LIT TERMS #1

allegory: A figurative work in which a surface narrative carries a secondary, symbolic or metaphorical meaning.
ex: The Allegory of the Cave 

alliteration: The repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words.
ex: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

allusion: A brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or ficticious, or to a work of art. Casual reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event. An allusion may be drawn from history, geography, literature, or religion.
ex: He's such a Romeo with the ladies. (alluding to Romeo and Juliet)

ambiguity: A statement which has two or more possible meanings; a statement whose meaning is unclear. Depending on the circumstances, ambiguity can be negative, leading to confusion or even disaster.
ex: He walked a new path.

anachronism: Anachronism is derived from a Greek word anachronous which means “against time”. Therefore, anachronism is an error of chronology or timeline in a literary piece.
ex: My mom used a vhs tape to record her TV show.

analogy: the comparison of two pairs which have the same relationship. The key is to ascertain the relationship between the first so you can choose the correct second pair. Part to whole, opposites, results of are types of relationships you should find.
ex: Just as a sword I the weapon of a warrior, a pen is the weapon of a writer.

analysis: the separating of any material or abstract entity into its constituent elements (opposed to synthesis ).
This process as a method of studying the nature of something or of determining its essential features and their relations.
ex: Pip was bitter towards Joe because deep down he was ashamed.

anaphora: The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs.
ex: My life is my purpose. My life is my goal. My life is my inspiration.

anecdote: A short narrative account of an amusing, unusual, revealing, or interesting event.
ex: When my mom tells me how she almost got a tattoo before she begins to lecture me about not getting one.

antagonist: The major character in a narrative or drama who works against the hero or protagonist.
ex: The Queen of Hearts in Alice and Wonderland

antithesis: The antithesis of something is its direct opposite. In literature, the use of antithesis as a figure of speech results in two statements that show a contrast through the balancing of two opposite ideas.
ex: We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools

aphorism: A brief saying embodying a moral, a concise statement of a principle or precept given in pointed words.
ex: We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.

apologia: A speech that defends, justifies, and/or apologizes for an action or statement.
ex: Bill Clinton's apologia for his affair.

apostrophe: When an absent person, an abstract concept, or an important object is directly addressed.
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 nought; but if not, depart, depart, and leave me in darkness." Excerpt from Frankenstein

argument: The main statement of a poem, an essay, a short story, or a novel that usually appears as an introduction or a point on which the writer will develop his work in order to convince his readers.
ex: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

assumption: Something taken for granted; a supposition.
He drives a Porsche. He must be rich. (Maybe he's not rich. Maybe he stole it.)

audience: The spectators or listeners assembled at a performance, for example, or attracted by a radio or television program. The readership for printed matter, as for a book.
ex: The audience of Harry Potter and the audience of Lord of the Rings are usually similar.

characterization: The act or an instance of characterizing. A description of qualities or peculiarities: a list of places of interest, with brief characterizations of each. Representation of a character or characters on the stage or in writing, especially by imitating or describing actions, gestures, or speeches.
ex: Hermione is characterized as a know at all by the things she says and all of the questions she answers.

chiasmus: A rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form.
ex: "In the end, the true test is not the speeches a president delivers; it’s whether the president delivers on the speeches."