Glossary

Abolition

The end or banning of an act or practice; often used to refer to the end of slavery in the United States.

Abridged

A condensed version of a text that still maintains the overarching theme.

Absurd

Ridiculously unreasonable, unsound, meaningless, or incongruous; having no rational or orderly relationship to human life.

Acrostic poem

A poem where the first letter of each line makes a word, or words, when read downward. The middle or final letter of each line might also be used.

Action

In literature, an event or series of events forming a composition; the unfolding of the events of a drama or work of fiction; the movement of incidents in a plot.

Adventure novel

A novel where exciting events, usually involving travel and hazard, are at least as important as character development and theme.

Aesthetics

A branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, taste, and the creation and appreciation of beautiful works.

Affix

A bound (non-word) morpheme that changes the meaning or function of a root or stem to which it is attached, such as the prefix ad- and the suffix -ing in adjoining.

Alienation

The sense of estrangement, or separation, from society or self, identified in philosophy, the social sciences, and literature as a central feature of modern life.

Allegory

A metaphorical narrative in prose or verse in which the characters and often parts of the narrative itself represent moral and spiritual values or have other symbolic meaning (e.g., The Pilgrim’s Progress, Animal Farm).

Alliteration

The repetition of speech sounds, usually applied only to consonants, and only when the recurrent sound occurs in a conspicuous position at the beginning of a word or of a stressed syllable within a word.

Allusion

An explicit or implicit reference, in a work of literature, to a person, place, or event,or to another literary work or passage.

Alphabet book

A book that presents letters of the alphabet with corresponding words and/or images.

American dream

An American social ideal that stresses social equality, social mobility, and material prosperity; the prosperity or life that is the realization of this ideal.

American modernism

A trend of thought that questions the mood of optimism and the belief in rationality and self-improvement. In the United States, this period started at the turn of the twentieth century with its core period coming between World War I and World War II. Known as part of the “Lost Generation,” 1920s American writers such as Ernest Heminway and F. Scott Fitzgerald brought modernism to the United States.

Analogy

A resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike; inference that if two or more things are alike in some respects, they will probably agree in others; a comparison based on such resemblance.

Anaphora

A rhetorical device involving the repetition of a word or words at the beginning of two or more successive clauses. It is often used in ballad, oratory, and sermon.

Anonymity

There is a great body of anonymous literature, especially from early or primitive societies, most of which is of the oral tradition. Homer’s epic poems, for example, draw on anonymous sources. Additionally, folk literature of all kinds tends to be anonymous as are many sagas, ballads, fabliaux, proverbs, and nursery rhymes.

Antagonist

A character in a story or poem who deceives, frustrates, or works again the main character, or protagonist, in some way. The antagonist need not be a person; it could be death, the devil, an illness, or any challenge that prevents the main character from attaining his or her goals.

Anthropomorphism

The process of attributing human characteristics to something non-human, in particular the gods or God. The term also refers to animals that are given human personalities.

Anti-Federalism

Opposition to Federalism; specifically, opposition to the adoption of the United States Constitution. An Anti-Federalist was one who held such views.

Antihero

A type of hero lacking the traditional heroic qualities such as courage, idealism, and fortitude. The antihero may instead be pathetic, cowardly, comic, vicious, brutal, or antisocial.

Antonym

A word opposite in meaning to another word.

Aphorism

An abrupt statement of truth or a concise generalization, which may or may not be witty. Aphorisms expose and condense part of the truth and offer an insight.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech in which a place, an abstract quality, an idea, or a dead or absent person is addressed as if present and capable of understanding.

Archetype

A narrative design, character type, or image said to be identifiable in a wide variety of works of literature.

Aretē

Ancient Greek word signifying excellence and virtue.

Argumentation

A type of discourse in speech or writing that debates or simply develops a topic in a logical way.

Artist

A person skilled in one of the fine arts, such as painting, sculpture, or music.

Artistic license

Deviation from fact, form, or rule by an artist or writer for the sake of an effect, form, or idea. Also known as dramatic license, historical license, poetic license, narrative license, or simply license.

Aside

The act of saying something away from others or in privacy; a technique used commonly in the theater.

Assonance

The repetition in words of identical or similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds.

Audience

A reading, viewing, or listening public; in literature, the readers.

Author

The person who originates a piece of writing.

Authorial intent

The meaning the author intends the audience to take from a piece of writing.

Autobiography

An account of a person’s life written by that person.

Ballad

A narrative poem, frequently of unknown authorship, composed of short verses intended to be sung or recited.

Beatniks/The Beat Generation

A group of American writers, especially poets, who rose to prominence in the 1950s. They are most often associated with San Francisco. The generally accepted “fathers” of the generation were Kenneth Rexroth, Henry Miller, and William Burroughs. The beat writers developed their own slang and highly distinctive style. Their convictions and attitudes were unconventional, provocative, anti-intellectual, anti-hierarchical, and anti-middle class.

Bio-poem

"Bio" is short for biography. This is a simple form of poetry that can be used to describe a person. There is no set number of lines. Each line represents a different topic such as relationships, likes, accomplishments, fears, etc.

Biography

An account of a person’s life.

Blank verse

A type of poetry with regular meter (in English, usually iambic pentameter) and no rhyme.

Body

The main part of a piece of writing.

Bolshevik Revolution

The revolution of Marxist revolutionaries, led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, who seized power in Russia in 1917. A dissenting faction within the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Workers Party before World War I, the Bolshevik Party became the founding political party of the Soviet Union.

Caesura

A pause, metrical or rhetorical, occurring somewhere in a line of poetry. The pause may or may not be indicated with a comma.

Capitalization

The use of a capital, or upper case, letter in writing or printing, as in the first word of a sentence.

Carnivalesque

Aspects or traits of a carnival (e.g., role reversal, revelry) in literature. A carnivalesque element is characteristic of burlesque, parody, and personal satire. The term is sometimes applied to situations in everyday life as well.

Caste system

A system of social stratification on the basis of heredity, endogamy (marriage within a group), political power, and specific lifestyle, sometimes including the traditional pursuit of a particular occupation.

Chapter

A main division of a book.

Character

A person represented in a story.

• Major character: A character who plays a major role in a story but is not the protagonist.
• Minor character: A character who appears in a story but does not play a major role.

Character type

A fictional character who stands as a representative of some identifiable class or group of people.

Characterization

The representation of individuals in literary works. This may include direct methods like the attribution of qualities in description or commentary, and indirect methods inviting readers to infer qualities from characters’ actions, speech, or appearance. A flat character is one that remains undeveloped. A round character is one that is fully developed. A character who does not undergo change is referred to as static. A character that undergoes some transformation is called dynamic.

Character’s conflict: internal and external

The opposition of persons or forces that gives rise to the dramatic action in drama or fiction. In addition to the conflict between individuals, there may be the conflict of a protagonist against fate, or against the circumstances that stand between him and goals he has set for himself. In some cases, the conflict may be between opposing desires or values within a character’s mind.

Choral reading

The reading aloud of a text with a whole class or group of students in unison.

Chronological order

The order of events according to their occurrence in time.

Classicism

In literature, the principles and style associated with the classical authors of Ancient Greece and Rome, and, by extension, their influence on and presence in the work of later authors.

Classification and division

Classification is the act of sorting individual items into categories; division is the process of breaking a whole into parts.

Climax

The high point (of the “rising action”) in a story; the crisis or turning point.

Closing

The concluding part of a piece of writing, as in a letter: Sincerely, Kind regards, etc.

Colonialism

The expansion of an established country into less-developed regions, by either military or economic force; usually refers to the period of European expansion into Africa and the Americas.

Comedy

Originally a Greek dramatic genre, it is characterized by a light and amusing narrative in which the central characters triumph over adversity.

Communism

An economic system where there is no private ownership of property and production decisions are made by a centralized authority; usually refers to the blend of a communist economy and a totalitarian government typified by the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

Compare

To examine and appraise characteristics or qualities in order to discover similarities.

Complete sentence

A group of words representing a complete thought and containing a subject and a predicate, along with any complements and modifiers.

Complex sentence

A sentence consisting of one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses,for instance, “We will go to Monica’s birthday party if we are invited.”

Composer

One who composes; usually a person who writes music.

Compound sentence

A sentence consisting of two or more independent clauses, for instance, “Thomas likes to drink coffee, and Erica likes to drink tea.”

Compound word

A word and meaning created through the combination of two separate words, for instance, dog joined with house creates the word doghouse.

Conceit

An extended metaphor that establishes a striking and sometimes complex comparison between two seemingly different things or situations.

Conclusion

Also referred to as the ending, this is the final section of a piece of writing.

Confucianism

A philosophy named after Confucius (551–479 B.C.E), whose teachings on ethical behavior have been prominent in Chinese history. Currently, Confucianism has a strong influence in China, Korea, Taiwan, and the countries of Southeast Asia.

Connotation

The emotional association(s) suggested by the primary meaning of a lexical unit, which affects its interpretations; things suggested by a word apart from the thing it explicitly names or describes.

Consonance

The repetition of a final consonant sound in words with different vowels.

Context

The sounds, words, or phrases adjacent to a spoken or written language unit; the social or cultural situation in which a spoken or written message occurs.

Context clue

Words and phrases from the immediate textual setting that may help suggest the meaning of an unknown word. The context may also help resolve which shade of meaning is intended (e.g., prog-ress or pro-gress).

Contrast

To examine and appraise characteristics or qualities in order to discover differences.

Covenant of grace

A Christian belief in the promise of eternal life.

Dance of Death

Also known as danse macabre. In literature and the arts, a procession or dance in which the dead lead the living to the grave. It acts as a reminder of mortality, of the ubiquity of death and of the equality of all men in that state. Apart from its moral and allegorical elements, it is often satirical in tone. It is especially prominent in late medieval art, but appears in contemporary art, music, film, and literature as well.

Decadence

A literary and artistic movement with an aesthetic emphasis, sense of cultural decline, and sometimes morbid tone. Originating in late-nineteenth-century French literature (for instance, in the poetry of Baudelaire), it continued into the twentieth century and was closely related to the symbolist movement.

Declarative sentence

A sentence that makes a statement; it ends with a period.

Deductive reasoning

The form of logic in which, if the premises in an argument are all true, and the argument’s form is valid, the conclusion is inescapably true.

Defamiliarization

A literary technique in which the writer makes the reader see something that is familiar and known in a fresh, different, or strange way.

Deism

A movement or system of thought advocating natural religion, emphasizing morality, and, in the eighteenth century, denying the interference of the Creator with the laws of the universe.

Denotation

The relationship between a linguistic event and its referent, as the word book denotes the object “book.” A direct specific meaning, as distinct from an implied or associated idea.

Description

Composition in writing or speech that gives a verbal picture of characters, objects, and events, including the setting in which they occur.

Determinism

A belief in predestination or an inalterable process or course of events.

Dialect

A regional variety of a particular language with phonological, grammatical, and lexical patterns that distinguish it from other varieties.

Dialogue

The conversation between characters in a drama or narrative. A dialogue occurs in most works of literature. It moves the action along in a work and helps to characterize the personality of the speakers.

Diction

In writing, the careful choice of words based on their correctness, clarity, or effectiveness.

Dictionary

A reference book containing an alphabetical list of words, with information given for each word, usually including meaning, pronunciation, and etymology.

Didactic poetry

Poetry whose primary purpose is to instruct or inform the reader on a given topic.

Digression

Material not strictly relevant to the main theme or plot of a piece of writing.

Disillusionment

The loss of naïve faith or trust.

Dissent

Opposition to a prevailing idea or entity.

Divine proportion (golden ratio or golden mean)

In the rectangle, a ratio of height to width such that, when the rectangle is divided into a rectangle and square, the ratio is replicated in the smaller rectangle; the same ratio applied to other shapes. Such a ratio is found frequently in nature (in the nautilus shell, for example). Ancient Greek mathematicians and architects frequently used shapes with these proportions in their work.

Divine right of kings

The notion that a monarch is a subject to no earthly authority, instead deriving his right to rule directly from the will of God.

Documentary (film)

A film that purports to be factually accurate and contains no fictional elements and is based on or re-creates and actual event, events, an era, or life story, etc.

Drama

A work meant to be performed on a stage by actors; usually refers to a serious play, but not necessarily a tragedy.

Dramatic poetry

A poem in which there is one imaginary speaker addressing an imaginary audience; often found in the work of Tennyson and Browning.

Dystopia

An imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives; the opposite of utopia.

Eclogue

A short pastoral poem, or a piece of a longer one, in the form of dialogue or soliloquy.

Edit

To improve the clarity, organization, concision, and correctness of a piece of writing relative to task, purpose, and audience; compared to revising, editing is a smaller-scale activity often associated with word choice, grammar, punctuation, and syntax. (See also Revise.)

Edwardian

Pertaining to King Edward VII’s reign from 1901-1910). This was a time of significant reaction against Victorianism.

Elegy

A formal and sustained poem of lament for the death or loss of a particular person or (in meditative poems, for example) for the passing of ideas or other things of value to the poet/speaker.

Enjambment

The running over of a sentence or thought into the next couplet or line without a major pause at the end of the line.

Enlightenment

A term used to describe a literary and philosophical movement in Europe between 1660 and 1770. The writing of the period is distinguished by a profound faith in the powers of human reason and a devotion to clarity, harmony, proportion, and balance.

Epic

A long narrative poem on a great and serious subject, often about the deeds of a great hero or heroes.

Epic simile

An extended simile that makes elaborate and complex comparisons.

Epilogue

The concluding section of any literary work; usually added as an afterthought, sometimes as a summary.

Epistle

A letter. As a literary form, the verse epistle is a poem in the form of a letter to a friend or patron in a familiar, conversational style. The theme is commonly a moral, philosophical, or literary subject.

Epithet

An adjective or adjectival phrase appropriately qualifying a proper noun with a key or important characteristic; for example, Long John, Chalky White, Richard the Lionheart.

Essay

A short or long written composition in prose that discusses a subject or proposes an argument without claiming to be a complete or thorough exposition.

Ethics

Values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions.

Ethos, pathos, logos

In Aristotle’s Rhetoric, a speaker appeals to any of these three in order to persuade the audience: emotion (pathos), logic and language (logos), credibility or authority (ethos). Each of these terms has broader meanings in other contexts.

Etymology

The study of the history and development of the structures, origin, and meanings of words; the origins and history of a particular word.

Evidence

Facts, figures, details, quotations, or other sources of data and information that provide support for claims or an analysis and that can be evaluated by others. It should be in a form and be derived from a source accepted as appropriate to a particular discipline.

Exclamatory sentence

A sentence that expresses excitement; it ends with an exclamation point.

Exemplification

An illustration or example; the act of illustrating an idea through example.

Existentialism

A current in European philosophy opposed to rationalism and empiricism, which stresses the individual’s unique position as a self-determining agent responsible for the authenticity of his or her choices. Its impact was strong in the mid-twentieth century in France and Germany.

Extended metaphor

A metaphor that is extended through a stanza or entire poem, often by multiple comparisons of unlike objects or ideas. (See also Metaphor.)

Fable

A short narrative in prose or verse, which points to a moral. Non-human creatures are typically the characters.

Fabliau (plural fabliaux)

A short narrative, usually in octosyllabic verse, (verse consisting of eight-syllable lines) that is 300 to 400 lines; usually a comic tale of a mocking nature.

Fairy tale

A narrative, usually involving magic, about the fortunes and misfortunes of a hero or heroine who, after experiencing some type of an adventure, lives happily ever after.

Fantasy

Imaginative fiction featuring especially strange settings and grotesque or extraordinarily beautiful characters. (See also Grotesque.)

Farce

A play intended to provoke laughter. The basic elements are exaggeration of character and situation, absurd situations and improbable events, surprises, and exaggerated physical action.

Fate

The universal principle by which the order and outcome of things is presumed to be predetermined; the destiny of an individual or society.

Federalism

A system of government in which power is divided between central authority and local governing units; in U.S. history, Federalists were those who supported such a system and the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

Feminism

Social theories, economic ideologies, political movements, and moral philosophies aimed at bringing equality to women.

Fiction

Literature that offers insights, challenges assumptions, plays with language, or presents possibilities through the telling of imaginary stories. It may be entertaining, but is not limited to entertainment. It is distinguished from nonfiction, which is designed primarily to explain, argue or describe. Specifically, fiction is a type of literature, especially prose, such as novels and short stories, but also including plays and narrative poetry. Fiction may take many literary forms, including historical fiction, fables, fairy tales, folklore, legends, and picture books.

Figurative language

Language that deviates from a standard significance or sequence of words in order to achieve a special meaning or effect (e.g., similes and metaphors).

Filial piety

Love and respect for one’s parents and ancestors; in Confucian thought, one of the virtues to be cultivated.

Film noir

A motion picture, usually filmed in a bleak setting, photographed in dark or sad tones, and filled with feelings of pessimism, despair, and cynicism.

Flashback

A narrative technique that allows a writer to present past events during current events, in order to provide background for the current narration. By giving material that occurred prior to the present event, the writer provides the reader with insight into a character’s motivation and or background to a conflict. Flashbacks are often conveyed through narration, dream sequences, and memories presented of earlier conversation.

Fluency

The clear and easy written or spoken expression of ideas; freedom from word-identification problems that might hinder comprehension in silent reading or the expression of understanding in oral reading.

Foil

A character in a story or poem whose traits are in direct contrast to those of the principal character. The foil therefore highlights the traits of the protagonist.

Folktale

A characteristically anonymous, timeless, and placeless tale usually circulated orally among a people.

Fool

A person lacking judgment or common sense, at least on the surface; in literature, it is often the Fool who brings out the madness or unreasonableness of other individuals or of society.

Foreshadowing

In literature, the use of hints about things to come in later plot developments. It can be obvious, or it may be more subtle, involving the use of symbols that are connected to later turns in the plot.

Fragment

A phrase or clause that is incorrectly presented as a sentence.

Frame narrative

A narrative structure that provides a venue for a story within a story or a series of stories, as in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.

Free verse

Verse that has neither regular rhyme nor regular meter.

Free will

The freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention.

Friendly letter

An informal letter, usually addressed to someone the author knows well, such as a friend or family member.

Gender

In language, those attributes that indicate whether the thing named is masculine (man, boy, he), feminine (woman, girl, she), or neutral (table, it). In English, pronouns have explicit gender (he, she, it), whereas nouns have implicit and historical gender.

Genre

A category used to classify literary works, usually by form, technique, or content.

Gothic

A literary style popular during the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth. This style usually portrayed fantastic tales dealing with horror, despair, the grotesque and other “dark” subjects. Gothic literature was named for the apparent influence of the dark gothic architecture of the period on the genre. This literature led to many other forms, such as suspense, ghost stories, horror, and mystery.

Graphic organizer

An instructional tool used to illustrate students’ prior knowledge or current understanding about a topic or section of text. Three types are:

• KWL Chart: A graphical organization used to gauge students’ background knowledge on a given topic. The chart includes three columns: KWL. The K column is where students list what they know; the W column is where students list what they want to know; and the L column is where students list what they learned at the end of a lesson or unit.
• Semantic map: A type of graphic organizer. It helps students visually organize and graphically show the relationship between one piece of information and another. It is often used for increasing vocabulary and improving reading comprehension. As a pre-reading activity, it can be used to activate prior knowledge and to introduce key vocabulary words.
• Venn diagram: A diagram using circles to represent sets of information, with the position and overlap of the circles indicating the relationships between the sets.

Graphical autobiography

A blending of genres where the “graphic novel” form is used as a medium for writing an autobiography.

Great Awakening

A series of religious revivals among Protestants in the American colonies, especially in New England, from about 1725 to 1770; any of the religious revivals in American history from the eighteenth to the twentieth century.

Great Chain of Being

The phrase summarizes the idea of ancient times that all that exists in the created order is part of natural hierarchy. The concept has appeared in philosophy, literature, and scientific thought since the time of Plato and Aristotle.

Great Migration

The movement of African Americans out of the Southern United States, primarily to industrial cities in the Midwest, Northeast, and West beginning about 1910.

Greek chorus

Characters who speak or sing in unison to comment on the action in a classical Greek play; the actors who form part of the chorus.

Greeting

In a letter, an opening salutation, such as Dear.

Grotesque

In literature, that which is exaggerated, distorted, strange, extravagant, or ugly.

Gulag

The government agency that administered a system of labor camps in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

Haiku

A poem of 17 syllables arranged in three lines. The first and third lines contain five syllables; the second line seven (5 7 5). The haiku is the shortest form of Japanese poetry. It frequently expresses delicate emotion or presents an image of a natural object or scene.

Harlem Renaissance

A literary and cultural movement among black Americans that flourished from the early 1920s to the early 1930s and emphasized African heritage. Prominent literary figures included Claude McKay, Jean Toomer, Countee Cullen, and Langston Hughes.

Hero/heroine

The principal male or female character in a work of literature.

Heroic couplet

Two lines of rhyming iambic pentameter.

Historical fiction

A novel where fictional characters take part in actual historical events and interact with real people from the past.

Homonym

A word having the same sound and spelling as another word, but a different origin and meaning, for instance, “The musician uses a bow to play his violin”; “The little girl has a bow in her hair.”

Homophone

A word with a different origin, meaning, but having the same pronunciation as another word, whether or not it is spelled alike, for instance, wood and would, or to, two, and too.

Horror fiction

A fictional narrative of variable length, which shocks or frightens the reader with gore and violence.

“How-to” book

A book that is written to teach the reader how to perform a task, learn a skill, or complete a project; for example, how to plant a garden or learn to draw.

Humanism

A cultural and intellectual movement of the Renaissance and afterward that emphasized secular concerns as a result of the rediscovery and study of the literature, art, and civilization of ancient Greece and Rome.

Humor

Dialogue, action, or event that is or is designed to be comical or amusing.

Hyperbole

An intentional exaggeration for emphasis or comic effect.

Iambic pentameter

The most common meter in English verse. It consists of a line ten syllables (five metrical “feet”) long that is accented on every second beat. Much iambic poetry has tension between the formal meter and natural rhythm; for instance, when the first syllable in the line has a natural stress.

Iambic tetrameter

A line of verse that has eight syllables (four metrical feet).

Icon

In literature, description of a person or thing, usually through figurative language.

Idealism

The attitude that places special value on ideas and ideals as products of the mind, in comparison with the world as perceived through the senses. In philosophy, the term refers to efforts to account for all objects in nature and experience as representations of the mind and sometimes to assign to such representations a higher order of existence. It is opposed to materialism.

Idiom

An expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements, as in kick the bucket.

Idyll

A poem or an episode in a poem that describes some episode or scene in rural life; more generally, a description of any scene of tranquil happiness.

Illustration

A drawing or painting that accompanies a text.

Illustrator

A person who originates the drawing or painting that accompanies a text.

Imagery

The use of language to create sensory impressions; the “mental pictures” experienced by readers while listening to or reading a story or poem.

Imperative (mood)

A mood of a verb that expresses a command or request.

Imperative (sentence)

A sentence, usually with an implied subject, that expresses a command or request; it ends with a period or an exclamation point.

In medias res

Its literal translation (from Latin) is “into the middle of things,” and its origin is Horace’s remarks in Ars Poetica. The phrase describes a common method of beginning a story in the middle of the action. Through this method, the writer can take the reader back and forth in time.

Indicative (mood)

A mood of a verb that states an apparent fact.

Individualism

A doctrine holding that the interests of the individual are or ought to be ethically paramount to those of others and that all values, rights, and duties originate in individuals; a theory maintaining the political and economic independence of the individual and stressing individual initiative, action, and interests.

Inductive reasoning

The form of logic which proceeds from the specific observation to the general statement. The conclusion of such an argument provides the best or most probable explanation of the premises, but is itself not necessarily true.

Industrialization

The process of converting to a socioeconomic order in which industry is dominant.

Inference

A conclusion or opinion that draws on known facts, evidence, or intuition to fill in missing information..

Informational text

Nonfiction writing in narrative or non-narrative form that is intended to inform.

Internal monologue

An extended representation in monologue of a character’s thought and feeling.

Internet search

The use of the Internet (a worldwide system of interconnected computers and networks) to seek information.

Interrogative (sentence)

A sentence that asks a question; it ends with a question mark.

Introduction

The opening section, usually of an essay, which states the author’s purpose and gives the reader an idea of the theme to be discussed in the body.

Invocation

An appeal or request for help, usually addressed to a muse or deity.

Irony

A literary term referring to the discrepancy between the appearance and reality of a thing, which are often exact opposites. There are many types of irony; the three most common types are dramatic irony, situational irony, and verbal irony.

• Dramatic irony: A situation in a play or narrative in which the audience shares with the author knowledge of which a character is ignorant.
• Situational irony: A situation when a character laughs at a misfortunate of another when unbeknownst to him the same misfortunate is happening to him.
• Verbal irony: A situation when either the speaker means something totally different than what he is saying. Verbal irony also occurs when a character says something in jest that, in actuality, is true.

Key details

Pieces of information that are essential to the plot of a story or to informational text.

KWL Chart

See Graphic organizer.

Legacy

Something handed down from an ancestor or predecessor.

Legend

An historical tale (or collection of related tales) popularly regarded as true, or having its source in actual events, but which is usually unverifiable; legends may contain a mixture of fact and fiction, perhaps exaggerated over time as the story is handed down.

Limerick

A type of light verse consisting of five lines with the rhyme scheme AABBA.

Linking verb

An intransitive verb that links the subject of a sentence with its complement.

Literal

The primary and nonfigurative sense of something. A literal interpretation focuses on the direct meanings of the words; a literal translation strives for precision of meaning rather than recreation of form, rhythm, or sound.

Lore

The body of knowledge, especially of a traditional, anecdotal, or popular nature, on a particular subject.

Lost Generation

A term that refers to the host of young men who were killed in the First World War, as well as to the young men who survived but became adrift upon their return. The mood of the Lost Generation, reflected by some American novelists of the time, was disenchantment and cynicism.

Lyric poetry

Any non-narrative poem presenting a single speaker who expresses a state of mind or a process of thought and feeling.

Magical realism

Originally, this term defined the use of still, sharply defined, or smoothly painted images of figures and objects depicted in a somewhat surrealistic manner. The themes and subjects were often imaginary with dream-like qualities. The term was eventually also applied to fiction that exhibited surrealistic themes. Characteristics of this type of fiction include the intermingling of the realistic and the bizarre.

Main idea

The primary topic of a passage whether explicitly expressed or implied.

Manifest Destiny

A future event justified by some as inevitable; specifically, the mid-nineteenth-century expansion of the United States to the Pacific.

Maxim

A succinct statement that contains a principle or general truth about human nature and human conduct.

Melting pot

A place where a variety of races, cultures, or individuals assimilate into a cohesive whole.

Memoir

A narrative account of one’s personal experiences and observations, sometimes focused on a singular event or memory; autobiography.

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness between them; a figure of speech in which a comparison is implied by analogy, but is not stated directly.

Metaphysical poetry

The term metaphysical was applied to a style of seventeenth-century poetry, first by John Dryden and later by Dr. Samuel Johnson, because of the highly intellectual and often obscure imagery involved. Common characteristics included wit, ingenuity, and passion; dexterous use of colloquial speech; flexibility of rhythm and meter; complex themes, often involving metaphysical and scientific concerns; paradox and dialectical argument; a direct manner; caustic humor; an awareness of mortality; and tersely compact expression.

Meter

The rhythmic pattern in verse, made up of stressed and unstressed syllables; a specific form of such a pattern, depending on the number and kind of feet (also called measures); for instance, iambic pentameter.

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which one refers to an attribute or thing by naming a part of it or something related to it; for instance, the stage for the theatrical profession.

Minimalism

A technique in music, literature, or design that is typified by extreme sparseness and simplicity.

Miracle play

One of three types of medieval drama (the other two are the mystery play and the morality play). The miracle play portrays events in the real or fictitious life of a saint or martyr.

Modernism

A term that refers to a movement that began in the late nineteenth century and that had wide influence during the twentieth century. In literature, the period exhibits a break from established rules, traditions and conventions, with experiments in form and style and a fresh look at humans’ position and purpose in the universe.

Monologue

A single person speaking aloud and alone, with or without an audience.

Mood

An attitude; a distinctive atmosphere or context.

Moral

The “lesson” in a work, such as a fable, story, poem, or play.

Moral imperative

A principle based on personal ethics and values originating in an individual’s mind that compels him or her to act in a specific way.

Motif

A recurring object, concept, or structure in a work of literature. A motif may also be two contrasting elements, such as good and evil, in a work.

Mystery novel

A novel whose driving characteristic is the element of suspense or mystery. Strange, unexplained events, vague threats or terrors, and unknown forces or antagonists all may appear in a mystery novel. Gothic novels and detective novels are often mystery novels as well.

Mysticism

Beliefs and practices that go beyond the liturgical and devotional forms of a mainstream faith, often by seeking out inner or esoteric meanings of conventional religious doctrine, and by engaging in spiritual practices such as contemplation and meditation, along with chanting and other activities designed to heighten spiritual awareness. Literary devices and forms that sometimes employ mysticism are aphorisms, metaphysical poems, stories, novels, plays, and parables.

Myth

A story in a mythology&mdash, which is a system of hereditary stories which were once believed to be true by a particular cultural group, and which served to explain (in terms of the intentions and actions of supernatural beings) why the world is as it is and why things happen as they do. Myths also established the rationale for social customs, observances, rules, and sanctions.

Mythology

The body of myths dealing with the origins, gods, demigods, and legendary heroes of a particular people; the study of such myths.

Narration

One of the four traditional forms of composition in speech and writing (narration, exposition, description, and persuasion); writing that relates an event or a series of events; a story. Narration can be imaginary, as in a short story or novel, or factual, as in a newspaper account or a work of history

Narrative

A collection of events that tells a story, which may be true or not, placed in a particular order and recounted through either telling or writing. Most novels and short stories are placed into the categories of first-person and third-person narratives, which imply a particular narrator (a character in the story, or an outsider, known or unknown) and his or her perspective. Related terms include “narrative poetry,” which is poetry that tells a story, and “narrative technique,” which means how one tells a story.

Narrative device

A narrative writing technique that gives character, rhythm, or shape to a story (e.g., dialogue or suspense).

Narrative poem

A poem that tells a story. A narrative poem can come in many forms and styles, complex and simple, short or long, as long as it tells a story. A few examples of a narrative poem are epics, ballads, and metrical romances. The art of narrative poetry is difficult in that it requires the author to possess the skills of a fiction writer—the ability to draw characters and settings, to engage attention and to shape a plot—while calling for possessing all the skills of a poet as well.

Narrator

The narrator is the person who relates an account or story dealing with sequences of events and experiences, though not necessarily in strict order. The narrator can be a character in the story or a voice outside the action.

Narrator reliability

See Unreliable narrator.

Natural law

A principle considered as derived from nature, reason, or religion and as ethically binding in human society.

Naturalism

A pronounced interest in, sympathy with, or love of natural beauty. In literature, naturalism developed from realism. It is used primarily to describe works that use realistic subjects and embody the belief that everything in nature can be explained by natural and material causes, not by supernatural causes.

Negation

A denial, contradiction, or negative statement; the opposite of affirmation.

Neologism

A completely new word; a word formed from an existing root or prefix; or an established word that has been given an entirely new meaning. Some neologisms are phrases. Neologisms regularly become part of languages.

Noble savage

The concept or title connoting the exemplar of primitive goodness, dignity, and nobility uncorrupted by the evil effects of civilization.

Non-linear narrative

A technique wherein events are portrayed out of chronological order. It is often used to mimic the structure and recall of human memory, as opposed to the basic order of events.

Nonfiction

Prose that is designed primarily to explain, argue, or describe, rather than to create imaginary stories; specifically a type of prose other than fiction, but including biography, autobiography, reflective essays, and speeches. Although its emphasis is factual, fictional (especially narrative) elements are sometimes found in the more personal forms of “literary nonfiction.”

Nonsense literature

A form of writing that is never intended to make formal sense, but does maintain some sense of logic. It usually entails humorous or whimsical verse and features absurd characters and actions. Sometimes meaningless words are used.

Note-taking

The act of writing down important points from a lecture or discussion that one can review as needed.

Novel

An extended piece of prose fiction.

Octet

A grouping of eight; in a sonnet, the first eight lines. (See also Sestet.)

Ode

A long lyric poem, serious in subject, elevated in style, and elaborate in its stanzaic structure.

“Once upon a time…”

A literary device that signals to the reader that the story is a fairy tale or fantasy. (See also Fairy tale.)

Onomatopoeia

The term used to describe words whose pronunciations suggest their meaning (e.g., meow, buzz).

Opinion

A view, judgment or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter.

Oral tradition

Poetry, songs, and stories that are passed down orally from generation to generation. It is the oldest form of poetry, preceding written poetry. It is still alive in many parts of the world today.

Oxymoron

A paradox reduced to two opposing words, usually in an adjective-noun (deafening silence) or adverb-adjective (shockingly boring) relationship, and is used for effect, complexity, emphasis, or wit.

Parable

A brief and often simple story that illustrates a moral.

Paradox

A statement that seems on its face to be self-contradictory or absurd, yet turns out to have valid meaning and to reveal an element of truth.

Paragraph

A passage, section, or subdivision in a piece of writing, set off by spaces above and below it and often by the indentation of its first line.

Parallel plots

Narratives wherein the main characters have separate but related story lines that merge in the end.

Parallelism

The phrasing of language in a way that balances ideas of equal importance. Note: Parallelism may apply to phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or longer passages.

Paranormal

Existing outside the range of normal experience and beyond scientific explanation.

Paraphrase

To state, in one’s own words, the main ideas and key references extrapolated from something one has read, viewed, or heard.

Parody

A work, often humorous, that imitates another, usually serious, work through burlesque or satire.

Parts of Speech

The eight classes into which words are grouped according to their uses in a sentence: adjective, adverb, conjunction, interjection, noun, preposition, pronoun, and verb.

• Adjective: A word that answers the question what kind, how many, or which one.
• Adverb: A word that answers the question when, where, why, in what manner, or to what extent. An adverb may be a single word, a phrase, or a clause. An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
• Conjunction: A word or phrase that connects words, phrases, or clauses.
• Subordinating conjunction: A conjunction that introduces a dependent clause; words or phrases such as after, although, as long as, wherever, while.
• Interjection: A word that shows emotion. Interjections are not grammatically related to any other part of a sentence. They are usually followed by exclamation points.
• Noun: The name of a person, place, object, idea, quality, or activity.
• Preposition: A connective word that evinces the relationship between a noun or pronoun and some other word in the sentence.
• Pronoun: A word used in place of a noun, such as he, she, they.
• Verb: A word or phrase used to express action or state of being.
• Verb tense: The property of a verb that expresses time. The three primary tenses correspond to the three time divisions: present, past, and future.

Pastiche

A patchwork of words, sentences, and passages from various authors or one author. It is a kind of imitation, sometimes in the form of parody.

Pastoral

A minor but important mode, concerned with the lives of shepherds. It appears in many works in classical Greek and Roman literature, as well as modern European literature. Most often, a pastoral is an idealization of shepherd life and therefore creates an image of a peaceful and uncorrupted existence.

Perfect rhyme

Also known as true or full rhyme, it occurs when there is an exact correspondence between vowel sounds and the following consonants, but not of the consonants preceding the vowel. The words or phrases must rhyme from the last stressed syllable to the end, for example, sentry and entry, blare and beware, or limit and trim it.

Persona

The narrator, or the storyteller, of a literary work created by the author. The persona’s character and knowledge influence the manner in which the events of a story are narrated to the reader.

Personification

A figure of speech that endows things or abstractions with life or human characteristics.

Perspective

The state of one’s ideas, the facts known to one, and the angle from which one views a situation.

Photo-biography

A nonfiction piece, told through photographs, about a person.

Photographic essay

A set of photographs intended to tell a story or evoke emotion from the viewer.

Plot

The structure of the actions in a dramatic or narrative work, ordered and rendered toward achieving particular emotional and artistic effects. The most basic elements in a plot line are: (a) exposition, (b) rising action, (c) climax, crisis, or turning point, (d) falling action, and (e) resolution or denouement.

Poem

A work of verse that may be rhymed or unrhymed and that may or may not follow a metrical pattern. (See also Poetry.)

Poet

Someone who writes poetry.

Poetic translation

The translation of poetry; specifically, a kind of translation of poetry (and sometimes drama or prose) in which attention is paid to form, rhythm, and sound as well as to literal meaning.

Poetry

Writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness through meaning, sound, image, juxtaposition, and rhythm.

Point of view

The perspective or perspectives established by an author through which the reader is presented with the characters, actions, setting, and events that constitute the narrative in a work of fiction. There are multiple modes of point of view, including:

• First-person narration: A narrative mode where a story is told by one character at a time, speaking for and about himself or herself. The narrator may be a minor character observing the action or the main protagonist of the story. A first-person narrator may be reliable or unreliable.
• First-person perspective: The perspective implicit in first-person narration, intimate on the one hand and circumscribed on the other.
• Third-person narration: A narrative mode in which a story is told by a narrator who relates all action in third person, using third-person pronouns such as he or she.
• Third-person omniscience: A method of storytelling in which the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters in the story, as opposed to third person limited, which adheres closely to the thoughts and feelings of a single character.

Postcolonialism

In literature, reactions to and analysis of the cultural legacy of colonialism; the period following colonialism.

Postmodernism

A general term that refers to the changes, developments, and tendencies that have taken place in literature, art, music, architecture, and philosophy since the 1940s or 1950s; a movement away from modernism.

Pourquoi tale

A fictional narrative that explains why something is the way it is.

PowerPoint presentation

An electronic slide show that uses the Microsoft Office program PowerPoint to display text, graphs, charts, images, or any combination of these.

Pragmatism

A philosophical movement that asserts that the truth or relevance of a proposition is based on its practical consequences.

Preconceived notion

An opinion formed beforehand without adequate evidence.

Prediction

The act of telling the future or guessing what will happen next in a story or sequence.

Prequel

A literary work that predates a later work, as by portraying the same characters at a younger age.

Primary source

First-hand documentation of events (e.g., autobiography, diary, letters, etc.) that presents no “secondary” analysis or interpretation by historians or others removed from the action.

Problem solving

The thought process involved in solving a problem.

Problem/Solution

A source of perplexity, distress, or vexation; an answer to a problem.

Prose

Written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure.

Protagonist

A protagonist (also known as the “hero” or “heroine”) is the main character or lead figure in a novel, play, story, or poem.

Rationalism

The idea or conviction that a rational order can be found in reality and, alternatively, that reason can impose an order on reality. A rationalist may be a person who depends on reason rather than feeling and intuitive perception.

Realism

In literature and art, the depiction of subjects as they appear in everyday life; detailed and precise descriptions; close adherence to what is possible and plausible; the faithful rendition of things, without embellishment. Realism is often found in combination with other styles and modes. (See also Magical realism.)

Red herring

A fallacy in which an irrelevant topic is presented in order to divert attention from the original issue. The basic idea is to “win” an argument by leading attention away from the argument and toward another topic.

Regionalism

In literature, this refers to writing that concentrates on a particular geographical area, which serves as the basis for the work.

Repetition

The repeated use of sounds, particular syllables, words, phrases, stanzas, metrical patterns, ideas, allusions, and shapes in nearly all poetry and many works of prose. Refrain, assonance, rhyme, internal rhyme, alliteration, and onomatopoeia appear frequently in pieces of writing that use a repetitive form.

Research

Diligent and systematic investigation into a subject in order to discover information, facts, theories, or applications about it.

Research question

A question posed about a particular topic that guides the research to be conducted.

Resolution

Events forming the outcome of the climax of a play or story; also called falling action.

Revise

To alter something already written or printed, in order to make corrections, improve, or update. Revision may affect the structure and ideas of a work as well as the details. (See also Edit.)

Rhetoric

The art of using language effectively, especially for persuasion, in speaking or writing, especially in oratory.

Rhetorical device

Rhetoric is the art of effective expression and the persuasive use of language; rhetorical devices are specific, effective uses of language that may influence or persuade an audience (e.g., rhetorical questions, repetition, and extended analogies).

Rhyme

Identical or very similar recurring sounds in words within or—more often—at the ends of lines of verse.

Rhyme scheme

The abstract pattern of end-rhymes in a stanza, usually notated with lower-case letters: the first line and all subsequent lines that rhyme with it are ‘a,’ the first line not to rhyme with ‘a’ (and all subsequent lines that rhyme with it) are ‘b,’ and so on.

Rhythm

The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry or prose. Poets use rhythm to bring out the musical quality of language, to emphasize ideas, to create mood, to unify a work, or to heighten emotional response. Rhythm differs from meter in that the latter is a fixed form, while the former comes from the words and phrases themselves as they occur in the work. See also Meter.

Romanticism

A literary, artistic, and philosophical movement beginning in the second half of the late eighteenth century. Romanticism reacted against the extremes of rationalism by emphasizing strong emotion, irrationality, imagination, individuality, and aspects of life that cannot be determined or explained by science.

Salvation

The state of being saved from harm, risk, loss, or destruction; in theology, this is the deliverance from the power and penalty of sin; redemption.

Satire

A literary art of diminishing a subject by making it ridiculous and evoking attitudes of amusement, contempt, indignation or scorn. It differs from comedy in that comedy evokes laughter as an end in itself. Satire uses laughter as a weapon against a subject existing outside the work itself, for example, social satire mocks existing social mores and conventions in order to draw attention to their limitations or hypocrisy.

Scene

A subdivision of an act in a play, opera, or other theatrical work.

Science fiction

A novel or story in which futuristic technology or scientific principles and questions contribute in a significant way to the adventures. Topics of such stories are wide-ranging and set in a variety of places or times. Plotlines may include topics such as trips to other dimensions, exploration of space, alien invasion, or time travel.

Scientific rationalism

The use of scientific reason to determine whether an idea or claim is true.

Screenplay

The script for a film, including instructions for sets and camera work.

Script

The text of a play, including dialogue, stage directions, and scene changes.

Semantic map

(See Graphic organizer.)

Sensory imagery

The use of words to describe tastes, smells, textures, sounds and images in order to provide a sensory experience for the reader.

Separation of church and state

The principle that government must maintain an attitude of neutrality toward religion. Many view separation of church and state as required by the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment not only allows citizens the freedom to practice any religion of their choice, but also prevents the government from officially recognizing or favoring any one religion.

Sequence

The order of succession, as in alphabetical order; a continuous or connected series, such as a sonnet sequence; something that follows, such as a subsequent event, result, or consequence. Although “sequence” is a noun, students are often asked to “sequence” the events of a story (i.e., to recount the events of a story in chronological order).

Sermon

Any serious speech, discourse or exhortation, especially on a moral issue; a discourse for the purpose of religious instruction or exhortation. In Christianity, a discourse based on a text of Scripture and delivered by a member of the clergy as part of a religious service. The sermon became one of the principal sources of instruction in a period when the Church had much control over the activities available to the public.

Sestet

The sub-division or last six lines of the Italian sonnet following the octet or octave. (See also Octet.)

Setting

The time and place in which a narrative takes place; the physical and psychological background against which the action of a story takes place; the scenery and stage effects for a dramatic production.

• Environment: The surrounding things, conditions, and influences in the narrative.
• Place: The physical location of the narrative.
• Time: The period or era in which the narrative takes place.

Shared research

Research conducted collaboratively by more than one person.

Shared writing

Writing executed collaboratively by more than one person.

Simile

A figure of speech or other direct comparison of two things that are dissimilar, using the words like or as (or other words of comparison).

Simple sentence

A sentence containing only one independent clause.

Sleuth

As a noun, an informal word for detective; as a verb, to track or follow.

Soliloquy

A dramatic monologue spoken aloud by a character who is alone on the stage (or is under the impression of being alone). The soliloquist thus reveals his or her inner thoughts and feelings to the audience.

Sonnet

A lyric poem that consists of 14 lines (in English, these are usually in iambic pentameter) linked by an intricate rhyme scheme. The rhyme usually follows one of the following main patterns: (1) Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnet in an octave (8 lines) of abba abba and a sestet (6 lines) of some combination of cde; or (2) English (or Shakespearean) sonnet in three quatrains and a concluding couplet, rhyming abab cdcd efef gg. The Italian sonnet typically presents a problem in the first eight lines and a resolution in the final six; the ninth line represents a turn, or volta.

Sound imagery

The use of certain words or phrases in a piece of writing to describe sounds in such a way that they seem real.

Speech

A talk or public address, in which the speaker expresses thoughts, feelings, opinions, or perceptions on a particular topic.

Spelling pattern

A pattern that occurs frequently in spelling, such as bright, light, and sight.

Spoonerism

A transposition of usually initial sounds of two or more words (such as tons of soil for sons of toil).

Sprung rhythm

A poetic rhythm designed to imitate the rhythm of speech, in which each measure (foot) has one stressed syllable, either standing alone or followed by a varying number of unstressed syllables.

Staging

The act of selecting, designing, adapting to, or modifying the performance space for a play.

Stalinism

Method of rule, or policies, of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union and his imitators elsewhere in the Soviet bloc. On taking power, Stalin allowed no dissent from party policies, of which he assumed the role of sole interpreter. He decreed the wholesale collectivization of Russian agriculture and a program of rapid industrialization. Under Stalin, millions were assassinated or massacred, or died of forced labor or famine.

Stanza

A group of verse lines forming a section of a poem and sharing the same structure as all or some of the other sections of the same poem, in terms of the lengths of its lines, its meter, and usually its rhyme scheme.

Story

A narrative or tale (fiction or nonfiction) that recounts a series of events.

Storybook

A book containing a collection of stories, usually for children.

Stream of consciousness

The continuous flow of sense‐perceptions, thoughts, feelings and memories in the human mind; a literary method of representing such a blending of mental processes in fictional characters, usually in an unpunctuated or disjointed form of internal monologue.

Sturm und Drang

A style or movement of German literature of the latter half of the eighteenth century, characterized chiefly by impetuosity of manner, exaltation of individual sensibility and intuitive perception, opposition to established forms of society and thought, and extreme nationalism.

Style

The manner of linguistic expression in prose, verse, or speech, and distinguishing attributes of this expression; how a speaker or writer says whatever he or she says.

Subjunctive (mood)

A mood of a verb that expresses doubt, desire, supposition, or condition contrary to fact.

Summary

A short description of a text—read, viewed, or heard—that highlights the main ideas and most salient features or details.

Supernatural

Existence outside the natural world; a deity; the miraculous.

Support

To provide corroborating evidence for a point presented as fact in a piece of writing or in a speech.

Suspect

An individual thought to have committed a certain act, usually a criminal one.

Symbol

A word or object that stands for an object, event, or idea. The object, event, or idea thus represented may be concrete or abstract, visible or invisible.

Symbolism

The use of a word or set of words to signify an object, event, or idea through the use of concrete images.

Symmetry

A balance or correspondence between various parts of an object or between two objects; the reflection of an image or form about an axis; a term used in the arts and sciences.

Synecdoche

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).

Synonym

A word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or other words.

Tall tale

A humorously exaggerated story of impossible feats, usually the exploits of American frontiersman in the nineteenth century. Tall tales can start from a real or fictitious occurrence.

Taoism

A principal philosophy and system of religion of China based on the teachings of Lao-tzu in the sixth century B.C.E. and on subsequent revelations. It advocates preserving and restoring the Tao in the body and the cosmos and combines mysticism, philosophical reflection, and poetry.

Text features

Techniques an author uses to enhance an important detail for the reader. Examples include white space, underline, italics, boldface, color, boxes, size, capitalization, title, and headings.

Text structure

The shape given to a story or argument. Examples include sequence, description, compare and contrast, cause and effect, and problem and solution.

Text(ual) evidence

See Evidence.

Theme

A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea or proposition broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary or other work of art. A theme may be stated or implied, but clues about the theme may be found in the ideas that are given special prominence or tend to recur in a work.

Thesaurus

A book of synonyms, often including related and contrasting words and antonyms.

Thesis statement

The basic argument advanced by a speaker or writer who then attempts to prove it; the subject or major argument of a speech or composition.

Time order words

Words that are used to describe a sequence of events. Examples include first, second, last, before, after, previously.

Timeline

A representation or exhibit of key events within a particular historical period, often consisting of illustrative visual material accompanied by written commentary, arranged chronologically.

Tone

The author’s or narrator’s attitude reflected in the style of the text.

Topic

The general category or class of ideas, often stated in a word or phrase, to which the ideas of a passage as a whole belong

Totalitarianism

A form of government that subordinates all aspects of its citizens’ lives to the authority of the state, with a single charismatic leader as the ultimate authority. It is distinguished from dictatorship and authoritarianism by its supplanting of all political institutions and all old legal and social traditions with new ones to meet the state’s needs, which are usually highly focused.

Traditional literature

Stories that were initially passed down through oral storytelling from generation to generation.

Tragedy

A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.

Tragic flaw

A defect in the protagonist that leads to his or her downfall.

Tragic hero

The primary character in a narrative who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy.

Tragic illumination

The recognition or insight that a character experiences as a result of confronting his or her error or loss.

Transcendentalism

A literary and philosophical movement, associated with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller, asserting the existence of an ideal spiritual reality that transcends the empirical and scientific and is knowable through intuition.

Travelogue

A film, lecture, or brochure on travels and travelling.

Trickster

A supernatural figure appearing in various guises, typically engaging in mischievous activities, important in the folklore and mythology of many peoples, and usually pictured as a culture hero.

Trickster tale

A tale involving a troublemaking character who has magical powers. The typical trickster tale recounts a picaresque adventure: the trickster is “going along,” encounters a situation to which he responds with knavery, stupidity, gluttony, or guile (or, most often, some combination of these), and meets a violent or ludicrous end. Often the trickster serves as a transformer and cultural hero who creates order out of chaos. He may teach humans the skills of survival, such as how to make fire, procreate, or catch or raise food, usually through negative examples that end with his utter failure to accomplish these tasks. Frequently he is accompanied by a companion who either serves as a stooge or ultimately tricks the trickster. The story may be told for amusement or on serious occasions.

Understatement

A form of irony in which something is intentionally represented as less than it is.

Unreliable narrator

One who offers his or her own perception of a story, instead of the interpretation the author wishes the audience to obtain. This type of action tends to alter the audience’s opinion of the conclusion. This creates a discrepancy between the narrator and the actual author.

Unsung hero

A person who makes a substantive yet unrecognized contribution; a person whose bravery is unknown or unacknowledged.

Verse

A line of writing arranged in a metrical pattern (i.e., a line of poetry). Also, a piece of poetry or a particular form of poetry such as free verse, blank verse, etc., or the art or work of a poet.

• Syllabic verse: Verse in which the lines are measured according to the number of syllables they contain, regardless of the number of stresses.
• Accentual verse: Verse in which the meter is based on counting only the number of stressed syllables in a line, and in which the number of unstressed syllables in the line may therefore vary.
• Syllabic-accentual verse: Verse that is an extension of accentual verse. It fixes both the number of stresses and syllables within a line or stanza.

Version

A description or account from one point of view, especially as opposed to another; an adaptation of a work of art or literature into another medium or style.

Victim

One who is harmed by another person, an act, circumstance, agency or condition.

Victorian

Relating to, or belonging to the period of the reign of Queen Victoria; being in the highly ornamented, massive style of architecture, decor, and furnishings popular in nineteenth-century England. The Victorian period was known for a rather stern morality. The Victorian period produced a great number of diverse writers and thinkers including: Robert Browning, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, John Stuart Mill, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Villain

A dramatic or fictional character that is typically at odds with the hero and with the narrator’s or author’s conception of virtue.

Villanelle

A 19-line poem of fixed form consisting of five tercets (a unit of three verse lines) and a final quatrain. It is based on two rhymes and two repeating lines. If one refers to the end rhymes as a and b, and to the repeating lines as 1 and 2 (both of which rhyme with a), then the pattern is 1 b 2, a b 1, a b 2, a b 1, a b 2, a b 1 2.

Witness

One who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced.

Word choice

The selection of particular words in speech or writing.

Word root

The primary lexical unit of a word (without affixes).

Worldview

The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world.