Literary Terms
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. This project was started by my Introduction to Literature class at USF, during the spring of 1999. Feel free to define or add your own terms.
- alliteration
- allusion
- antagonist
- anti-hero
- archetype
- atmosphere
- canon
- character
- climax
- colloquialism
- conflict
- convention
- deconstruction
- dénouement
- description
- deus ex machina
- diatribe
- epigraph
- epiphany
- ethos
- exegesis
- exposition
- ashback
- foil
- foreshadowing
- Freytag’s Formula
- genre
- hubris
- hypertext
- imagery
- in medias res
- irony
- mellodrama
- metaphor
- metonymy
- milieu
- mimesis
- monologue
- motif
- mood
- myth
- narration
- narrative
- narrator
- novel
- novella
- onomatopoeia
- oration
- pace
- paradox
- parody
- pathos
- person
- personification
- plot
- point of view
- prose
- protagonist
- Reader Response Criticism
- resolution
- reversal
- rhetoric
- rhyme
- rising action
- satire
- science fiction
- semantics
- setting
- short story
- simile
- stream of consciousness
- style
- subplot
- surrealism
- symbol
- syntax
- text
- theme
- tone
- trope
- verisimilitude