Elements of Literature In English

ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE IN ENGLISH

1. Litotes: the use of negative statement to present positive opinion. Example= God is not imperfect (God is perfect).
2. Synecdoche: using a part to represent a whole or vice versa. Example= two heads are better than one (two people are better than one)
3. Epigram: a short witty saying. Example= more haste, less speed
4. Rhetorical Question: question that requires not answer. Example= why am I in this mess?
5. Climax: systematic arrangement of idea or expression in descending order.
6. Anti-climax: the opposite of climax
7. Repetition: occurrence of expression more than once.
8. Theme: main idea in a literary work
9. Plot: arrangement of events or actions (either linear or non-linear)
10. Tone: attitude of the writer towards the work of art
11. Mood: attitude of the reader towards the work of art
12. Flashback: relating the past to present occurrence
13. Dilemma: to be confronted with situation to make choice.
14. Setting: when and when action or event take place
15. Didactic: literary work that teaches lesson
16. Monologue: speech by a single person
17. Soliloquy: thought expressed aloud
18. Aside: speech addressed to self or audience
19. Allusion: partial reference to character, history, mythology or work of art
20. Satire: work positioned to ridicule some vices
21. Melodrama: drama with high emotional effect
22. Mime: actions without words
23. Fable: short story told to teach moral lesson
24. Parable: a story involving human being which teaching moral or religious lesson.
25. Invective: direct abusive, vituperative, denunciatory attack
26. In Media Res: starting a story at the middle of crucial action
27. Epidectic Poetry: verse for either praise or blame
28. Eulogy: praise poem such as ode, encomium, epithalamium, panegyric, etc
29. Palilogy: repetition
30. Caricature: ridicule person by distorting or exaggerating the features
31. Dues ex Machina: hope of recovery out of trouble
32. Poetaster: a quack poet
33. Burlesque: work aimed at provoking laughter in other to ridicule
34. Carpe Diem: motif in poetry which refers to the view that one should enjoy life to the fullest while one is able
35. Bard: poet in modern usage
36. Belles-Lettres: genre of literature different from scientific writing
37. Catharsis: change of emotion resulting from strong feeling of sorrow, fear, pity, or laughter
38. Travesty: work aim to arouse laughter by imitation of a serious work
39. Hamartia: tragic flaw
40. Lampoon: violent and satirical attack against a person or institution
41. Genre: form of literature
42. Hubris: pride of tragic hero
43. Fantasy: creation of unreal world and people that look like real one
44. Rhetoric: language of a work and its style
45. Roman a Clef: novel where characters are real people but disguised
46. Periphrasis: roundabout expression, verbosity, circumlocution
47. Poetic licence: the right of poets to distort language, history, geography for the sake of art
48. Pastoral: work of art written to represent life of shepherd or country life
49. Idyll: short poem that describes an incident or interesting scene or event
50. Image: picture in the mind
51. Imagery: painting picture of the mind
52. Farce: extremely funny comedy with ridiculous action
53. Parody: imitation of another work of art
54. Poetic Justice: term used to convey the idea that evil is punished appropriately and good rewarded
55. Poetic Diction: usage of language
56. Poesy: the making of a poem
57. Tirade: a violent speech, long and denunciatory
58. Picaresque: novel that tells adventure of a wandering rogue or rascal
59. Causerie: informal essay or article on literary topics
60. Cento: term used for collection of bits and pieces from various writers
61. Catalects: literary works which detached from main body of a writer’s work
62. Prologue: introductory speech at the beginning of work of art
63. Epilogue: concluding speech at the end of work of art
64. Epimythium: summary of moral lesson placed at the end of a fable
65. Promythium: summary of moral lesson placed at the beginning of a fable
66. Lake Poet: poets like Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey
67. Local Colour: describing details peculiar to certain region or environment in order to add interest and authenticity to a narrative
68. Logomachy: a dispute or fight about words
69. Roman Feuilleton: novel published serially in newspaper or journal
70. Verisimilitude: story that has resemblance to the truth and therefore has the appearance of being true or real even when it is a fantasy
71. Triplet (Tercet): three stanza poem
72. Triads: group of three stanzas
73. Epithalamion: poem about wedding praise
74. Harangue: a lengthy and aggressive speech
75. Ballad: short folk poem about heroic deeds that is lyrical
76. Trochee: a foot consisting of stressed syllable followed by unstressed
77. Dactyl: a foot consisting of one stress syllable followed by two unstressed
78. Anapaest: a foot consisting of two unstressed followed by stressed
79. Spondee: a foot consisting of two stressed followed by stressed
80. Saga: a work of art about culturally historical narration of lineage
81. Limerick: witty five line poem with specific end rhyme
82. Metanoia: retracting of statement made
83. Allegory: a work of art that used symbolized events or characters
84. Chiasmus: the use of parallel statement where one is invasion. Example= the first shall be last and the last first
85. Canto: division of stanzas into multiple groups
86. Rhythm: the count of meters
87. Meter: measure of stressed and unstressed syllable
88. Enjambment: run-on-line
89. Polysyndecton: the use of many conjunction amidst a statement
90. Tmesis: insertion of a word between another word. Example= some maybe thing (maybe inserted in something)
91. Symbolism: representation of idea. Example= Piano and Drums in Gabriel Okara’s poem (symbolises modern and primitive)
92. Rhyme: sameness of sound between lines
93. Rhyme Scheme: the sequences in which rhyme occurs at the end of lines in poem.
94. Quatrain: four successive lines in poetry.
95. Refrain: any repeated word, phrase or expression
96. Subject Matter: the basis of a narration or story. It can also be considered as the background story.
97. Paradox: an absurd statement which is meaning in deeper sense example= money spent is money saved.
98. Stage Directions: this is the written instruction of the playwright which guide every act and scene
99. Character: the instrument of the writer or the creator of any work of art
100. Characterization: the formation or configuration of character
101. Onomatopoeia: using sound to signify action. Example= the zooming bus
102. Metonymy: calling something by its related attribute. Example= I haves read all Shakespeare (instead of saying I have read all books written by William Shakespeare).
103. Irony: saying one thing and meaning another. Example= The thief barked at the dog
104. Euphemism: replacing harsh or irritating statement with mild and simple one
105. Dialogue: exchange of idea between two or more character
106. Action: the activeness or inactiveness of character in literary work_ mostly drama
107. Hyperbole: the exaggeration of statement or opinion
108. Suspense: the state of anxiety or expectation in the reader or audience
109. Conflict: the bone of contention or the cause of disagreement
110. Cast: a list of selected participants for performance with specific roles to play
111. Hypophora: the use of response to a rhetorical question.
112. Apostrophe: this is a rhetorical call which demands no response
113. Anaphora: this is use of repeated word or phrase at the beginning of a line. Example= God is able. God is abundantly capable. God is the alpha and omega.
114. Anagram: the rearrangement of words or phrases to form another word or phrase. Example= bad credit forms debit card
115. Acrostic: the first letter of line in total spells a word. Example= Cuddly, Acrobatic, Tenacious, Softly purring..
116. Poetic Drama: this’ a play written in verse form. Example= Murder in the Cathedral by T. S. Eliot
117. Dramatic irony: the reader or audience already knows what one or more characters do not know
118. Protagonist: also called the hero_ plays the most prominent roles
119. Antagonist: also called villain_ opposes the protagonist
120. Anti-hero: very prominent character but lacks the qualities expected of hero
121. Sarcasm: insincere praise to ridicule someone or something.
122. Pun (Paranomasia): play on words. Example= the congregation prays while the pastor preys on them.
123. Peripeteia: the beginning of a character’s downfall
124. Personification: giving human qualities to inanimate objects. Example= trees groan as they fell
125. Proscenium Arch: the space between the stage and where the audience sit.
126. Chorus: this is a group of actors in a drama pronouncing a singular opinion.
127. Malapropism (Catachresis): the intentional misuse of word for the purpose of creating literary effect.
128. Deunuement: the point of solution in a drama after so much conflict.
129. Motivation: the consistent reason for a character’s actions.
130. Portmanteau Word: the fusion of two meanings into a single word. Example= slithy (meaning lithe and slimy).
131. Prompter: this is the person who reminds the actors or actresses of their forgotten lines through whisper. Also called the-actor-off-the-stage.
132. Anachronism: the intentional displacement of time in a literary work.
133. Anastrophe (hyperbaton): the use of inversion.Example= to thine own self be true
134. Flies: space over the stage for storing things such as drop curtain, scenery, etc.
135. Scenery: object for creating fictional setting on a stage.
136. Wings: the spaces at the edge of stage where preparing performers stay before entering the stage.
137. Crew: the totality of non acting members who supervise the activities.
138. Pathetic Fallacy: attributing human feelings to inanimate or animals. Example= the sad trees screamed for freedom.
139. Transfer Epithet: the use of wrong adjective to qualify something. Example= I rested on my emotional pillow (instead of, I emotionally rested on my pillow) .
140. Meosis: the use of understatement. Example= Mr. Tunji lives in a matchbox.
141. Aphorism: a sharp observation which accepted to be true. Example= a penny saved is a penny earned.
142. Colloquialism: use of informal language such as slang in a work of literature.
143. Frame Story: a story within a story. It’s a companion to the main story.
144. Anthropomorphism: the projection of non-human like human. Example= a cat wearing a wristwatch.
145. Zoomorphism: giving characteristics of animal to human.
146. Motif: image, idea, sound, word that helps in explaining the theme.
147. Assonance: the successive use of vowel sounds in a line of close proximity. Example= thou still unravished bride of quietness. (the repetition of “I” sound)
148. Alliteration: the successive use of consonant sounds in a line of close proximity. Example= the furrow followed free.
149. Bathos: the unintentional overuse of empathy which becomes ridicule.
150. Bildungsroman: the novel for growth or information
151. Parallelism: the presentation of two similar phrase or clause for the purpose of creating balance. Example= my country is in hardship; my countrymen are in poverty.
152. Antithesis: the presentation of two opposite phrase or clause for the purpose of creating balance. Example= those that I guide, I do not love. Those that I fight I do not hate.
153. Audition: the stage examination for the purpose of selecting actors for a certain play.
154. Producer: the person in charge of the financing and organization of drama.
155. Genre: the division of literature.
156. Aphorism: a simple saying that is generally accepted truth.
157. Exposition: introduction of actions that will lead to conflict
158. Tragic hero: the protagonist in a tragic drama.
159. Hero: the protagonist in a work of art.
160. Heroine: the female protagonist in a work of art.
161. Projection: this is the opposite of flashback.
162. Metaphor: use of indirect comparison. Example= she is boiling with fury
163. Simile: use of direct comparison. Example= she is furious like a boiling water
164. Isocolon: the use of words with similar length. Example= we want, we ask, we get.
165. Tautology: this is the overuse of words that has just a single meaning. Example= I have a twin brother. (Instead of I have a twin or I’m a twin).
166. Oxymoron: placing two contrasting words side by side. Example= such sweet sorrow
167. Juxtaposition: this is the comparison made between two ideas
168. Mixed Metaphor: this is use of two metaphors that have the same meaning in a line or sentence
169. Extended Metaphor: this is the use of two metaphors in a line or sentence.
170. Synaesthesia: displacement of qualities. Example= the odious sun is no more.
171. Dramatis Personae: the sum total of participants in a drama
172. Atmosphere: psychological background of a literary work.
173. Couplet: two successive rhyming lines in poem.
174. Stanza: group of lines in poem.
175. Verse: metered stanza
176. Playwright: writer of drama or play