Literary Vocabulary

A story, poem, or picture that has a hidden meaning, usually a moral or political one, beyond the literal meaning

George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' is a famous allegory about political corruption and power.

An indirect reference to a well-known person, place, event, or work of literature without directly mentioning it

When the teacher said the lazy student was 'no Einstein,' she was making an allusion to the famous scientist.

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several sentences or lines in a row, used for emphasis or effect

Martin Luther King Jr. used anaphora when he repeated 'I have a dream' many times in his famous speech.

A character in a story who opposes or works against the main character, often causing conflict

In the Harry Potter series, Voldemort is the main antagonist who constantly tries to stop Harry.

A literary device in which a writer speaks directly to an absent person, a dead person, or a non-human thing as if it can hear or respond

In his poem, the writer used apostrophe by saying 'O Death, where is your victory?' as if speaking directly to death.

A natural pause or break in the middle of a line of poetry, often shown by punctuation like a comma or period

The line 'To be or not to be, that is the question' contains a caesura after the comma in the middle.

The feeling of emotional release or relief that an audience experiences after watching or reading a powerful, emotional story or tragedy

After crying throughout the sad film, the audience felt a sense of catharsis by the time it ended.

The specific choice of words a writer or speaker uses, which affects the tone and style of a piece of writing

The author's careful diction, using words like 'gloomy' and 'hollow,' created a very sad mood in the story.

In poetry, when a sentence or phrase continues from one line to the next without a pause or punctuation at the end of the line

The poet used enjambment so that the reader had to continue to the next line to finish the thought.

A sudden moment in a story when a character has a powerful realization or deeply understands something important

The character had an epiphany when she realized that her unhappiness was caused by her own choices, not by others.

Hints or clues that a writer gives early in a story about what will happen later

The dark clouds and strange noises at the beginning of the movie were foreshadowing of the danger that was coming.

An extreme exaggeration used for emphasis or humor that is not meant to be taken literally

When my friend said 'I have told you a million times to clean your room,' she was using hyperbole.

Placing two very different things, ideas, or characters close together in order to highlight their differences

The author used juxtaposition by describing a beautiful garden right next to a dirty, broken-down building.

A figure of speech in which one word is replaced by a closely related word or phrase that is associated with it

When a journalist writes 'The White House announced new plans today,' they are using metonymy to refer to the US government.

A repeated element, image, idea, or symbol in a story that helps develop the main theme

Water is a motif in the novel because it appears again and again and represents the character's hope for a new life.

The use of words that sound like the noises they describe

Words like 'buzz,' 'crash,' and 'sizzle' are examples of onomatopoeia because they sound like what they mean.

A statement that seems to contradict itself or seems impossible, but may actually contain a deeper truth

The sentence 'The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know' is a paradox.

Giving human qualities, emotions, or actions to a non-human thing such as an animal, object, or idea

The poet used personification when she wrote that 'the wind whispered secrets through the trees.'

A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to refer to the whole, or the whole is used to refer to a part

When a manager says 'We need more hands on this project,' they are using synecdoche, where 'hands' means 'workers.'

The quality of a story or description that makes it seem true, real, or believable

The author's detailed descriptions of daily life in ancient Rome gave the novel a strong sense of verisimilitude.