Lit Terms 6-30

1. Alliteration: the repetition of similar initial sounds, usually consonants, in a group of words

2. Allusion: a reference to a person, a place, an event, or a literary work that a writer expects a reader to recognize

“Chocolate was her Achilles’ heel.” This means that her weakness was her love of chocolate. Achilles is a character in Greek mythology who was invincible. His mother dipped him in magical water when he was a baby, and she held him by the heel. The magic protected him all over, except for his heel.

3. Ambiguity: something uncertain as to interpretation
 The chin of the young woman becomes the nose of the old lady.

4. Anachronism: something that shows up in the wrong place or the wrong time

5. Analogy: a comparison between two things to show the similarities between them

6. Analysis: a method in which a work or idea is separated into its parts, and those parts given rigorous and detailed scrutiny

7. 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
"It rained on his lousy tombstone, and it rained on the grass on his stomach. It rained all over the place." (Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, 1951)

8. Anecdote: a very short story used to illustrate a point

9. Antagonist: a person or force opposing the protagonist in a drama or narrative

10. Antithesis: a balancing of one term against another for emphasis or stylistic effectiveness

11. Aphorism: a terse, pointed statement expressing some wise or clever observation about life

12. Apologia: a defense or justification for some doctrine, piece of writing, cause or action; also apology

13. Apostrophe: a figure of speech in which an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something inanimate or nonhuman is addressed directly

14. Argument (ation): the process of convincing a reader by providing either the truth or the falsity of an idea or proposition; also, the thesis or proposition itself

15. Assumption: the act of supposing, or taking for granted that a thing is true

16. Audience: the intended listener or listeners

17. Characterization: the means by which a writer reveals a character's personality

18. Circumlocution: a roundabout or evasive speech or writing, in which many words are used but a few would have served

19. Classicism: art, literature, and music reflecting the principles of ancient Greece and Rome-- tradition, reason, clarity, order, and balance

20. Cliche: a phrase or situation overused within society

21. Climax: the decisive point in a narrative or drama; the pint of greatest intensity or interest at which plot question is answered or resolved

22. Colloquialism: folksy speech, slang words or phrases usually used in informal conversation

23. Comedy: originally a nondramatic literary piece of work that was marked by a happy ending; now a term to describe a ludicrous, farcical, or amusing event designed provide enjoyment or produce smiles and laughter

24. Conflict: struggle or problem in a story causing tension

25. Connotation: implicit meaning, going beyond dictionary definition