Lit Genius — Glossary of Literary Terms

Table of contentsAlphabetical listAcrostic Adynaton Alexandrine Allegory Alliteration Allusion Amphimacer Anachronism Anadiplosis Anagnorisis Anagram Analogy Anapest Anaphora Anastrophe Antagonist Antanaclasis Anthimeria Anthimeria Anthropomorphism Antimetabole Antithesis Antonomasia Aphorismus Aposiopesis Apostrophe Archaism Archetype Assonance Asyndeton Aubade Authorial intent Autotelic Backronym Ballad stanza Bathos Bildungsroman Blank verse Blason/Blazon Bowdlerization Brevitas Byronic hero Cacophony Calligram Cæsura Canto Catalectic Catalog Catharsis Chain verse Chiasmus Cliché Common metre Conceit Conflict Connotation Consonance Couplet Curtal Dactyl Dead metaphor Declarative Deconstruction Defamiliarization Denouement Deus ex machina Deuteragonist Diacope Dialogue Diction Didactic Dimeter Double entendre Dramatic irony Dramatic monologue Dramaturgy Dynamic character Dysphemism Ekphrasis Elegy Elision Ellipsis End-stopped line Enjambment Epanalepsis Epenthesis Epigram Epigraph Epistolary novel Epistrophe Epithet Epizeuxis Ethos Eucatastrophe Eulogy Euphemism Euphony Everyman Exclamatory Exposition Extended metaphor Fable Figurative Flashback Flashforward Foil Foot Foreshadowing Free indirect discourse Free verse Fricative Fronting Ghazal Gothic Haiku Hendiadys Heterometric Holophrasis Homograph Homonym Homophone Hypallage Hyperbole Hypermetric Hypocorism Hypophora Hysteron proteron Iamb Iambic pentameter Idiom Illeism Imagery Incipit Inclusio In medias res Innuendo Interior monologue Intertextuality Invocation Irony Isocolon Isometric Juxtaposition Kafkaesque Kenning Laconism Lexical field Line break Literal Litotes Lyric Malaphor Malapropism Meiosis Memoir Merism Mesodiplosis Metalepsis Metanoia Metaphor Metapoetry Metatextuality Metonymy Molossus Monosyllabic string Motif Narrator Neologism Nonsense verse Non-sequitur Nosism Nouning Novella Objective correlative Octave Ode Onomatopoeia Oronym Ottava rima Oxymoron Palindrome Palinode Panegyric Pantoum Parable Paradox Paralipsis Parallel syntax Parallelism Paraprosdokian Pararhyme Parataxis Parody Pathetic fallacy Pathos Pentameter Peripeteia Personification Plosive Point of view Polyptoton Polysemic Polysyndeton Portmanteau Prolepsis Prosody Prosopopeia Protagonist Pun Pyrrhic Quatrain Quintain Refrain Rhetorical question Rhyme (eye) Rhyme (feminine) Rhyme (general) Rhyme (internal) Rhyme (masculine) Rhyme (multisyllabic) Rhyme (slant) Rhythm Rime riche Roman à clef Roundel Scansion Semantic field Sententia Sestet Sestina Setting Sibilance Simile Soliloquy Sonnet Speaker Spenserian stanza Spondee Spoonerism Sprung rhythm Stanza Static character Stichomythia Sublime Syllabic verse Symbolism Symploce Syncope Synecdoche Synesthesia Synonymia Syntactic parallels Syntax Tense Tercet Terzina Tetrameter Theme Tmesis Tone Tricolon Trimeter Triple entendre Triplet Trochee Ubi sunt Understatement Unreliable narrator Variorum Verbosity Villanelle Volta Wit Yarn Zeugma Zeugma ZoomorphismClassified listGENERALAnachronism Archetype Autotelic Brevitas Catalog Deconstruction Defamiliarization Diction Didactic Epithet Ethos Figurative Gothic Imagery Intertextuality Juxtaposition Kafkaesque Literal Metapoetry Metatextuality Objective correlative Pathos Rhythm Sublime Symbol Synesthesia Understatement Verbosity WitGENRES:A category of writing, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter. Acrostic Aubade Bildungsroman Blason/Blazon Calligram Elegy Epigram Epigraph Epistolary novel Eulogy Fable Ghazal Haiku Lyric Memoir Nonsense verse Novella Ode Palinode Panegyric Parable Parody Roman à clef Variorum YarnLINGUISTICS:The scientific and technical study of language. Anagram Archaism Backronym Cacophony Connotation Dead metaphor Declarative Elision Epenthesis Euphony Exclamatory Fricative Holophrasis Homograph Homonym Homophone Hypocorism Idiom Illeism Laconism Lexical field Neologism Nosism Nouning Onomatopoeia Oronym Palindrome Parataxis Plosive Polysemic Portmanteau Prosody Semantic field Sibilance Syncope SyntaxNARRATOLOGY:This is the study of narrative in writing, including poetry. Allegory Anagnorisis Antagonist Authorial intent Bowdlerization Byronic hero Catharsis Conflict Denouement Deus ex machina Deuteragonist Dialogue Dramatic irony Dramatic monologue Dramaturgy Dynamic character Ellipsis Eucatastrophe Everyman Exposition Flashback Flashforward Foil Foreshadowing Free indirect discourse In medias res Incipit Interior monologue Motif Narrator Non-sequitur Peripeteia Point of view Protagonist Setting Soliloquy Speaker Static character Stichomythia Tense Theme Tone Unreliable narratorMETER:The rhythm of a piece of poetry, determined by the number and length of feet in a line. Alexandrine Amphimacer Anapest Ballad stanza Blank verse Cæsura Canto Catalectic Chain verse Common metre Couplet Curtal Dactyl Dimeter End-stopped line Enjambment Foot Free verse Heterometric Hypermetric Iamb Iambic pentameter Isometric Line break Molossus Monosyllabic string Octave Ottava rima Pantoum Pararhyme Pentameter Pyrrhic Quatrain Quintain Refrain Rhyme (eye) Rhyme (feminine) Rhyme (general) Rhyme (internal) Rhyme (masculine) Rhyme (multisyllabic) Rhyme (slant) Rime riche Roundel Scansion Sestet Sestina Sonnet Spenserian stanza Spondee Sprung rhythm Stanza Syllabic verse Tercet Terzina Tetrameter Trimeter Triplet Trochee Villanelle VoltaSCHEMES:The manipulation of words, syntax and grammar for particular effect in poetry. Alliteration Anadiplosis Anaphora Anastrophe Anthimeria Antimetabole Antithesis Aphorismus Aposiopesis Assonance Asyndeton Chiasmus Consonance Diacope Epanalepsis Epistrophe Epizeuxis Fronting Hendiadys Hysteron proteron Inclusio Isocolon Mesodiplosis Parallelism Parallel syntax Polyptoton Polysyndeton Prolepsis Spoonerism Symploce Synonymia Syntactic parallels Tmesis Tricolon ZeugmaTROPES:A trope is a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression. Adynaton Allusion Analogy Antanaclasis Anthimeria Anthropomorphism Antonomasia Apostrophe Bathos Cliché Conceit Double entendre Dysphemism Ekphrasis Euphemism Extended metaphor Hypallage Hyperbole Hypophora Innuendo Invocation Irony Kenning Litotes Malaphor Malapropism Meiosis Merism Metalepsis Metanoia Metaphor Metonymy Oxymoron Paradox Paralipsis Paraprosdokian Pathetic fallacy Personification Prosopopeia Pun Rhetorical question Sententia Simile Synecdoche Triple entendre Ubi sunt Zeugma Zoomorphism