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Vocabulary for Literary Analysis
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Allegory
A narrative in which characters and events represent particular ideas or themes, often relating to moral, religious, or political concepts. Example: George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' is an allegory for the Russian Revolution.
Alliteration
The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words in a sentence or line of poetry. Example: 'She sells seashells by the seashore' showcases alliteration with the 's' sound.
Allusion
A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance. Example: The phrase 'Achilles' heel' is an allusion to the Greek mythological hero.
Ambiguity
Use of language where the meaning is unclear or has two or more possible interpretations or meanings. Example: The ending of Henry James' 'The Turn of the Screw' is famously ambiguous.
Anachronism
Something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time. Example: A character in a Shakespeare play talking about watches, which weren't invented yet.
Anaphora
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. Example: Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I have a dream' speech uses anaphora with the repeated phrase 'I have a dream'.
Antagonist
A character or a group of characters which stand in opposition to the protagonist or the main character. Example: The Joker is the antagonist to Batman, the protagonist.
Anthropomorphism
Attributing human characteristics to non-human creatures or things. Example: In 'Winnie the Pooh', the animal characters exhibit human-like behavior and emotions.
Antihero
A main character in a story who lacks conventional heroic qualities and attributes such as idealism, courage, and morality. Example: Walter White from 'Breaking Bad' is an antihero.
Apostrophe
A figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction. Example: In Shakespeare's 'Macbeth', Macbeth speaks to an invisible dagger.
Assonance
The repetition of vowel sounds within a line of poetry or prose. Example: 'Hear the mellow wedding bells' by Edgar Allan Poe demonstrates assonance with the repeated 'e' sound.
Blank Verse
Unrhymed iambic pentameter, commonly used in English dramatic, epic, and reflective verse. Example: Shakespeare's plays are largely written in blank verse.
Caesura
A pause or break within a line of poetry, often dictated by the natural rhythm of the language. Example: 'To be, or not to be: that is the question' from Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'.
Catharsis
The process of releasing strong or repressed emotions through art, typically resulting in renewal and restoration. Example: In Greek tragedies, the audience experiences catharsis during the climax.
Characterization
The process by which an author reveals the personality of a character in a story. Example: J.K. Rowling uses direct and indirect characterization to build the character of Harry Potter.
Climax
The most intense, exciting, or important point of a story; a culmination or apex. Example: The climax of 'Romeo and Juliet' occurs when Romeo finds Juliet in a deathlike sleep and kills himself.
Conflict
The struggle between opposing forces in a story, which drives the plot and is often resolved by the end of the narrative. Example: The conflict in 'The Lord of the Rings' is the struggle against Sauron.
Connotation
The implied or associative meaning of a word, as opposed to its literal definition. Example: The word 'home' connotes feelings of warmth, comfort, and family.
Denotation
The literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests. Example: The denotation of the word 'snake' is 'a legless reptile,' not its negative connotations.
Deus Ex Machina
A plot device where an implausible concept or character is brought into the story to resolve the conflict and bring about a solution. Example: In Greek plays, a god was often lowered by a crane to solve a problem.
Diction
The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing. Example: Hemingway used a simple and direct diction, while Joyce often used a more complex and elaborate diction.
Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something that the characters do not. Example: In 'Romeo and Juliet', the audience knows that Juliet is alive, but Romeo does not, leading to dramatic irony.
Elegy
A mournful, melancholic poem, especially one lamenting the dead; a sorrowful reflection. Example: 'In Memoriam A.H.H.' by Alfred Lord Tennyson is an elegy for the poet's friend Arthur Hallam.
Enjambment
The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza in poetry. Example: The use of enjambment is common in modern poetry to create a sense of natural speech.
Epiphany
A moment of sudden revelation or insight experienced by a character. Example: In James Joyce's 'The Dead', the protagonist Gabriel has an epiphany that leads to a deep self-realization.
Euphemism
A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. Example: Saying 'passed away' instead of 'died'.
Exposition
The introduction of background information within a story; for example, about the setting, characters' backgrounds, or prior plot events. Example: The 'Once upon a time' start of fairy tales.
Fable
A short story, often with animals as characters, that conveys a moral. Example: 'The Tortoise and the Hare' teaches that slow and steady wins the race.
Figurative Language
Language that uses words or expressions with a meaning different from the literal interpretation. Example: Metaphors, similes, and personification are types of figurative language.
Flashback
A scene in a narrative that is set in an earlier time than the main story, providing background or context to the current events. Example: In 'Wuthering Heights', much of the story is told in flashback.
Foreshadowing
A literary device used to give an indication or hint of what is to come later in the story. Example: The witches' prophecy in Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' is an instance of foreshadowing.
Hyperbole
Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. Example: 'I'm so hungry I could eat a horse' is a hyperbolic statement.
Imagery
Descriptive or figurative language used to create word pictures for the reader. Example: 'The golden yellow sunlight filtered through the autumn leaves' is an example of visual imagery.
Irony
A contrast or incongruity between expectations for a situation and what is reality. Example: A fire station burns down - this situation is ironic.
Juxtaposition
Placing two or more concepts, characters, ideas, or places near or next to each other in a narrative for the purpose of contrast. Example: The juxtaposition of good and evil in 'Harry Potter'.
Metaphor
A figure of speech that identifies something as being the same as some unrelated thing for rhetorical effect, thus highlighting the similarities. Example: 'Time is a thief' implies time steals moments from us.
Onomatopoeia
The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named. Example: 'Buzz', 'hiss', or 'crack' are onomatopoeic words.
Oxymoron
A figure of speech in which two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect. Example: The phrase 'bittersweet' describes something that is both bitter and sweet.
Paradox
A statement that contradicts itself but might include a latent truth. Example: Oscar Wilde's statement 'I can resist everything except temptation' is a paradox.
Personification
A figure of speech where human qualities are given to animals, objects, or ideas. Example: 'The wind whispered through the trees' personifies the wind.
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