Literary Terms, 10 -AUR
Want to be able to distinguish your limericks from your haikus and your paeans from your panegyrics? Dive deep into literary terms and forms.
Literary Terms Encyclopedia Articles By Title
10 Angry Young Men
In July 1957 British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan told fellow Conservatives at a rally in Bedford, England,......
10 Captivating Contemporary Novels Set in the British Isles
The 10 novels on this list have it all: suspense, drama, comedy, and, especially, great scenery. Set in lands beautiful,......
10 devastating dystopias
From delivering powerful critiques of toxic cultural practices to displaying the strength of the human spirit in......
10 Frequently Confused Literary Terms
From distraught English majors cramming for a final to aspiring writers trying to figure out new ways to spice......
11 Memorable Quotes from U.S. Presidential Debates
Although debates may seem like an essential feature of U.S. presidential campaigns, they are in fact a relatively......
12 Contemporary Black Authors You Must Read
Some of the most exciting and prominent authors of the 21st century are also essential contributors to the impressive......
13 Great Indigenous Writers to Read and Celebrate
The Indigenous peoples of what are now the United States and Canada have a rich history of oral tradition and folk......
13 LGBTQ Writers You Should Read
Shrewd observers and lavish prose stylists, the writers on this list deserve your readership. Their variously humane......
15 Nelson Mandela Quotes
Nelson Mandela (1918â2013) was a South African black nationalist who spent 27 years in prison for fighting against......
19th-century Norwegian literature
19th-century Norwegian literature, the body of written works produced in the Norwegian language between 1814, when......
20 Under 40: Young Shapers of the Future (Literature)
The future is unwritten. It is also right around the corner, and, if, as science fiction author William Gibson......
20th-century Norwegian literature
20th-century Norwegian literature, the body of written works produced in the BokmÄl and Nynorsk forms of the Norwegian......
5 Good Books That Inspired Bad Deeds
A novel might frighten you, make you cry, or put you to sleep. But can a novel spur you to kill? Here are five......
50th Anniversary of Star Trek
September 8, 2016, is the 50th anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek on NBC. The series documented the five-year......
6 Fictional Languages You Can Really Learn
Many of the languages that are made up for television and books are just gibberish. However, a rare few have been......
7 Everyday English Idioms and Where They Come From
An idiom is a phrase that is common to a certain population. It is typically figurative and usually is not understandable......
8 Creepy Critters in the Work of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an early master of horror. He famously seated its source in the soul, writing "If in many of......
8 of Nellie Blyâs Most Sensational Stories
Nellie Bly, the renowned investigative journalist, was a force to be reckoned with. Born Elizabeth Cochran in 1864,......
9 American Countercultural Books
The word counterculture generally refers to any movement that strives to achieve ideals counter to those of mainstream......
9 Love Stories with Tragic Endings
Many of the most compelling love stories are tragic ones. From Romeo and Juliet to Ennis and Jack, hereâs a look......
9 Obscure Literary Terms
Poetry is a precise art. A great poem is made up of components that fit together so well that the result seems......
a lo divino
a lo divino, in Spanish literature, the recasting of a secular work as a religious work, or, more generally, a......
ab ovo
ab ovo, in literature, the practice of beginning a poetic narrative at the earliest possible chronological point.......
abecedarius
abecedarius, a type of acrostic in which the first letter of each line of a poem or the first letter of the first......
Abenteuerroman
Abenteuerroman, in German literature, a form of the picaresque novel. The Abenteuerroman is an entertaining story......
abstract poem
abstract poem, a term coined by Edith Sitwell to describe a poem in which the words are chosen for their aural......
Academy Award for best adapted screenplay
The Academy Award for best adapted screenplay is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts......
Academy Award for best original screenplay
The Academy Award for best original screenplay is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture......
accent
accent, in prosody, a rhythmically significant stress on the syllables of a verse, usually at regular intervals.......
accentual verse
accentual verse, in prosody, a metrical system based only on the number of stresses or accented syllables in a......
accentual-syllabic verse
accentual-syllabic verse, in prosody, the metrical system that is most commonly used in English poetry. It is based......
accismus
accismus, a form of irony in which a person feigns indifference to or pretends to refuse something he or she desires.......
acrostic
acrostic, short verse composition, so constructed that the initial letters of the lines, taken consecutively, form......
ad watch
ad watch, a term used to describe efforts by the media to report on and evaluate the veracity of political advertising.......
adab
adab, term used in the modern Arab world to signify âliterature.â Adab evolved from its earliest meaning to became......
adage
adage, a saying, often in metaphoric form, that embodies a common observation, such as "If the shoe fits, wear......
adynaton
adynaton, a kind of hyperbole in which the exaggeration is so great that it refers to an impossibility, as in the......
aesthetic distance
aesthetic distance, the frame of reference that an artist creates by the use of technical devices in and around......
African American folktale
African American folktale, storytelling tradition that evolved among enslaved African Americans in the 18th and......
African American literature
African American literature, body of literature written by Americans of African descent. Beginning in the pre-Revolutionary......
African literature
African literature, the body of traditional oral and written literatures in Afro-Asiatic and African languages......
- Introduction
- Riddles, Oral Traditions, Proverbs
- Epic, Oral, Tradition
- Oral Traditions, Writing
- Oral Traditions, Modern Writers
- Hausa, Oral Tradition, Epic Poetry
- Somali Poetry, Prose, & Oral Tradition
- Swahili, Oral Traditions, Poetry
- Yoruba, Oral Tradition, Prose
- European Languages, Colonialism, Postcolonialism
- Postcolonial, Oral Traditions, Writers
- French, Postcolonial, Oral
- Portuguese, Colonization, Oral Tradition
agon
agon, debate or contest between two characters in Attic comedy, constituting one of several formal conventions......
aisling
aisling, in Irish literature, a poetic or dramatic description or representation of a vision. The Vision of AdamnĂĄn......
Akutagawa Prize
Akutagawa Prize, Japanese literary prize awarded semiannually for the best work of fiction by a promising new Japanese......
Albanian literature
Albanian literature, the body of written works produced in the Albanian language. The Ottoman Empire, which ruled......
alcaic
alcaic, classical Greek poetic stanza composed of four lines of varied metrical feet, with five long syllables......
Alexander romance
Alexander romance, any of a body of legends about the career of Alexander the Great, told and retold with varying......
alexandrine
alexandrine, verse form that is the leading measure in French poetry. It consists of a line of 12 syllables with......
All the Worldâs a Stage: 6 Places in Shakespeare, Then and Now
Like any playwright, William Shakespeare made stuff up. More often than not, though, he used real-life places as......
alliteration
alliteration, in prosody, the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or stressed syllables. Sometimes......
alliterative prose
alliterative prose, prose that uses alliteration and some of the techniques of alliterative verse. Notable examples......
alliterative verse
alliterative verse, early verse of the Germanic languages in which alliteration, the repetition of consonant sounds......
allocution
allocution, historically, an address made by the pope in the course of a secret consistory. The reign of Pius XII......
alphabet rhyme
alphabet rhyme, mnemonic verse or song used to help children learn an alphabet; such devices appear in almost every......
alternative news media
Alternative news media is a concept that describes and explains an ideologically diverse array of media activist......
American literature
American literature, the body of written works produced in the English language in the United States. Like other......
- Introduction
- Puritanism, Colonization, Revolution
- Colonial, Revolution, Enlightenment
- 19th Century, Realism, Romanticism
- Transcendentalism, Realism, Romanticism
- Hawthorne, Melville, Whitman
- Fiction, Local Colourists
- Naturalism, Realism, Regionalism
- Gilded Age, Critics, Realism
- Modernism, Realism, Postmodernism
- New Poetry, Imagism, Modernism
- Fiction, Novels, Short Stories
- Criticism, Analysis, History
- Postwar, Diversity, Innovation
- Novels, Short Stories, Fiction
- Southern Fiction, Regionalism, Realism
- African American, Poetry, Fiction
- New Fictional Modes
- Raymond Carver, Minimalism, Realism
- Multicultural, Diversity, Inclusion
- Poetry, Verse, Rhyme
- Drama, Plays, Theater
- Literary Criticism, Social Commentary, Realism
American Poetry
Walt Whitman heard America singing. Emily Dickinson heard a fly buzz when she died. As Allen Ginsberg released......
anacrusis
anacrusis, in classical prosody, the up (or weak) beat, one or more syllables at the beginning of a line of poetry......
anadiplosis
anadiplosis, a device in which the last word or phrase of one clause, sentence, or line is repeated at the beginning......
anagnorisis
anagnorisis, (Greek: ârecognitionâ), in a literary work, the startling discovery that produces a change from ignorance......
anagram
anagram, a word or group of words formed by transposing the letters of another word or group of words, preferably......
analogue
analogue, in literature, a story for which there is a counterpart or another version in other literatures. Several......
anamnesis
anamnesis, a recalling to mind, or reminiscence. Anamnesis is often used as a narrative technique in fiction and......
anapest
anapest, metrical foot consisting of two short or unstressed syllables followed by one long or stressed syllable.......
anaphora
anaphora, (Greek: âa carrying up or backâ), a literary or oratorical device involving the repetition of a word......
anatomy
anatomy, in literature, the separating or dividing of a topic into parts for detailed examination or analysis.......
Anglo-Norman literature
Anglo-Norman literature, body of writings in the Old French language as used in medieval England. Though this dialect......
anisometric verse
anisometric verse, poetic verse that does not have equal or corresponding poetic metres. An anisometric stanza......
antagonist
antagonist, in literature, the principal opponent or foil of the main character, who is referred to as the protagonist,......
antanaclasis
antanaclasis, a word used in two or more of its possible meanings, as in the final two lines of Robert Frostâs......
anticlimax
anticlimax, a figure of speech that consists of the usually sudden transition in discourse from a significant idea......
antihero
antihero, a protagonist of a drama or narrative who is notably lacking in heroic qualities. This type of character......
antistrophe
antistrophe, in Greek lyric odes, the second part of the traditional three-part structure. The antistrophe followed......
antithesis
antithesis, (from Greek antitheton, âoppositionâ), a figure of speech in which irreconcilable opposites or strongly......
antonomasia
antonomasia, a figure of speech in which some defining word or phrase is substituted for a personâs proper name......
aphorism
aphorism, a concise expression of doctrine or principle or any generally accepted truth conveyed in a pithy, memorable......
Apollonian
Apollonian, of, relating to, or resembling the god Apollo. Friedrich Nietzsche used the term in his book The Birth......
apology
apology, autobiographical form in which a defense is the framework for a discussion by the author of his personal......
aposiopesis
aposiopesis, (Greek: âbecoming silentâ), a speakerâs deliberate failure to complete a sentence. Aposiopesis usually......
apostrophe
apostrophe, a rhetorical device by which a speaker turns from the audience as a whole to address a single person......
apprenticeship novel
apprenticeship novel, biographical novel that concentrates on an individualâs youth and his social and moral initiation......
aptronym
aptronym, a name that fits some aspect of a character, as in Mr. Talkative and Mr. Worldly Wiseman in John Bunyanâs......
arabesque
arabesque, in literature, a contrived intricate pattern of verbal expression, so called by analogy with a decorative......
Arabic literary renaissance
Arabic literary renaissance, 19th-century movement to a modern Arabic literature, inspired by contacts with the......
Arabic literature
Arabic literature, the body of written works produced in the Arabic language. The tradition of Arabic literature......
- Introduction
- Qur'an, Poetry, Prose
- Poetry, Rhyme, Metre
- Poetry, Prose, & Drama
- Poetry, Prose, Themes
- Elegy, Poetry, Prose
- Poetry, Prose, Drama
- Love Poetry, Verse, Romance
- Poetry, Prose, Fiction
- Adab, Compilations, Anthologies
- Narratives, Imagination, Mythology
- Short Story, Genres, History
- Drama, Poetry, Prose
- Tawfiq al-Hakim, Modernism, Egypt
- Literary Criticism, Poetry, Prose
- Modernism, Poetry, Fiction
arcĂĄdia
arcĂĄdia, any of the 18th-century Portuguese literary societies that attempted to revive poetry in that country......
Are daddy longlegs the most venomous spiders?
This question comes from a popular urban legend and gets a couple of things wrong. First, true daddy longlegs are......
Are Song Lyrics Poetry?
In 2016 a shock went through the global literary community when folk music icon Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel......
Armenian literature
Armenian literature, body of writings in the Armenian language. There is evidence that a pagan oral literature......
arsis and thesis
arsis and thesis, in prosody, respectively, the accented and unaccented parts of a poetic foot. Arsis, a term of......
arte mayor
arte mayor, a Spanish verse form consisting of 8-syllable lines, later changed to 12-syllable lines, usually arranged......
arte menor
arte menor, in Spanish poetry, a line of two to eight syllables and usually only one accent, most often on the......
Arthur Miller Centenary
Arthur Miller was known for several thoughtful, exceptional plays, notably All My Sons, the Pulitzer Prize-winning......
Arthurian legend
Arthurian legend, the body of stories and medieval romances, known as the matter of Britain, centring on the legendary......
arts journalism
Arts journalism involves examining and reporting on the arts, including music, dance, theater, film, literature,......
asclepiad
asclepiad, Greek lyric verse later used by Latin poets such as Catullus, Horace, and Seneca. The asclepiad consisted......
Assamese literature
Assamese literature, body of writings in the Assamese language spoken chiefly in Assam state, India. Probably the......
assonance
assonance, in prosody, repetition of stressed vowel sounds within words with different end consonants, as in the......
asyndeton
asyndeton, the omission of the conjunctions that ordinarily join coordinate words or clauses, as in the phrase......
aureate
aureate, a writing style that is affected, pompous, and heavily ornamental, that uses rhetorical flourishes excessively,......