Splash Screen

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Splash Screen
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Literary Terms Menu
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A Main Menu
Antithesis Aphorism Apostrophe Archetype Argument
Aside Assonance Atmosphere Authors
purpose Autobiography

• Abstract language
• Absurd, Theater of the
• Act
• Allegory
• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Ambiguity
• Analogy
• Anecdote
• Antagonist
• Anthropomorphism

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A-1

• Abstract language Language that expresses an idea
  or intangible reality, as opposed to a specific
  object or occurrence or a concrete reality. Words
  like dog and sky are concrete, whereas words like
  truth and evil are abstract.
• See also CONCRETE LANGUAGE.
• Absurd, Theater of the See THEATER OF THE ABSURD.

Act A major unit of a drama, or play. Modern
dramas generally have one, two, or three acts.
Older dramas often have five acts. Although
Shakespeare did not separate his plays into acts,
each play was later divided into five acts. Acts
may be divided into one or more scenes. See page
821. See also DRAMA, SCENE.
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A-2
Allegory A literary work in which all or most of
the characters, settings, and events stand for
ideas, qualities, or figures beyond themselves.
The overall purpose of an allegory is to teach a
moral lesson. See pages 1179 and 1184. See also
SYMBOL.

• Alliteration The repetition of consonant sounds,
  generally at the beginnings of words.
  Alliteration can be used to emphasize words,
  reinforce meaning, or create a musical effect.
  Note the repeated s and f sounds in the following
  line from Mary Olivers poem The Black Snake
  It is what sent the snake coiling and flowing
  forward . . .
• See pages 621, 659, and 661.
• See also SOUND DEVICES.

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A-3
Allusion A reference to a well-known character,
place, or situation from history, music, art, or
another work of literature. Discovering the
meaning of an allusion can often be essential to
understanding a work. Edna St. Vincent Millay
alludes to Penelope, Odysseuss wife in Homers
Odyssey, in her poem An Ancient Gesture I
thought, as I wiped my eyes on the corner of my
apron Penelope did this too. See page 595.

• Ambiguity The state of having more than one
  meaning. The richness of literary language lies
  in its ability to evoke multiple layers of
  meaning.
• See also CONNOTATION.

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A-4
Analogy A comparison that shows similarities
between two things that are otherwise dissimilar.
A writer may use an analogy to explain something
unfamiliar by comparing it to something familiar.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni makes the following
analogies in these lines from her poem My Mother
Combs My Hair We hold the silence tight
between us like a live wire, like a strip of
gold torn from a wedding brocade. See also
METAPHOR, RHETORICAL DEVICES, SIMILE.
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A-5

• Anecdote A short written or oral account of an
  event from a persons life. Essayists often use
  anecdotes to support their opinions, clarify
  their ideas, grab the readers attention, or
  entertain. In Field Trip, Naomi Shihab Nyes
  story about her time at camp is an anecdote.
• See pages 341, 348, and 398.

Antagonist A person or a force in society or
nature that opposes the protagonist, or central
character, in a story or drama. The reader is
generally meant not to sympathize with the
antagonist. Polyphemus, the Cyclops, is
Odysseuss antagonist in one episode of Homers
Odyssey. See pages 109 and 119. See also
CHARACTER, CONFLICT, PROTAGONIST.
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• Anthropomorphism The assignment of human
  characteristics to gods, animals, or inanimate
  objects. It is a key element in fables and
  folktales, where the main characters are often
  animals. The animals in Bakers Bluejay Yarn
  have human characteristics.
• See page 1067.
• See also FABLE.

Antithesis The technique of putting opposite
ideas side-by-side in order to point out their
differences or to draw attention to the
superiority of one. Antithesis is often used in
logical argument. Michel de Montaigne makes
frequent use of antithesis in his essay That One
Mans Profit Is Anothers Loss, as when he
writes, No profit can be made except at
anothers expense. See pages 447449. See also
ARGUMENT, PERSUASION.
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A-7

• Aphorism A short, pointed statement that
  expresses a wise or clever observation about
  human experience. Naomi Shihab Nye concludes her
  essay Field Trip with an aphorism

The things we worry about are never the things
that happen. And the things that happen are the
things we never could have dreamed.
See pages 394 and 398. Apostrophe A literary
device in which a speaker addresses an inanimate
object, an idea, or an absent person. In Act 3,
Scene 2, of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet addresses
the night Spread thy close curtain,
love-performing night, That th runaways eyes
may wink, and Romeo Leap to these arms untalkd
and unseen! See pages 575, 586, and 588. See
also PERSONIFICATION.
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• Archetype Ideas, characters, stories, or images
  that are common to human experience across
  cultures and throughout the world. In their
  purest form, archetypes occur in oral tradition,
  but they also appear in written works of
  literature. They can be divided into the
  following categories

Character archetype Includes familiar
individuals such as the wise leader, the rebel,
the damsel in distress, and the traitor. Coyote,
the trickster of Native American folklore, is a
character archetype. Image archetype Objects or
places that have a universal symbolism. For
example, a rose symbolizes love. Plot pattern
archetype Stories that occur in many cultures.
Making the long journey home, completing the
impossible task, or outwitting the formidable
enemy are all archetypal plots.
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A-9

• Archetype (contd)

Theme archetype Ideas that occur wherever people
tell stories. The idea that good can overcome
evil, that people can redeem themselves, or that
an underworld exists are all archetypal themes.
See pages 947952 and 10541055. See also
FOLKLORE, MYTH, ORAL TRADITION, STOCK CHARACTER,
SYMBOL.
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A-10

• Argument A type of persuasive writing in which
  logic or reason is used to try to influence a
  readers ideas or actions. Anna Quindlen presents
  an argument against being perfect in Put Down
  the Backpack.
• See pages 436437, 445, 451, and 1142.
• See also PERSUASION.

Aside In a play, a comment that a character makes
to the audience, which other characters onstage
do not hear. The speaker turns to one sideor
asideaway from the action onstage. Asides,
which are rare in modern drama, reveal what a
character is thinking or feeling. For example, in
Act 2, Scene 2, of Shakespeares Romeo and
Juliet, Romeo makes two asides to the audience as
he decides whether to make his presence known to
Juliet, who is standing on the balcony above him.
See pages 746 and 773. See also SOLILOQUY.
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• Assonance The repetition of same or similar vowel
  sounds within nonrhyming words. In the following
  lines from Rita Doves poem Grape Sherbet, the
  long i sound is repeated in Ive and trying, and
  the short i sound is repeated in it and exist.
• Ive been trying / to remember the taste, / but
  it
• doesnt exist.
• See pages 621, 622, and 625.
• See also SOUND DEVICES.

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A-12
Atmosphere The dominant emotional feeling of a
literary work that contributes to the mood.
Authors create atmosphere primarily through
details of setting, such as time, place, and
weather. In The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar
Allan Poe creates atmosphere by describing the
eerie setting
We had passed through walls of piled bones, with
casks and puncheons intermingling into the inmost
recesses of the catacombs.
See pages 28. See also MOOD.
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Authors purpose An authors intent in writing a
literary work. For example, the author may want
to persuade, inform, describe a process,
entertain, or express an opinion. Anna Quindlens
purpose in Put Down the Backpack is to persuade
and inspire. See pages 300306, 320, 362, and
479. See also DICTION, STYLE, THEME.

• Autobiography A persons account of his or her
  life. The author typically focuses on the most
  significant events in his or her life.
  Autobiographies can give insights into the
  authors view or himself or herself and of the
  society in which he or she lived. For example, in
  The Story of My Life, Helen Keller traces the
  importance of education in her life.
• See pages 300306 and 308309.
• See also BIOGRAPHY, MEMOIR, NONFICTION.

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B Main Menu

• Ballad
• Bias
• Biography
• Blank verse

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B-1

• Ballad A musical narrative song or poem that in
  most cases recounts a single exciting or dramatic
  episode. Folk ballads were passed down by word of
  mouth for generations before being written down.
  Literary ballads are written in imitation of folk
  ballads and have a known author. Many ballads
  include elements of plot, such as exposition,
  conflict, climax, and resolution. Sweet Betsy
  from Pike is a folk ballad.
• See pages 1090 and 1092.
• See also FOLKLORE, NARRATIVE POETRY, ORAL
  TRADITION,
• PLOT.

Bias An inclination toward a certain opinion or
position on a topic, possibly stemming from
prejudice. See pages 439, 444, and 1186. See
also NONFICTION.
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B-2

• Biography A nonfiction account of a persons life
  written by another person. Biographies can vary
  in length, from brief encyclopedia entries to
  works that span several volumes. James Cross
  Giblins Good Brother, Bad Brother is a biography
  of John Wilkes Booths brother, Edwin.
• See pages 317 and 335.
• See also AUTOBIOGRAPHY, JOURNAL, MEMOIR.
• Blank verse Unrhymed poetry or dramatic verse
  written in a meter known as iambic pentameter.
  Each line of iambic pentameter has five units, or
  feet each foot is made up of an unstressed
  syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Much of
  Shakespeares work is written in blank verse. The
  following line from Romeo and Juliet, spoken by
  the friar, is an example of blank verse.

See page 690. See also FOOT, IAMB, METER, RHYTHM.
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C Main Menu
Comic relief Conceit Concrete language Conflict Co
nnotation Consonance Couplet

• Cadence
• Catalog
• Character
• Character archetype
• Characterization
• Climax
• Colloquialism
• Comedy

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• Cadence The rhythmic rise and fall of language
  when it is spoken or read aloud.
• See also FREE VERSE, METER.

Catalog The listing of images, details, people,
or events in a literary work. In Drums of
Washington, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. catalogs
the responses of world leaders and artists on
hearing that President Kennedy had been
assassinated. See page 242.
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• Character An individual in a literary work. Main
  characters are central to the story and are
  typically fully developed. Minor characters
  display few personality traits and are used to
  help develop the story. In James Hursts The
  Scarlet Ibis, Brother and Doodle are main
  characters and Mama, Daddy, and Aunt Nicey are
  minor characters. A character who shows varied
  and sometimes contradictory traits, such as
  Walter Mitty in James Thurbers The Secret Life
  of Walter Mitty, is a round character. A
  character who reveals only one personality trait,
  such as the vengeful murderer in Edgar Allan
  Poes The Cask of Amontillado, is a flat
  character. A stock character is a flat character
  of a familiar and often-repeated type, such as
  the hard-boiled detective. A dynamic character
  changes during the story. A static charactersuch
  as the king in Frank R. Stocktons The Lady, or
  the Tiger?remains the same throughout the
  story.
• See pages 28 and 106107.
• See also ANTAGONIST, CHARACTERIZATION, FOIL,
  STEREOTYPE,
• STOCK CHARACTER, PROTAGONIST.

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• Character archetype See ARCHETYPE.
• Characterization The methods a writer uses to
  reveal the personality of a character. In direct
  characterization, the writer makes explicit
  statements about a character. In indirect
  characterization, the writer reveals a character
  through that individuals words, thoughts, and
  actions and through what other characters think
  and say about that character. In his play The
  Bear, Anton Chekhov uses indirect
  characterization to create Smírnoff, a bold,
  brazen egotist who becomes sentimental when he
  falls in love with Popóva.
• See pages 161 and 189.
• See also CHARACTER.

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Climax The point of greatest emotional intensity,
interest, or suspense in the plot of a literary
work. Also called the turning point, the climax
usually comes near the end of a story or drama.
For example, in Amy Tans Rules of the Game,
the climax occurs when Meimei and her mother
exchange harsh words and Meimei runs away. See
pages 1011 and 2008. See CONFLICT, PLOT.
Colloquialism Informal language used in everyday
conversation but not in formal writing or speech.
The narrators speech in Mark Twains short story
Bakers Bluejay Yarn is peppered with
colloquialisms, as when he says He glances up
perfectly joyful, this time winks his wings and
his tail both, and says, Oh, no, this aint no
fat thing, I reckon! If I aint in luck! why
its a perfectly elegant hole. See pages 248
and 255. See DIALECT
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Comedy A type of drama that is humorous and
typically has a happy ending. Comedy can be
divided into two categories high and low. High
comedy makes fun of human behavior in a witty,
sophisticated manner. Low comedy involves
physical humor and simple, often vulgar,
wordplay. Eudoras Weltys play Bye-Bye Brevoort
is an example of high comedy. See pages
683688. See also DRAMA, FARCE, HUMOR, PARODY,
SATIRE.
Comic relief A humorous scene, event, or speech
in an otherwise serious drama. It provides relief
from emotional intensity, while at the same time
highlighting the seriousness of the story. In
Paddy Chayefskys Marty, there is a moment of
comic relief when Martys mother uses the slang
word tomatoes to describe the young women that
will be at the Waverly Ballroom.
MOTHER. I say, why dont you go to the Waverly
Ballroom? Its loaded with tomatoes.
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Conceit An elaborate figure of speech that makes
a comparison between two significantly different
things. The conceit draws an analogy between some
object from nature or everyday life and the
subject or theme of a poem. Emily Dickinsons
poem Hope is the thing with feathers is a
conceit. See pages 590 and 593. See also
ANALOGY, EXTENDED METAPHOR.
Concrete language Specific language about actual
things or occurrences. Words like dog and sky are
concrete, while words like truth and evil are
abstract. See also ABSTRACT LANGUAGE.
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• Conflict The struggle between opposing forces in
  a story or drama. An external conflict exists
  when a character struggles against some outside
  force, such as another person, nature, society,
  or fate. In Homers Odyssey, for example,
  Odysseus is involved in external conflicts with
  Polyphemus, Scylla and Charbydis, and the
  suitors. An internal conflict is a struggle that
  takes place within the mind of a character who is
  torn between opposing feelings or goals. In W. D.
  Wetherells The Bass, the River, and Sheila
  Mant, the narrator is torn between reeling in
  the fish (and losing the potential affections of
  Sheila) and letting it go (and losing the catch
  of a lifetime).
• See pages 28, 42, 980.
• See also ANTAGONIST, PLOT, PROTAGONIST.

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• Connotation The suggested or implied meanings
  associated with a word beyond its dictionary
  definition, or denotation. A word can have a
  positive or negative connotation, or no
  connotation.
• See pages 475 and 1186.
• See also AMBIGUITY, DENOTATION, FIGURATIVE
  LANGUAGE.
• Consonance The repetition of consonant sounds,
  typically within or at the end of words that do
  not rhyme and preceded by different vowel sounds.
• See pages 621 and 625.
• See also SOUND DEVICES.

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• Couplet Two consecutive lines of rhymed verse
  that work together as a unit to make a point or
  to express an idea. Paul Laurence Dunbars poem
  Sympathy contains many couplets, such as

And the faint perfume from its chalice steals I
know what the caged bird feels!
See also RHYME, SONNET, STANZA.
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D Main Menu
Dialogue Diction Drama Dramatic irony Dynamic
character

• Denotation
• Denouement
• Description
• Descriptive essay
• Dialect

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D-1

• Denotation The literal, or dictionary, meaning of
  a word.
• See page 1186.
• See also CONNOTATION.
• Denouement The resolution of a story. Denouement
  is a French word meaning unknotting. The
  denouement comes after the climax of a story and
  often ties in with the falling action.
• See pages 1011 and 185.
• See also FALLING ACTION, PLOT, RESOLUTION.

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D-2

• Description A detailed portrayal of a person, a
  place, an object, or an event. Good descriptive
  writing helps readers to see, hear, smell, taste,
  or feel the subject. The opening paragraph of
  James Hursts The Scarlet Ibis contains this
  rich description

The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and
their smell drifted across the cotton field and
through every room of our house, speaking softly
the names of our dead.
See pages 1011, 94, and 1138. See also
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, IMAGERY. Descriptive essay
See ESSAY.
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D-3

• Dialect A variation of a language spoken by a
  group of people, often within a particular
  region. Dialects may differ from the standard
  form of a language in vocabulary, pronunciation,
  or grammatical form. For example, the following
  lines from Robert Burns A Red, Red Rose make
  use of Scottish dialect
• Till a the seas gang dry, my dear,
• And the rocks melt wi the sun!
• See pages 68, 255, and 1163.

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D-4

• Dialogue Conversation between characters in a
  literary work. Dialogue brings characters to life
  by revealing their personalities and by showing
  what they are thinking and feeling as they react
  to other characters. Dialogue can also create
  mood, advance the plot, and develop theme. Plays
  are composed almost completely of dialogue. This
  dialogue takes place between the Friar and Romeo
  in Act 3, Scene 3, of Romeo and Juliet
• FRIAR. O, then I see that madmen have no ears.
• ROMEO. How should they, when that wise men have
  no eyes.
• FRIAR. Let me dispute with thee of thy estate.
• See pages 189, 427, and 682688.
• See also MONOLOGUE.

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D-5

• Diction A writers choice of words an important
  element in the writers voice or style. Skilled
  writers choose their words carefully to convey a
  particular meaning or feeling.
• See pages 209, 570, and 646.
• See also AUTHORS PURPOSE, CONNOTATION, STYLE,
  TONE, VOICE.

Drama A story written to be performed by actors
before an audience. The script of a dramatic
work, or play, often includes the authors
instructions to the actors and director, known as
stage directions. A drama may be divided into
acts, which may also be broken up into scenes,
indicating changes in location or the passage of
time. See pages 680939. See also ACT, COMEDY,
DIALOGUE, SCENE, STAGE DIRECTIONS, TRAGEDY.
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• Dramatic irony See IRONY.
• Dynamic character See CHARACTER.

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E Main Menu

• End rhyme
• End-stopped line
• Enjambment
• Epic
• Epic hero
• Epic simile

Epiphany Epithet Essay Exaggeration Exposition Ext
ended metaphor
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E-1

• End rhyme The rhyming of words at the ends of
  lines as in William Wordsworths I Wandered
  Lonely as a Cloud.
• See page 520.
• End-stopped line A line of poetry that ends in a
  punctuation mark. An end-topped line usually
  contains a complete thought or image. Emily
  Dickinsons Im Nobody! Who Are You? contains
  the following end-stopped lines
• Im Nobody! Who are you?
• Are youNobodyToo?
• See page 592.
• See also ENJAMBMENT.

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E-2

• Enjambment The continuation of a sentence or
  phrase from one line of a poem to the next,
  without a pause between the lines. The following
  lines from William Wordsworths I Wandered
  Lonely as a Cloud are an example of enjambment
• The waves beside them danced but they
• Outdid the sparkling waves in glee . . .
• See pages 557 and 559.
• See also END-STOPPED LINE.

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E-3

• Epic A long narrative poem that recounts, in
  formal language, the exploits of a
  larger-than-life figure. This epic hero is
  usually a person of high social status who
  embodies the ideals of his or her people. He or
  she is often of historical or legendary
  importance. Epic plots typically involve
  supernatural events, long time periods, distant
  journeys, and life and death struggles between
  good and evil. Folk epics have no known author
  and usually arise through storytelling and
  collective experiences of people, while literary
  epics are written by known authors.
• See pages 946952, 959, and 979.
• See also FOLKLORE, HERO, MYTH, NARRATIVE POETRY,
  ORAL
• TRADITION.
• Epic hero See EPIC, HERO.

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E-4

• Epic simile A long, elaborate comparison that
  continues for several lines. It is a feature of
  epic poems but occurs in other poems as well. In
  the Odyssey, for example, Homer compares Scylla
  plucking her victims from Odysseuss ship to an
  angler catching fish.
• See pages 9601018.
• See also EPIC, SIMILE.
• Epiphany A sudden understanding of the meaning or
  essence of something. In William Wordsworths I
  Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, the speaker has an
  epiphany when he sees a field of wild daffodils
  and recognizes natures power to bring joy.
• See pages 520, 629, and 631.

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• Epithet A brief phrase used to characterize a
  person, place, or thing. A Homeric epithet is a
  formulaic or stock phrase specific to epic
  poetry. Homeric epithets fit the meter of the
  poem and appear throughout. Before poems were
  written, these epithets functioned as mnemonic
  devices, helping the poet remember the lines
  during his or her performance. For example, in
  the Odyssey, Homer repeatedly uses bleating
  ewes to describe the Cyclops flock and
  fingertips of rose to describe the dawn.
• See pages 9601018.

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E-6

• Essay A short work of nonfiction on a single
  topic. Descriptive essays describe a person,
  place, or thing. Narrative essays relate true
  stories. Persuasive essays promote an opinion.
  Reflective essays reveal an authors observations
  on a subject. Essays fall into two categories,
  according to their style. A formal essay is
  serious and impersonal, often with the purpose of
  instructing or persuading. Typically, the author
  strikes a serious tone and develops a main idea,
  or thesis, in a logical, highly organized way. An
  informal, or personal essay entertains while it
  informs, usually in light, conversational style.
• See pages 301306 and 380381.
• See also NONFICTION.

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E-7

• Exaggeration See HYPERBOLE.
• Exposition An authors introduction of the
  characters, setting, and situation at the
  beginning of a story, novel, or play.
• See pages 10, 20, and 1204.
• See also PLOT.
• Extended metaphor A metaphor that compares two
  unlike things in various ways throughout a
  paragraph, stanza, or an entire selection. Emily
  Dickinson uses an extended metaphor in Hope Is
  the Thing with Feathers
• See pages 590 and 593.
• See also CONCEIT, METAPHOR.

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F Main Menu

• Fable
• Falling action
• Fantasy
• Farce
• Fiction
• Figurative language
• Figures of speech
• Flashback
• Flat character

Foil Folklore Folktale Foot Foreshadowing Form For
mal essay Frame story Free verse
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F-1

• Fable A short, usually simple tale that teaches a
  moral and sometimes uses animal characters.
  Themes in fables are often directly stated. Pär
  Lagerkvists The Princess and All the Kingdom
  is a modern fable.
• See pages 11141120.
• See also LEGEND, MORAL, PARABLE, THEME.

Falling action In a play or story, the action
that follows the climax. The falling action may
show the results of the climax. It may also
include the denouement, a French word meaning
unknotting. The denouement, or resolution,
explains the plot or unravels the mystery. See
pages 10 and 185. See also CLIMAX, PLOT.
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F-2

• Fantasy A highly imaginative genre of fiction,
  usually set in an unfamiliar world or a distant,
  heroic past. Fantasy stories commonly take place
  in imaginary worlds and may include gnomes,
  elves, or other fantastical beings and forces.
  The use of some type of magic is common in
  fantasy stories.
• See pages 11141120.
• See also SCIENCE FICTION.

Farce A type of comedy with stereotyped
characters in ridiculous situations. Anton
Chekhovs play The Bear contains many farcical
situations, such as when Smírnoff challenges
Popóva to a duel. See pages 823 and 884. See
COMEDY, HUMOR, PARODY, SATIRE.
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F-3

• Fiction Literature in which situations and
  characters are invented by the writer. Fiction
  includes both short stories, such as James
  Thurbers The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and
  novels, such as Willa Cathers My Ántonia.
  Aspects of a fictional work may be based on fact
  or experience.
• See also DRAMA, NONFICTION, NOVEL, SHORT STORY.

Figurative language Language that uses figures of
speech, or expressions that are not literally
true but express some truth beyond the literal
level. Types of figurative language include
hyperbole, metaphor, personification, simile, and
understatement. See pages 508514, 722, and
806. See also HYPERBOLE, IMAGERY, METAPHOR,
OXYMORON, PERSONSIFICATION, SIMILE, SYMBOL,
UNDERSTATEMENT. Figures of speech See FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE.
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F-4

• Flashback An interruption in the chronological
  order of a narrative to describe an event that
  happened earlier. A flashback gives readers
  information that may help explain the main events
  of the story. There are examples of flashback in
  Louise Erdrichs The Leap, a story that is told
  from the point of view of a woman who is
  remembering various events in her life and her
  mothers life.
• See pages 45 and 1204.

Flat character See CHARACTER. Foil A character
who provides a strong contrast to another
character, usually a main character. By using a
foil, a writer calls attention to the strengths
or weaknesses of a character. In Romeo and
Juliet, the fun-loving Mercutio is a foil to the
love-struck Romeo. See pages 695 and 721. See
also CHARACTER.
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F-5
Folklore The traditional beliefs, customs,
stories, songs, and dances of a culture. Folklore
is based on the concerns of ordinary people and
is passed down through oral tradition. See pages
1090 and 1093. See also BALLAD, EPIC, FOLKTALE,
MYTH, ORAL TRADITION, TALL TALE.

• Folktale An anonymous traditional story passed
  down orally long before being written down.
  Folktales include animal stories, trickster
  stories, fairy tales, myths, legends, and tall
  tales.
• See also EPIC, FOLKLORE, LEGEND, MYTH, ORAL
  TRADITION, TALL TALE.

Foot The basic unit in the measurement of rhythm
in poetry. A foot usually contains one stressed
syllable ( ) and one or more unstressed
syllables (?). See also METER, RHYTHM, SCANSION.
51
F-6

• Foreshadowing An authors use of clues to prepare
  readers for events that will happen later in a
  story. The pistol shots and jarring cries that
  Rainsford hears at the beginning of Richard
  Connells short story The Most Dangerous Game
  foreshadow his fate he will be hunted on the
  island.
• See pages 43 and 1228.
• See also PLOT, RISING ACTION, SUSPENSE.

Form The structure of a poem. Many modern writers
use loosely structured poetic forms instead of
following traditional or formal patterns. These
poets vary the lengths of lines and stanzas,
relying on emphasis, rhythm, pattern, or the
placement of words and phrases to convey meaning.
See pages 516 and 621. See also RHYTHM, STANZA,
STRUCTURE. Formal essay See ESSAY.
52
F-7

• Frame story A plot structure that includes the
  telling of a story within a story. The frame is
  the outer story, which usually precedes and
  follows the inner, more important story. Twain
  uses a frame in Bakers Bluejay Yarn. Some
  literary works have frames that bind together
  many different stories.

Free verse Poetry that has no fixed pattern of
meter, rhyme, line length, or stanza arrangement.
Alma Luz Villanuevas poem I Was a Skinny Tomboy
Kid is composed in free verse. See pages 533,
581, 617 and 646. See also POETRY, RHYTHM.
53
G Main Menu

• Genre

54
G-1

• Genre A category or type of literature. Examples
  of genres are poetry, drama, fiction, nonfiction,
  essay, and epic. The term also refers to
  subcategories of literary work. For example,
  fantasy, magical realism, mystery, romance, and
  science fiction are genres of fiction. Ursula K.
  Le Guins short story The Rule of Names, for
  example, belongs to both the fiction and fantasy
  genres.

55
H Main Menu

• Haiku
• Hero
• High comedy
• Historical narrative
• Homeric epithet
• Humor
• Hyperbole

56
H-1

• Haiku A traditional Japanese form of poetry that
  has three lines and seventeen syllables. The
  first and third lines have five syllables each
  the second line has seven syllables. The purpose
  of traditional haiku is to capture a flash of
  insight that occurs during an observation of
  nature.
• See pages 567 and 570.

Hero The main character in a literary work,
typically one whose admirable qualities or noble
deeds arouse admiration. In contemporary usage,
the term can refer to either a female or male.
For example, Ivan is the hero in the Russian tale
Vasilisa of the Golden Braid and Ivan the
Pea. See pages 946952. See also EPIC, MYTH,
PROTAGONIST, TRAGEDY. High comedy See COMEDY.
57
H-2

• Historical narrative A work of nonfiction that
  tells the story of important historical events or
  developments. James Cross Giblins excerpt from
  Good Brother, Bad Brother is an example of a
  historical narrative.
• See pages 328 and 360.
• Homeric epithet See EPITHET.

Humor The quality of a literary work that makes
the characters and their situations seem funny,
amusing, or ludicrous. Humor often points out
human failings and the irony found in many
situations. Humorous language includes sarcasm,
exaggeration, and verbal irony. Humorous writing
can be equally effective in fiction and
nonfiction. See also COMEDY, FARCE, PARODY, PUN,
SATIRE.
58
H-3

• Hyperbole A figure of speech that uses
  exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a
  point, or evoke humor. Youve asked me a million
  times is an example of hyperbole.
• See page 1186.
• See also FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, UNDERSTATEMENT.

59
I Main Menu

• Iamb
• Iambic pentameter
• Idiom
• Image archetype
• Imagery

Informal essay In medias res Internal
conflict Inversion Irony
60
I-1
Iamb A two-syllable metrical foot consisting of
one unstressed syllable (?) followed by one
stressed syllable (), as in the word
divide. Iambic pentameter A specific poetic meter
in which each line has five metric units, or
feet, and each foot consists of an unstressed
syllable (?) followed by a stressed syllable ().
The rhythm of a line of iambic pentameter would
be indicated as shown in this example from
Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet

• See page 690.
• See BLANK VERSE, METER, SCANSION.

61
I-2
Idiom An expression whose meaning is different
from its literal meaning. Idioms are readily
understood by native speakers but are often
puzzling to non-native speakers. Phrases such as
catch his eye, turn the tables, over the
hill, and keep tabs on are idiomatic
expressions in English. Idioms can add realism to
dialogue in a story and contribute to
characterization. See page 1163. See also
COLLOQUIALISM, DIALECT. Image archetype See
ARCHETYPE.
62
I-3
Imagery Descriptive language that appeals to one
or more of the five senses sight, hearing,
touch, taste, and smell. This use of sensory
detail help to create an emotional response in
the reader. For example, the following lines from
Chitra Banerjee Divakarunis My Mother Combs My
Hair use imagery to make silence concrete
We hold the silence tight between us like a live
wire, like a strip of gold torn from a wedding
brocade.

• See pages 67 and 508514.
• See also FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE.

63
I-4
Informal essay See ESSAY. In medias res Latin
phrase meaning in the middle of things. A work
of literature is said to start in medias res when
the story begins in the middle of the action. A
work of literature that starts in medias res
skips the exposition and moves directly to the
rising action. Internal conflict See
CONFLICT. Inversion The reversal of the usual
word order in a prose sentence or line of poetry.
Writers use inversion to maintain rhyme scheme or
meter, or to emphasize certain words or phrases.
The following line from Shakespeares Romeo and
Juliet is an example of inversion
JULIET. So Romeo would, were he not Romeo calld.

• See page 65.
• See also STYLE.

64
I-4
Irony A contrast or discrepancy between
appearance and reality, or between what is
expected and what actually happens.
In situational irony the actual outcome of a
situation is the opposite of what is expectedas
in the ending of O. Henrys The Gift of the
Magi. In verbal irony a person says one thing
and means another. For example, as Montresor
leads Fortunato to his doom in the vaults, he
says, Come, we will go back ere it is too late.
Your cough, as if he were genuinely concerned
about Fortunato. In dramatic irony the audience
or reader knows information that characters do
not. In Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet, for
example, the audience knows that Juliet is alive,
while Romeo is convinced that she is dead.

• See pages 78, 103, and 774.
• See also PARADOX.

65
J Main Menu

• Journal
• Juxtaposition

66
J-1
Journal A daily record of events kept by a
participant in those events or a witness to them.
A journal is usually less intimate than a diary
and often emphasizes events rather than emotions.
Patricia Hampls North Shore Mornings is an
example of a journal. See pages 546550. See
also NONFICTION.
67
J-2
Juxtaposition The placement of two or more
distinct elements side by side in order to
contrast or compare them. It is commonly used to
evoke an emotional response in the reader. In her
essay Sayonara, Anne Morrow Lindbergh
juxtaposes the way to say good-bye in several
languages to prove that Sayonara is the most
eloquent.
For Sayonara, literally translated, Since it
must be so, of all the good-byes I have heard is
the most beautiful. Unlike the Auf Wiedersehens
and Au revoirs, it does not try to cheat itself
by any bravado Till we meet again . . .

• See page 487.

68
L Main Menu

• Language
• Legend
• Line
• Literal language
• Local color
• Low comedy
• Lyric poetry

69
L-1
Language See DICTION, FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE,
IMAGERY, SENSORY DETAILS. Legend A traditional
story handed down from past generations and
believed to be based on real people and events.
Legends usually celebrate the heroic qualities of
a national or cultural leader. Because legends
are the stories of the people, they are often
expressions of the values or character of a
nation. See also EPIC, FABLE, FOLKLORE, HERO,
MYTH, ORAL TRADITION.
Line The basic unit of poetry. A line consists of
a word or a row of words. In metered poems, lines
are measured by the number of feet they
contain. See pages 543 and 555. See also FOOT,
STANZA.
70
L-2
Literal language Language that is simple,
straightforward, and free of embellishment. It is
the opposite of figurative language, which
conveys ideas indirectly. See also
DENOTATION. Local color The use of specific
details to re-create the language, customs,
geography, and habits of a particular area. Isaac
Bashevis Singers short story The Son from
America has many examples of local color.
The more prosperous villagers had kerosene lamps,
but Berl and his wife did not believe in
newfangled gadgets. What was wrong with a wick
and a dish of oil? Only for the Sabbath would
Berlcha buy three tallow candles at the store.

• See also DIALECT.

71
L-3
Low comedy See COMEDY. Lyric poetry Poetry that
expresses a speakers personal thoughts and
feelings. Lyric poems are usually short and
musical. While the subject of a lyric poem might
be an object, a person, or an event, the emphasis
of the poem is on the experience of emotion.
William Wordsworths I Wandered Lonely as a
Cloud is an example of a lyric poem. See pages
610 and 612. See also POETRY.
72
M Main Menu

• Magical realism
• Memoir
• Metaphor
• Meter
• Monologue
• Mood

Moral Motif Motivation Mystery Myth
73
M-1
Magical realism Fiction that combines fantasy and
realism. Magical realism inserts fantastic,
sometimes humorous, events and details into a
believable reality. Diana Garcias The Flat of
the Land is an example of magical realism. See
page 268. See also GENRE.
Memoir A type of narrative nonfiction that
presents an authors personal experience of an
event or period in the writers life. A memoir is
usually written from the first-person point of
view. It often emphasizes the persons thoughts
and feelings, his or her relationships with other
people, or the impact of significant historical
events on his or her life. James Herriots A
Case of Cruelty is an example of a memoir. See
pages 364 and 374. See also AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
74
M-2
Metaphor A figure of speech that makes a
comparison between two seemingly unlike things.
Unlike a simile, a metaphor implies an underlying
similarity between the two and does not use the
words like or as. In the following lines from
Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet, Romeo uses a
metaphor to compare his lips to religious
pilgrims My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready
stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender
kiss. See pages 508514, 575, 594, 625, and
1092. See also ANALOGY, FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE,
SIMILE.
75
M-3
Meter A regular pattern of stressed and
unstressed syllables that gives a line of poetry
a predictable rhythm. The unit of meter within a
line is the foot. Each type of foot has a unique
pattern of stressed () and unstressed (?)
syllables
76
M-4
Meter (contd) A particular meter is named for
the type of foot and the number of feet per line.
For example, trimeter has three feet per line,
tetrameter has four feet, pentameter has five
feet, and hexameter has six feet. William
Wordsworth wrote I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
in iambic tetrameter

• See pages 509514, 529, and 1092.
• See also FOOT, IAMBIC PENTAMETER, RHYTHM,
  SCANSION.

77
M-5
Monologue A long speech or written expression of
thoughts by a character in a literary work. The
friars summary of events in the final scene of
Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet is a
monologue. See pages 333, 746, and 773. See also
DIALOGUE, SOLILOQUY.
Mood The emotional quality of a literary work. A
writers choice of language, subject matter,
setting, diction, and tone, as well as such sound
devices as rhyme and rhythm, contribute to mood.
Richard Connell sustains a tense, eerie mood
throughout much of his short story The Most
Dangerous Game
An apprehensive night crawled slowly by like a
wounded snake, and sleep did not visit Rainsford,
although the silence of a dead world was on the
jungle.

• See pages 56, 64, and 86.
• See also ATMOSPHERE, SETTING, TONE.

78
M-6
Moral A practical lesson about right and wrong
conduct. In fables, the moral is stated directly
in other literary forms, it is often implied.
See also FABLE, PARABLE, THEME. Motif A
significant word, phrase, image, description,
idea, or other element that is repeated
throughout a literary work and is related to the
theme. Fishing is a motif in W. D. Wetherells
The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant. See pages
117 and 1036.
Motivation The stated or implied reason a
character acts, thinks, or feels a certain way.
Motivation may be an external circumstance or an
internal moral or emotional impulse. In O.
Henrys The Gift of the Magi, Della is
motivated to sell her hair by the desire to buy
her husband a beautiful gift. See pages 134, 721,
and 1191.
79
M-7
Mystery A genre of fiction that follows a
standard plot patterna crime is committed and a
detective searches for clues that lead him to the
criminal. Any story that relies on the unknown or
the terrifying can be considered a mystery. The
Mystery of Hunters Lodge is an example of a
mystery. See pages 11121257. See also FICTION,
GENRE.
Myth A traditional story that deals with
goddesses, gods, heroes, and supernatural forces.
A myth may explain a belief, a custom, or a force
of nature. Homers Odyssey incorporates some of
the most famous traditional myths of ancient
Greece, such as the myth of the Sirens. See pages
946952, 1059, and 1067. See also EPIC, FOLKLORE,
LEGEND, ORAL TRADITION.
80
N Main Menu

• Narrative
• Narrative essay
• Narrative poetry
• Narrator
• Nonfiction
• Novel

81
N-1
Narrative Writing or speech that tells a story.
Driven by a conflict, or problem, a narrative
unfolds event by event and leads to a resolution.
The story is narrated, or told, by a narrator and
can take the form of a novel, an essay, a poem,
or a short story. See also NARRATIVE POETRY,
NARRATOR, PLOT.
Narrative essay See ESSAY. Narrative poetry Verse
that tells a story. Narrative poems are usually
contrasted with lyric poetry. Ballads, epics, and
romances are all types of narrative poetry.
Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken is a
narrative poem. See also BALLAD, EPIC, LYRIC
POETRY, NARRATIVE.
82
N-2
Narrator The person who tells a story. The
narrator may be a character in the story, as in
Truman Capotes A Christmas Memory, or a
character outside the story, as in Frank R.
Stocktons The Lady, or the Tiger? Narrators
are not always truthful. A narrator in a work of
literature may be reliable or unreliable. Some
unreliable narrators intentionally mislead
readers. Others fail to understand the true
meaning of the events they describe. Most stories
with unreliable narrators are written in the
first person. See pages 38. See also NARRATIVE,
POINT OF VIEW, SPEAKER.
83
N-3
Nonfiction Literature about real people, places,
and events. Among the categories of nonfiction
are biographies, autobiographies, and essays.
Maya Angelous All Gods Children Need Traveling
Shoes is an example of nonfiction. See also
AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BIOGRAPHY, ESSAY, FICTION, MEMOIR.
Novel A book-length fictional prose narrative.
Because of its length, the novel has greater
potential to develop plot, character, setting,
and theme than does a short story. See also
FICTION, PLOT, SHORT STORY.
84
O Main Menu

• Onomatopoeia
• Oral tradition
• Oxymoron

85
O-1
Onomatopoeia The use of a word or phrase that
imitates or suggests the sound of what it
describes. Some examples are mew, hiss, crack,
swish, murmur, and buzz. See also SOUND
DEVICES. Oral tradition Literature that passes by
word of mouth from one generation to the next.
Oral literature was a way of recording the past,
glorifying leaders, and teaching morals and
traditions to young people. Epics such as Homers
Odyssey were originally passed on in this
manner. See also BALLAD, EPIC, FOLKLORE, LEGEND,
MYTH.
Oxymoron A figure of speech in which opposite
ideas are combined. For example, the following
line from Act 1, Scene 1, of Shakespeares Romeo
and Juliet contains two oxymorons Why then, O
brawling love, O loving hate . . . See also
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, PARADOX.
86
P Main Menu

• Parable
• Paradox
• Parallelism
• Parody
• Persona
• Personification
• Persuasion
• Persuasive essay
• Play
• Plot

Plot patternarchetype Poetry Point of
view Propaganda Props Prologue Prose Protagonist P
un
87
P-1
Parable A simple story pointing to a moral or
religious lesson. It differs from a fable in that
the characters are usually people instead of
animals. Shinichi Hoshis Hey, Come On Out!
is a modern parable. See also FABLE, MORAL.
Paradox A situation or statement that appears to
be contradictory but is actually true, either in
fact or in a figurative sense. These lines from
Denise Levertovs The Secret contain a
paradox I who dont know the secret wrote the
line. See pages 318 and 615. See also OXYMORON.
88
P-2
Parallelism The use of a series of words,
phrases, or sentences that have similar
grammatical form. Parallelism shows the
relationship between ideas and helps emphasize
thoughts. In his inaugural address, John F.
Kennedy used many fine examples of parallelism,
including the famous line
And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your
country can do for youask what you can do for
your country.
See pages 439, 445, and 553. See also
REPETITION. Parody A humorous imitation of a
literary work that aims to point out the works
shortcomings. A parody may imitate the plot,
characters, or style of another work, usually
through exaggeration. Bret Hartes The Stolen
Cigar Case is a parody of Sherlock Holmes
stories. See pages 1249 and 1257. See also
COMEDY, FARCE, HUMOR, SATIRE.
89
P-3
Persona The person who is understood to be
speaking or telling a story or other work.
Whether the story is told by an omniscient
narrator, as in Guy de Maupassants The
Necklace, or by one of the characters, as in Amy
Tans The Rules of the Game, the narrator is
not the author. The attitudes and beliefs of the
persona may not be the same as those of the
author. See pages 248 and 255. See also NARRATOR,
POINT OF VIEW.
Personification A figure of speech in which an
animal, object, force of nature, or idea is given
human characteristics. Juliet personifies night
in this line from Act 3, Scene 2, of William
Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Come, gentle
night come, loving, black-browd night See pages
578, 586, and 588. See also APOSTROPHE,
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE.
90
P-4
Persuasion A type of writing, usually nonfiction,
that attempts to convince readers to think or act
in a particular way. Writers of persuasive works
use appeals to logic, emotion, morality, and
authority to sway their readers. John Dos
Passoss The American Cause is an example of
persuasive writing. See pages 436437. See also
ARGUMENT. Persuasive essay See ESSAY.
Play A literary work of any length intended for
performance onstage with actors assuming the
roles of the characters and speaking the lines
from a playwrights script. See also DRAMA.
91
P-5
Plot The sequence of events in a narrative work.
Conflicts are introduced in the exposition, the
first stage of the plot. As the work progresses,
rising action builds suspense and adds
complications, which lead to the climax, or
turning point. After the climax, which is the
moment of highest emotional pitch or greatest
suspense, comes the falling action and
resolution, sometimes called the denouement,
which reveal the logical results of the
climax. See pages 28, 1011, and 20. See also
CLIMAX, CONFLICT, DENOUEMENT, EXPOSITION, FALLING
ACTION, FORESHADOWING, RESOLUTION, RISING ACTION.
Plot pattern archetype See ARCHETYPE.
92
P-6
Poetry A form of literary expression that differs
from prose in emphasizing the line, rather than
the sentence, as the unit of composition. Many
other traditional characteristics of poetry apply
to some poems but not to others. Some of these
characteristics are emotional, imaginative
language use of figures of speech division into
stanzas and the use of rhyme and regular
meter. See also FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, METER,
PROSE, RHYME, STANZA.
93
P-7
Point of view The perspective from which a story
is told. In a story with first-person point of
view, the narrator is a character in the story,
referred to as I. The reader sees everything
through that characters eyes. Truman Capotes A
Christmas Memory is told from the first person
point of view. In a story with third-person
limited point of view, the narrator reveals the
thoughts, feelings, and observations of only one
character, referring to that character as he or
she, as in Diana Garcias The Flat of the
Land. In a story with third-person omniscient,
or all knowing, point of view, the narrator is
not a character in the story, but rather someone
who stands outside the story and comments on the
action. A third-person omniscient narrator knows
everything about the characters and the events
and may reveal details that the characters
themselves could not reveal. Guy de Maupassants
The Necklace is told from the third-person
omniscient point of view. Occasionally an author
uses second-person point of view, addressing the
reader or a character as you. See pages 38 and
206207. See also NARRATOR, SPEAKER.
94
P-8
Propaganda Written or spoken material designed to
bring about a change or to damage a cause through
use of emotionally charged words, name-calling,
or other techniques. Props A theater term (a
shortened form of properties) for objects and
elements of the scenery used in a stage play,
movie, or television show. See also STAGE
DIRECTIONS.
Prologue An introductory section of a play,
speech, or other literary work. Shakespeares
Romeo and Juliet begins with a prologue. Prose
Literature that is written in sentence and
paragraph form (as distinguished from poetry,
which is arranged in lines and stanzas). Essays,
short stories, novels, magazine articles, and
most plays are examples of prose. See also POETRY.
95
P-9
Protagonist The central character in a literary
work, around whom the main conflict revolves.
During the course of the literary work, the
protagonist undergoes a conflict that is crucial
to the plot. Generally, the reader or audience is
meant to sympathize with the protagonist. Walter
Mitty is the protagonist in James Thurbers story
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. See pages 106,
119, and 157. See also ANTAGONIST, CHARACTER,
CONFLICT, HERO.
Pun A humorous play on words. Puns usually
involve words that are similar in sound (merry
and marry) or a word that has several meanings.
In Act 3, Scene 1, of Shakespeares Romeo and
Juliet, when Mercutio is fatally wounded, he says
Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a
grave man, meaning both serious and dead. See
also HUMOR.
96
Q Main Menu

• Quatrain

97
Q-1
Quatrain A four-line stanza. The quatrain is the
most common stanza form in English poetry. It may
be unrhymed or have a variety of rhyme
schemes. See also COUPLET, SONNET, STANZA.
98
R Main Menu

• Reflective essay
• Refrain
• Reliable narrator
• Repetition
• Resolution
• Rhetorical devices

Rhyme Rhyme scheme Rhythm Rising action Round
character
99
R-1
Reflective essay See ESSAY. Refrain A line or
lines repeated at intervals in a poem or song,
usually at the end of a stanza. In Paul Laurence
Dunbars I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the
line I know why the caged bird sings serves as
a refrain. See page 603. See also REPETITION.
Reliable narrator See NARRATOR.
100
R-2
Repetition The recurrence of sounds, words,
phrases, lines, or stanzas in a speech or
literary work. Writers use repetition to
emphasize an important point, to expand upon an
idea, to help create rhythm, and to increase the
feeling of unity in a work. In her poem
Remember, Joy Harjo uses repetition to
emphasize the importance of remembering where one
comes from. See pages 439 and 606. See also
PARALLELISM, RHETORICAL DEVICES, RHYME.
Resolution Also called the denouement, a French
word meaning unknotting, the resolution is the
part of a plotthat concludes the falling action
by revealing or suggesting the outcome of the
conflict. See CONFLICT, FALLING ACTION, PLOT.
101
R-3
Rhetorical devices Persuasive techniques used by
public speakers and writers of literary works,
especially those written to persuade. Rhetorical
devices include repetition, parallelism, analogy,
logic, and the skillful use of connotation and
anecdote. Effective rhetoric often appeals to
logic, emotion, morality, or authority. See pages
439, 444, and 456. See also ANALOGY, ANECDOTE,
ARGUMENT, CONNOTATION, PARALLELISM, PERSUASION,
REPETITION.
102
R-4
Rhyme The repetition of the same stressed vowel
sounds and any succeeding sounds in two or more
words. End rhyme occurs at the ends of lines of
poetry. Internal rhyme occurs within a single
line. Slant rhyme occurs when words include
sounds that are similar but not identical (jackal
and buckle). Slant rhyme typically involves some
variation of consonance (the repetition of
similar consonant sounds) or assonance (the
repetition of similar vowel sounds). See pages
509514 and 522. See also ASSONANCE, CONSONANCE,
RHYME SCHEME, SOUND DEVICES.
103
R-5
Rhyme scheme The pattern that end rhymes form in
a stanza or poem. Rhyme scheme is designated by
the assignment of a different letter of the
alphabet to each new rhyme. William Wordsworth
used the following rhyme scheme for his six-line
stanzas in I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
I wandered lonely as a cloud a That floats on
high oer vales and hills, b When all at once I
saw a crowd, a A host of golden daffodils
b Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
c Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. c
See page 517. See also RHYME.
104
R-6
Rhythm The pattern of beats created by the
arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables,
especially in poetry. Rhythm gives poetry a
musical quality. It can also emphasize certain
words or ideas to help convey meaning. Rhythm can
be regular, with a predictable pattern or meter,
or irregular. See pages 509514 and 1092. See
also BLANK VERSE, FOOT, IAMBIC PENTAMETER, METER
SCANSION.
Rising action The part of a plot where
complications to the conflict develop and
increase reader interest. See PLOT. Round
character See CHARACTER.
105
S Main Menu
Speaker Stage directions Stanza Stereotype Stock
character Stream of consciousness Structure Style
Subject Surprise ending Suspense Symbol

• Satire
• Scansion
• Scene
• Science fiction
• Sensory details
• Setting
• Short story
• Simile
• Situational irony
• Slant rhyme
• Soliloquy
• Sonnet
• Sound devices

106
S-1
Satire Writing that uses humor or wit to ridicule
the vices or follies of people or societies,
often to bring about change or improvement.
Satire uses devices such as exaggeration,
understatement, and irony. Eugène Ionescos play
The Leader is a satire. See also COMEDY, FARCE,
HUMOR, PARODY, SARCASM, WIT.
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Scansion The analysis of the meter of a line of
verse. To scan a line of poetry means to note the
stressed () and unstressed (?) syllables and to
divide the line into its feet, or rhythmic units.
Note the scansion of these lines from William
Wordsworths I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

• See pages 509514, 529, and 1092.
• See also FOOT, IAMBIC PENTAMETER, RHYTHM,
  SCANSION.
• Scene A subdivision of an act in a play. Each
  scene usually takes place in a specific setting
  and time.
• See page 821.
• See also ACT, DRAMA.

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Science fiction Fiction that deals with the
impact of science and technologyreal or
imaginedon society and on individuals. Sometimes
occurring in the future, science fiction commonly
portrays space travel, exploration of other
planets, and future societies. Arthur C. Clarkes
short story The Sentinel is an example of
science fiction. See also FANTASY, GENRE.

• Sensory details Evocative words or phrases that
  convey sensory experiencesseeing, hearing,
  tasting, touching, and smelling. Sensory details
  make writing come alive by helping readers
  experience what is being described.
• See also IMAGERY.

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Setting The time and place in which the events of
a literary work occur. Setting includes not only
the physical surroundings, but also the ideas,
customs, values, and beliefs of a particular time
and place. Setting often helps create an
atmosphere or mood. Judith Ortiz Cofers
American History is set in Paterson, New
Jersey, on November 22, 1963, the day John F.
Kennedy was assassinated. See pages 10, 75, 240,
and 904. See also ATMOSPHERE, MOOD.

• Short story A brief fictional narrative in prose.
  A short story usually focuses on a single event
  and has only a few characters. Elements of the
  short story include setting, characters, plot,
  point of view, and theme.
• See also FICTION, NOVEL, PLOT.

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