Philosophical investigation into the nature of beauty and the perception of beauty, especially in th

1
Philosophical investigation into the nature of
beauty and the perception of beauty, especially
in the arts the theory of art or artistic
taste. 
2
Aesthetics
3
A story or visual image with a second distinct
meaning partially hidden behind its literal or
visible meaning 2 or more levels of meaning 
4
Allegory
5
An indirect or passing reference to some event,
person, place, or artistic work. 
6
Allusion
7
A statement that can contain two or more
meanings.  
8
Ambiguity
9
A resemblance of relations an agreement or
likeness between things that different 
10
Analogy
11
repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning
of successive phrases, clauses or sentences.  
12
Anaphora
13
A very short tale told by a character in a
literary work. 
14
Anecdote
15
character, force, or collection of forces in
fiction or drama that opposes the protagonist and
gives rise to the conflict in the story 
16
Antagonist
17
protagonist who has the opposite of most of the
traditional attributes of a hero may be
bewildered, ineffectual, deluded, or merely
pathetic. 
18
Anti-hero
19
brief statement which expresses an observation on
life, usually intended as a wise observation.  
20
Aphorism
21
a figure of speech in which the speaker speaks
directly to something nonhuman  
22
Apostrophe
23
a term used to describe universal symbols that
evoke deep and sometimes unconscious responses in
the reader 
24
Archetype
25
device in which a character in a drama makes a
short speech which is heard by the audience but
not by the other characters in the play 
26
Aside
27
the omission of a conjunction from a list (chips,
beans, peas, vinegar, salt, pepper) 
28
Asyndeton
29
Greek word that implies rule or law used in
literature as the source which regulates which
works are considered important pieces of
literature  
30
Canon
31
meaning "purgation" describes the release of
emotions of pity and fear by the audience at the
end of a tragedy 
32
Catharsis
33
rhetorical term describes a situation in which
you introduce subjects in the order A, B, C but
talk about them in the order C, B, A.  
34
Chiasmus
35
decisive moment in a drama turning point of the
play which is led to by the rising action
determines the outcome of the conflict 
36
Climax
37
spoken or written communication that seeks to
imitate informal speech 
38
Colloquialism
39
literary work which is amusing and ends happily 
40
Comedy
41
far-fetched simile or metaphor 
42
Conceit
43
emotional implications and associations that
words may carry as distinguished from their
denotative meanings 
44
Connotation
45
basic dictionary meaning of a word 
46
Denotation
47
unrealistic or unexpected intervention to rescue
the protagonists or resolve the conflict 
48
Deus ex Machina
49
author's choice of words 
50
Diction
51
work designed to impart information, advice, or
some doctrine of morality or philosophy 
52
Didactic
53
imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and
often fearful lives a place where everything is
as bad as it can possibly be 
54
Dystopia
55
brief quote that appears at the beginning of a
literary work 
56
Epigraph
57
a word or phrase preceding or following a name
which serves to describe the character 
58
Epithet
59
critical interpretation of a text, especially in
biblical text 
60
Exegesis
61
a type of comedy based on a humorous situation
situation not dialogue or plot provides humor 
62
Farce
63
strict observance of established rules,
traditions and methods employed in the arts 
64
Formalism
65
a story in which one or more other stories are
told 
66
Framing Device
67
established category of written work employing
such common conventions as will prevent readers
from mistaking it with another genre 
68
Genre
69
characterized by gloom and mystery and the
grotesque 
70
Gothic
71
inspirational saying or platitude  
72
Homily
73
excessive pride or self-confidence common theme
in Greek tragedies and mythology protagonists
often suffer for it by gods 
74
Hubris
75
figure of speech in which an overstatement or
exaggeration is deliberately used for effect 
76
Hyperbole
77
specialized vocabulary used by a group of
people 
78
Idiom
79
collection of images within a literary work used
to evoke atmosphere, mood, tension 
80
Imagery
81
in or into the middle of a sequence of events 
82
In Media Res
83
assuming from the text what the author intended
to mean 
84
Intentional Fallacy
85
passage included in an author's work without his
consent 
86
Interpolation
87
reversal of the normal order of words for
dramatic effect 
88
 Inversion
89
device that depends on the existence of at least
two separate and contrasting levels of meaning
embedded in one message  
90
Irony
91
type of figurative language in which a statement
is made that says something is one thing when it
is literally not.  
92
Metaphor
93
figure of speech in which a word represents
something else which is suggests 
94
Metonymy
95
style of art in which objects are stripped down
to their elemental, geometric form, and presented
in an impersonal manner in literature,
minimalists use short descriptions and simple
sentences 
96
Minimalism
97
thoughts of a single person, directed outward 
98
Monologue
99
recurring image, word, phrase, represented object
or action that tends to unify the literary work
that may be elaborated into a more general
theme 
100
Motif
101
type of literature that attempts to apply
scientific principles of objectivity and
detachment to its study of human beings  
102
Naturalism
103
a villain who has a particular interest in
defeating a hero or group of heroes 
104
Nemesis
105
a combination of contradictory terms 
106
Oxymoron
107
a brief and often simple narrative that
illustrates a moral or religious lesson 
108
Parable
109
repetition of words, phrases, sentences that have
the same grammatical structure or that restate a
similar idea 
110
Parallelism
111
literary form in which the style of an author or
work is mocked in its style for the sake of comic
effect 
112
Parody
113
of, relating to, or being a literary or other
artistic work that portrays or evokes rural life,
usually in an idealized way  
114
Pastoral
115
narrator or storyteller of the novel different
from the author 
116
Persona
117
a figure of speech were animals, ideas, or
inorganic objects are given human characteristics
 
118
Personification
119
the way events are portrayed to the reader 
120
Point of View
121
a controversial argument, especially one refuting
or attacking a specific opinion or doctrine 
122
Polemic
123
the main character of a literary work 
124
Protagonist
125
literary technique that faithfully represents
reality especially the representation of
middle-class life 
126
Realism
127
the art of persuasive argument through writing or
speech 
128
Rhetoric
129
a novel in which actual persons and events are
disguised as fictional characters 
130
Roman a Clef
131
the mythos of literature concerned primarily with
an idealized world 
132
Romance
133
literary work which exposes and ridicules human
vices or folly usually intended as a moral
criticism directed against the injustice of
social wrongs 
134
Satire
135
the analysis of a poem's meter 
136
Scansion
137
the study of the meaning of language, as opposed
to its form 
138
Semantics
139
theories regarding symbolism and how people glean
meaning from words, sounds, and pictures 
140
Semiotics
141
a dramatic or literary form of discourse in which
a character talks to himself or reveals his
thoughts without addressing a listener 
142
Soliloquy
143
a fictional character that relies heavily on
cultural types or stereotypes for its
personality, manner of speech, and other
characteristics 
144
Stock Character
145
technique that records the multifarious thoughts
and feelings of a character without regard to
logical argumentn or narrative sequence 
146
Stream of Consciousness
147
the hidden meaning lying behind the overt 
148
Subtext
149
literary figure of speech in which a part of
something stands for the whole or the whole for a
part 
150
Synecdoche
151
the way in which linguistic elements are arranged
to form grammatical structure 
152
Syntax
153
the abstract concept explored in a literary work
frequently recurring ideas repetition of a
meaningful element  
154
Theme
155
the writers attitude toward the material and/or
readers 
156
Tone
157
a serious play in which the chief figures by some
peculiarity of character pass through a series of
misfortunes leading to a final devastating
catastrophe 
158
Tragedy
159
the character flaw or error of a tragic hero that
leads to his downfall 
160
Tragic Flaw
161
the intentional use of a word or expression
figuratively antonomasia, irony, metaphor,
metonymy, and synecdoche  
162
Trope
163
imaginary and indefinitely remote place of ideal
perfection especially in laws, government, and
social conditions 
164
Utopia
165
the everyday speech of the people 
166
Vernacular
167
a small illustrative sketch 
168
Vignette
169
term to describe an encompassment of the writer's
tone, style and manner
170
Voice
171
Where every aspect of a story is representative,
usually symbolic, of something else, usually a
larger abstract concept or important
historical/geopolitical event. 
172
Allegory
173
The repetition of consonant sounds within close
proximity, usually in consecutive words within
the same sentence or line.  
174
Alliteration
175
Counterpart to the main character and source of a
storys main conflict.
176
Antagonist
177
Where animals or inanimate objects are portrayed
in a story as people, such as by walking,
talking, or being given arms, legs, facial
features, human locomotion or other anthropoid
form.   
178
Anthropomorphism
179
Non-rhyming poetry, usually written in iambic
pentameter. 
180
Blank verse
181
The people who inhabit and take part in a story.
  
182
Character
183
The authors means of conveying to the reader a
characters personality, life history, values,
physical attributes, etc. Also refers directly to
a description thereof. 
184
Characterization
185
The turning point in a story, at which the end
result becomes inevitable, usually where
something suddenly goes terribly wrong the
dramatic high point of a story.
186
Climax
187
A struggle between opposing forces which is the
driving force of a story.  
188
Conflict
189
Conditions, including facts, social/historical
background, time and place, etc., surrounding a
given situation. 
190
Context
191
Exaggeration or alteration of objective facts or
reality, for the purpose of enhancing meaning in
a fictional context.
192
Creative license
193
Where characters speak to one another may often
be used to substitute for exposition. 
194
Dialogue
195
Where the audience or reader is aware of
something important, of which the characters in
the story are not aware.
196
Dramatic irony
197
Where an author interrupts a story in order to
explain something, usually to provide important
background information.
198
Exposition
199
Any use of language where the intended meaning
differs from the actual literal meaning of the
words themselves.  
200
Figurative language
201
A character who is meant to represent
characteristics, values, ideas, etc. which are
directly and diametrically opposed to those of
another character, usually the protagonist.
            
202
Foil
203
Where future events in a story, or perhaps the
outcome, are suggested by the author before they
happen.  
204
Foreshadowing
205
A description which exaggerates, usually
employing extremes and/or superlatives to convey
a positive or negative attribute hype. 
206
Hyperbole
207
A poetic meter wherein each line contains ten
syllables, as five repetitions of a two-syllable
pattern in which the pronunciation emphasis is on
the second syllable. 
208
Iambic pentameter
209
Language which describes something in detail,
using words to substitute for and create sensory
stimulation, including visual imagery and sound
imagery.
210
Imagery
211
Where an event occurs which is unexpected, in the
sense that it is somehow in absurd or mocking
opposition to what would be expected or
appropriate.  
212
Irony (a.k.a. Situational irony)
213
A direct relationship where one thing or idea
substitutes for another.  
214
Metaphor
215
The atmosphere or emotional condition created by
the piece, within the setting.   
216
Mood
217
A recurring important idea or image.  
218
Motif
219
Where sounds are spelled out as words or, when
words describing sounds actually sound like the
sounds they describe. 
220
Onomatopoeia
221
A contradiction in terms.  
222
Oxymoron
223
Where a situation is created which cannot
possibly exist, because different elements of it
cancel each other out. 
224
Paradox
225
Use of similar or identical language, structures,
events or ideas in different parts of a text. 
226
Parallelism
227
Where inanimate objects or abstract concepts are
seemingly endowed with human self-awareness
where human thoughts, actions, perceptions and
emotions are directly attributed to inanimate
objects or abstract ideas.  
228
Personification
229
Sequence of events in a story.  
230
Plot
231
The identity of the narrative voice the person
or entity through whom the reader experiences the
story. May be third-person or first-person.
232
Point-of-view
233
The main character in a story, the one with whom
the reader is meant to identify.  
234
Protagonist
235
Where a specific word, phrase, or structure is
repeated several times, usually in close
proximity, to emphasize a particular idea.  
236
Repetition
237
The time and place where a story occurs.  
238
Setting
239
An indirect relationship where one thing or idea
is described as being similar to another usually
contain the words like or as, but not always.
240
Simile
241
The voice of a poem not to be confused with
the poet him/herself. Analogous to the narrator
in prose fiction.
242
Speaker
243
The manner in which the various elements of a
story are assembled. 
244
Structure
245
The use of specific objects or images to
represent abstract ideas.  
246
Symbolism
247
The main idea or message conveyed by the piece.  
248
Theme
249
The apparent emotional state, or attitude, of
the speaker/narrator/narrative voice, as conveyed
through the language of the piece.  
250
Tone
251
Where a story ends with a negative or unfortunate
outcome which was essentially avoidable, usually
caused by a flaw in the central characters
personality. 
252
Tragedy
253
A protagonist who comes to a bad end as a result
of his own behavior, usually cased by a specific
personality disorder or character flaw.   
254
Tragic hero/tragic figure
255
The single characteristic (usually negative) or
personality disorder which causes the downfall of
the protagonist. 
256
Tragic flaw
257
Where the meaning of a specific expression is, or
is intended to be, the exact opposite of what the
words literally mean.
258
Verbal irony
259
a single word or short phrase, usually
interrupting normal syntax, used to lend emphasis
to the words immediately proximate to the
expletive.
260
 Expletive
261
consists of omitting conjunctions between words,
phrases, or clauses.
262
Asyndeton
263
the use of a conjunction between each word,
phrase, or clause, and is thus structurally the
opposite of asyndeton.
264
Polysyndeton
265
deliberately expresses an idea as less important
than it actually is, either for ironic emphasis
or for politeness and tact.
266
Understatement
267
a particular form of understatement, it is
generated by denying the opposite or contrary of
the word which otherwise would be used.
268
Litotes
269
recurrent syntactical similarity. Several parts
of a sentence or several sentences are expressed
similarly to show that the ideas in the parts or
sentences are equal in importance.
270
Parallelism
271
might be called "reverse parallelism," since the
second part of a grammatical construction is
balanced or paralleled by the first part, only in
reverse order.
272
Chiasmus
273
includes several similar rhetorical devices, all
involving a grammatically correct linkage (or
yoking together) of two or more parts of speech
by another part of speech.
274
Zeugma
275
establishes a clear, contrasting relationship
between two ideas by joining them together or
juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure.
276
Antithesis
277
the repetition of the same word or words at the
beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or
sentences, commonly in conjunction with climax
and with parallelism
278
Anaphora
279
forms the counterpart to anaphora, because the
repetition of the same word or words comes at the
end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences

280
Epistrophe
281
repeats the last word of one phrase, clause, or
sentence at or very near the beginning of the
next. it can be generated in series for the sake
of beauty or to give a sense of logical
progression
282
Anadiplosis
283
consists of raising one or more questions and
then proceeding to answer them, usually at some
length. A common usage is to ask the question at
the beginning of a paragraph and then use that
paragraph to answer it
284
Hypophora
285
it is not answered by the writer, because its
answer is obvious or obviously desired, and
usually just a yes or no.
286
Rhetorical question
287
by anticipating an objection and answering it,
permits an argument to continue moving forward
while taking into account points or reasons
opposing either the train of thought or its final
conclusions.
288
Procatalepsis
289
consists of a brief statement of what has been
said and what will follow. It might be called a
linking, running, or transitional summary, whose
function is to keep the discussion ordered and
clear in its progress
290
Metabasis
291
is an explicit reference to a particular meaning
or to the various meanings of a word, in order to
remove or prevent ambiguity.
292
Distinctio
293
involves repeating a word or expression while
adding more detail to it, in order to emphasize
what might otherwise be passed over.
294
Amplification
295
asserts or emphasizes something by pointedly
seeming to pass over, ignore, or deny it.
296
Apophasis
297
qualifies a statement by recalling it (or part of
it) and expressing it in a better, milder, or
stronger way. A negative is often used to do the
recalling.
298
Metanoia
299
expresses doubt about an idea or conclusion.
300
Aporia
301
compares two things, which are alike in several
respects, for the purpose of explaining or
clarifying some unfamiliar or difficult idea or
object by showing how the idea or object is
similar to some familiar one.
302
Analogy
303
compares two different things by speaking of one
in terms of the other.
304
Metaphor
305
an extravagant, implied metaphor using words in
an alien or unusual way.
306
Catachresis
307
a type of metaphor in which the part stands for
the whole, the whole for a part, the genus for
the species, the species for the genus, the
material for the thing made, or in short, any
portion, section, or main quality for the whole
or the thing itself (or vice versa).
308
Synecdoche
309
another form of metaphor, very similar to
synecdoche (and, in fact, some rhetoricians do
not distinguish between the two), in which the
thing chosen for the metaphorical image is
closely associated with (but not an actual part
of) the subject with which it is to be compared.
310
Metonymy
311
the counterpart of understatement, deliberately
exaggerates conditions for emphasis or effect. In
formal writing the hyperbole must be clearly
intended as an exaggeration, and should be
carefully restricted.
312
Hyperbole
313
a short, informal reference to a famous person or
event
314
Allusion
315
a paradox reduced to two words, usually in an
adjective-noun ("eloquent silence") or
adverb-adjective ("inertly strong") relationship,
and is used for effect, complexity, emphasis, or
wit
316
Oxymoron
317
the recurrence of initial consonant sounds. The
repetition can be juxtaposed (and then it is
usually limited to two words)
318
Alliteration
319
the use of words whose pronunciation imitates the
sound the word describes.
320
Onomatopoeia
321
interrupts the discussion or discourse and
addresses directly a person or personified thing,
either present or absent.
322
Apostrophe
323
one word irony, established by context "Come
here, Tiny," he said to the fat man.
324
Antiphrasis
325
placing a good point or benefit next to a fault
criticism, or problem in order to reduce the
impact or significance of the negative point  
326
Antanagoge
327
writing successive independent clauses, with
coordinating conjunctions, or no conjunctions
328
Parataxis
329
citing an example using an illustrative story,
either true or fictitious
330
Exemplum
331
similar vowel sounds repeated in successive or
proximate words containing different consonants
332
Assonance
333
a noun or noun substitute placed next to (in
apposition to) another noun to be described or
defined by the appositive.  
334
Appositive