
scheme of abba abba

poetic verse of 6 lines

four lines of verse making up a stanza or poem

2 consecutive lines in poetry, usually with the same meter and often
rhyming

2 successive lines of iambic pentameter with the second lines
usually ending with a stop

a 12 syllable line written in iambic hexameter

a satire or parody that mocks the Classical stereotype of a hero
or heroic literature, usually through exaggeration or absurdity

a long, narrative poem written in elevated language and style about the
exploits of a hero or heroine

a narrative folk song or a narrative set to music

4 line stanza (quatrain) consisting of alternating four and three
stress lines; usually the 2nd and 4th lines rhyme (abcb)
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Analyzing and Interpreting Literature

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4 rhyming lines (abcb), with lines 1 and 3 having eight syllables and lines 2 and 4 having six

a sorrowful, melancholic poem, such as a funeral song or lament for the
dead

lyrical verse or poem with a serious topic or tone

a poem consisting of 19 lines

3 lines of poetry that form a stanza or complete poem

poem of 6, 6 line stanzas with 6 end words that are repeated in a
closing tercet

an inscription that appears on a building or tomb or short verse
appearing at the beginning of a longer work (novel, chapter, or poem) to set the
mood or reveal the theme

derogatory term for verse with little literary value

a 5-line humorous or non-sensical poem in which the first 2 lines
are anapestic trimeter, the next 2 are anapestic dimeter, and the last line is trimeter;
rhyme scheme is aabba

a morning love song; opposite of a serenade, literally, a song to a
sleeping woman; also refers to a song-evoking daybreak

performed by an actor or actors free to use the entire stage and
theatrical devices such as sets, costumes, makeup, special lighting, and props for
support

whatever presents as an element capable of altering the action's direction

turning point in a story; culmination of the events of a plot

Comedy
Tragedy
History
Modern Drama

Comedy carried out by characters that are true to life; realistic

Comedy with absurdities, horseplay, and exaggerations, depicting an unrefined life

comedy that entertains the audience through absurdity, improbabilities,
exaggeration and verbal humor

fictional work combining characteristics of tragedy and comedy,
such as a somber play with a happy ending

noble, good protagonist in a tragedy who experiences adversity or
misfortune

a tragic flaw within a character; in Greek, it means to "miss the
mark"
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Analyzing and Interpreting Literature

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excessive pride adversely affecting the protagonist's judgement; most
common tragic flaw

delivering subject from third person objective point of view with no
added interpretation or elaboration

literary movement that depicts life as accurately as possible, illustrating transformation in society through environment and hereditary

subjective depiction of the real world through the imagination,
abstract, and symbol