English 4 Literary Terms

  1. Anglo-Saxon poetry-written between 7th-12th century, poetry is characterized by strong rhythm or cadence, meant to be chanted or sung
  2. argumentation- reasoning that proceeds methodically from a statement to a conclusion
  3. author’s purpose- reason the writer is writing – could be to entertain, express opinions, or to persuade
  4. caesura – a pause in a line of poetry. The caesura is dictated not by meter but by natural speaking rhythm. Sometimes it coincides with the poet’s punctuation, but occasionally it occurs where some pause in speech is inevitable.
  5. compare/contrast- show how ideas are similar and how they are different
  6. conceit-an elaborate and often surprising comparison between two apparently highly dissimilar things.Conceits often take the form of extended metaphors.
  7. controlling image-like a motif, predominant visual description or symbol reoccurring in passage or poem
  8. diary-a personal record of events in somebody's life, often including personal thoughts and observations
  9. elegy-a mournful or reflective poem that laments the loss of something or someone (or loss or death more generally).
  10. epic- a long and formal narrative poem written in an elevated style that recounts the adventures of a hero of almost mythic proportions, who often embodies the traits of a nation or people.
  11. epigram-a short poem with a brief, pointedly humorous, quotable ending or simply a terse, witty statement in and of itself.
  12. epitaph-inscription on a tomb or monument in memory of the deceased person.
  13. epithet-a descriptive word or phrase added to or substituted for the name of somebody or something, highlighting a feature or quality
  14. fable- a brief tale, in either prose or verse, told to illustrate a moral or teach a lesson
  15. fantasy-a type of fiction featuring imaginary worlds and magical or supernatural events
  16. farce- a type of low comedy that employs improbable or otherwise ridiculous situations and mix-ups, slapstick and horseplay, and crude and even bawdy dialogue.
  17. humor-the quality or content of something such as a story, performance, or joke that elicits amusement and laughter
  18. kenning-a metaphoric expression, often a phrase, used to denote another word in Old Norse and Old English poetry
  19. Neoclassicism-relating to or characteristic of the European revival of Greek and Roman literary forms- views humans as imperfect; respects order, reason, and rules
  20. octave-any eight-line stanza, but a term most frequently applied to the first eight lines of an Italian sonnet, which rhymes abbaabba and terminates with a full stop before the succeeding sestet.
  21. pastoral-(1) as an adjective, a term that can be applied to any work with a rural setting and that generally praises a rustic way of life; (2) as a noun, a term that refers to a literary mode historically and conventionally associated with shepherds and country living.
  22. plays (miracle, morality, mystery)- Miracle play is a drama that recounts the life of a saint, a miracle performed by Christ, or a miracle performed by God through a saint’s faith or actions. Morality play is a medieval drama using allegory to make a moral point, whether it be religious, didactic, political, or doctrinal. Mystery play is a medieval religious drama that recounted a story from the Old or the New Testament of the Bible.
  23. scripture – literature found in the Bible
  24. sestet-Any six-line poem or stanza. Sestet is more frequently applied to the second part (the last six lines) of an Italian sonnet.
  25. Sonnet-a lyric poem that almost always consists of 14 lines. The Italian or Petrarch sonnet consists of two parts: the octave, eight lines with the rhyme scheme abbaabba, and the sestet, six lines usually rhyming cdecde or cdcdcd. The octave may pose a question or dilemma that the sestet answers or resolves. The Shakespearean sonnet, which also has 14 lines, is divided into three quatrains and a couplet, rhyming abab cdcd efef gg. Sonnets written in English have usually employed iambic pentameter.
  26. synecdoche-a figure of speech in which the part of something is used to represent the whole, e.g. "sail" for "boat," or vice versa

Added for Honors

  1. canto- a division of a long poem.
  2. catalogue verse-- Creating long lists for poetic or rhetorical effect. The technique is common in epic literature, where conventionally the poet would devise long lists of famous princes, aristocrats, warriors, and mythic heroes to be lined up in battle and slaughtered.
  3. idyll—a narrative work—usually short, descriptive, and composed in verse—that depicts and exalts pastoral virtues and scenes
  4. inscape-refers to the “individually-distinctive” inner structure, or underlying pattern, of a thing. The essence, or inscape, of an object maybe perceived, through the senses in a moment of illumination.
  5. metonymy- a figure of speech in which one thing is represented byanother that is commonly and often physically associated with it. Referring to a monarch as “the crown” involves the use of metonymy.
  6. mock epic –a lengthy poem written in the lofty and exalted style of a the epic but that deals with an utterly trivial subject. It is intended to mock the subject by treating it with a dignity it does not deserve.
  7. rhyme royal –stanza of seven lines in iambic pentameter with rhyme scheme of ababbcc
  8. saga – medieval Icelandic or Scandinavian prose narrative involving a famous hero or family or the heroic exploits of kings and warriors.
  9. villanelle—French verse form consisting of nineteen lines in five tercets followed by a quatrain with the rhyme scheme (based on two rhymes) aba aba aba aba aba abaa. The first line of the first tercet is repeated as the last line of the second and fourth tercets while the third line of the first tercet is repeated as the last line of the third and fifth tercets. Finally, these two lines are repeated as a couplet in the last two lines of the quatrain.