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Verisimilitude

2006-02-21T01:00:09Z

Kbailey:

This literary term refers to characters or events in a story that appears to be life like and believable. It is achieved by a writer or storyteller when he presents striking details which lend an air of authenticity to a tale (Beckson). For example, if an author writes about a man who falls off a cliff and he dies. It is believable that, if a man falls off a cliff he will die. It is possible that a person can believe an event or character in a fiction story is real so, a story can have a degree of verisimilitude in fiction stories as well as non-fiction stories, as long as the reader feels that it is real (Wheeler). Note that even fantasy novels and science fiction stories that discuss impossible events can have verisimilitude if the reader is able to read them with suspended disbelief (Eagleton). To say that a work has a high degree of verisimilitude means that the work is very realistic and believable--it is "true to life" (Harris).

==Works Cited==

* Dr. L. Wheeler, Kip. “Verisimilitude.” ''Literary Terms and Definitions:V.'' 1998-2003. [http://guweb2.gonzaga.edu/faculty/wheeler/lit_terms_V.html]

*Harris, Robert. “Verisimilitude.” ''A Glossary of Literary Terms.'' 22May1997.[http://home.cfl.rr.com/eghsap/apterms.html]

*J.A. Cuddon, Penguin Books, London. “Verisimilitude.” Bibliography: ''A Dictionary of Literary Terms'', 1977 [http://www.senri.ed.jp/Departments/english/littrms.htm]

*Mifflin, Houghton. “Verisimilitude.” ''Webster’s II New College Dictionary.'' 2001,1999,1995

*Eagleton, Terry. "Verisimiltude." ''Literary Theory: An Introduction.'' 1983
[http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_V.html]

*Beckson, Karl and Arthur Ganz. "Verisimiltude." ''Literary Terms: A Dictionary''. 1975
[http://www.masconomet.org/teachers/trevenen/litterms.htm]

Verisimilitude

2006-02-21T00:55:15Z

Kbailey:

Verisimilitude

2006-02-16T02:20:13Z

Kbailey:

This literary term refers to characters or events in a story that appears to be life like and believable. It is achieved by a writer or storyteller when he presents striking details which lend an air of authenticity to a tale (Beckson). Let's say an author writes about a man who falls off a cliff and he dies. It is believable that, if a man falls off a cliff he will die. It is possible that a person can believe an event or character in a fiction story is real so, a story can have a degree of verisimilitude in fiction stories as well as non-fiction stories, as long as the reader feels that it is real (Wheeler). Note that even fantasy novels and science fiction stories that discuss impossible events can have verisimilitude if the reader is able to read them with suspended disbelief (Eagleton). To say that a work has a high degree of verisimilitude means that the work is very realistic and believable--it is "true to life" (Harris).

==Works Cited==

* Dr. L. Wheeler, Kip. “Verisimilitude.” ''Literary Terms and Definitions:V.'' 1998-2003. [http://guweb2.gonzaga.edu/faculty/wheeler/lit_terms_V.html]

*Harris, Robert. “Verisimilitude.” ''A Glossary of Literary Terms.'' 22May1997.[http://home.cfl.rr.com/eghsap/apterms.html]

*J.A. Cuddon, Penguin Books, London. “Verisimilitude.” Bibliography: ''A Dictionary of Literary Terms'', 1977 [http://www.senri.ed.jp/Departments/english/littrms.htm]

*Mifflin, Houghton. “Verisimilitude.” ''Webster’s II New College Dictionary.'' 2001,1999,1995

*Eagleton, Terry. "Verisimiltude." ''Literary Theory: An Introduction.'' 1983

*Beckson, Karl and Arthur Ganz. "Verisimiltude." ''Literary Terms: A Dictionary''. 1975

Literary Terms

2006-02-09T15:33:14Z

Kbailey: /* Allegory to Atmosphere */

Every discipline has its own technical vocabulary; the study of literature is no different. In order to discuss fiction in an intelligent and competent manner, a familiarity (or literacy) with this vocabulary is crucial. Define each of the following words calling from various sources — reference books, lectures, your own reading — making clear your own understanding of the vocabulary. Feel free to define or add your own terms.

== Allegory to Atmosphere ==

* [[allegory]]
* [[alliteration]]
* [[allusion]]
* [[anagnorisis]]
* [[antagonist]]
* [[anti-hero]]
* [[archetype]]
* [[atmosphere]]

== Canon to Convention ==

* [[canon]]
* [[catharsis]]
* [[character]]
* [[climax]]
* [[colloquialism]]
* [[comedy]]
* [[conflict]]
* [[convention]]

== Deconstruction to Diatribe ==

* [[deconstruction]]
* [[dénouement]]
* [[description]]
* [[deus ex machina]]
* [[diatribe]]

== Epic Poetry to Exposition ==

* [[Epic Poetry | epic poetry]]
* [[epigraph]]
* [[epiphany]]
* [[ethos]]
* [[exegesis]]
* [[exposition]]

== Flashback to Freytag’s Formula ==

* [[flashback]]
* [[foil]]
* [[foreshadowing]]
* [[Freytag’s Formula]]

== Genre to Irony ==

* [[genre]]
* [[hamartia]]
* [[hero]]
* [[heroic ideal]]
* [[hubris]]
* [[hypertext]]
* [[imagery]]
* [[inciting action]]
* [[in medias res]]
* [[irony]]

== Melodrama to Myth ==

* [[melodrama]]
* [[metaphor]]
* [[metonymy]]
* [[milieu]]
* [[mimesis]]
* [[monologue]]
* [[motif]]
* [[mood]]
* [[myth]]

== Narration to Oration ==

* [[narration]]
* [[narrative]]
* [[narrator]]
* [[novel]]
* [[novella]]
* [[onomatopoeia]]
* [[oration]]

== Pace to Protagonist ==

* [[pace]]
* [[paradox]]
* [[parody]]
* [[pathos]]
* [[peripeteia]]
* [[personification]]
* [[plot]]
* [[poiesis]]
* [[point of view]]
* [[praxis]]
* [[prose]]
* [[protagonist]]

== Reader Response to Rising Action ==

* [[Reader Response Criticism]]
* [[resolution]]
* [[reversal]]
* [[rhetoric]]
* [[rhyme]]
* [[rising action]]

== Satire to Syntax ==

* [[satire]]
* [[science fiction]]
* [[semantics]]
* [[setting]]
* [[short story]]
* [[simile]]
* [[stream of consciousness]]
* [[style]]
* [[subplot]]
* [[surrealism]]
* [[symbol]]
* [[syntax]]

==Text to Zeugma ==

* [[text]]
* [[theme]]
* [[theoria]]
* [[tone]]
* [[tragedy]]
* [[trope]]
* [[verisimilitude]]
* [[zeugma]]

== External Links ==

* [http://web.cocc.edu/lisal/literaryterms/elements_of_literature.htm Elements of Literature] — Lisa R. Lazarescu begins by defining literature, then discusses various key aspects of the study.
* [http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072405228/student_view0/drama_glossary.html Glossary of Literary Terms] — Cursory definitions to get you on the right track from McGraw Hill’s Online Learning Center.
* [http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/literature/bedlit/glossary_a.htm Glossary of Literary Terms] — from Bedford / St. Martin’s press.
* [http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/rhetoric.html A Glossary of Rhetorical Terms with Examples] — by Ross Scaife at the University of Kentucky.
* [http://www.northern.edu/benkertl/dictionary.html Literary Dictionary] — covering poetry, drama, short fiction, the novel, and literary criticism, by the students of Lysbeth Em Benkert-Rasmussen.
* [http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/terms/1terms.html Literary Terms] — A comprehensive list by the students of Ted Nellen.
* [http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/lit_term.html Literary Terms] — Lilia Melani covers many of the basics in detail.
* [http://www.virtualsalt.com/rhetoric.htm Virtual Salt] — A handbook of rhetorical devices by Robert A. Harris.
* [http://web.ubc.ca/okanagan/critical/links.html Words of Art] — A list of terms for the study of art by Robert J. Belton at Okanagan University College.

== Credits ==

* See the LitWiki [[LitWiki:Community_Portal | Community Portal]]

[[Category:Literature]][[Category:Literary Terms]]