Index of Literary Terms: For Those Who Can't Find Theirs

I am still working on attaching Google docs to this blog, so that all y'all have to do is click and open whatever file you need. My tech skills are a work in progress, so. . .

This post is for those of you who may have misplaced the list of Literary Terms you need. My Gifted English II sophomores are using this list for the first six weeks of vocabulary, and my APees just flat-out need to know them. Asterisked items are critically important this quarter.

Sorry in advance about the formatting--I only work in truly rudimentary HTML!

Index of Literary Terms

Every discipline employs a specialized vocabulary. Literary criticism is no exception. Learn to recognize and label the following terms during this course, and keep this list as a reference tool in the "Handouts" section of your notebook. Some terms in this list apply to one genre only, but most function broadly across many genres. Those terms marked with an asterisk deserve special attention. Your assignment over the next few weeks is to define and give an example for each of these terms. I will expect you to learn a subset of the total list each week, and we will go over and use the terms in class. Understanding literary terms will be an invaluable tool for you in your future English course work.

1. allegory* 36. epic 70. monologue 107. structure*

2. alliteration* 37. epigram 71. myth* 108. style*

3. allusion* 38. epiphany 72. narrative 109. subplot

4. ambiguity* 39. euphony 73. naturalism 110. symbol

5. anapest 40. existentialism* 74. novel` 111. synecdoche

6. antagonist 41. exposition 75. octave 112. syntax*

7. anti-hero* 42. fable 76. ode 113. theme*

8. apostrophe 43. fairy tale 77. onomatopoeia 114. tone*

9. archetype 44. falling action 78. oxymoron* 115. tragedy*

10. aside 45. fantasy 79. paradox* 116. tragic flaw

11. assonance 46. figurative language* 80. paraphrase 117. trope

12. ballad 47. flashback 81. personification 118. understatement

13. blank verse 48. foil 82. plot* 119. verisimilitude

14. cacophany 49. folk tale 83. point of view* 120. voice*

15. caesura 50. foot 84. prose

16. catharsis 51. foreshadowing 85. protagonist

17. characterization 52. form 86. pun

round 53. frame 87. pyrrhic

flat 54. free verse 88. quatrain

18. climax 55. gothic 89. realism

19. classicism/neoclassicism 56. hamartia 90. repetition

20. comedy 57. hubris* 91. rhythm

21. complication 58. humor 92. rhyme

22. conceit 59. hyperbole 93. rhyme scheme

23. conflict 60. iamb 94. run-on line

24. connotation* 61. image(ry)* 95. sarcasm

25. consonance 62. irony* 96. satire*

26. couplet verbal 97. scansion

27. crisis dramatic 98. sentimentality

28. dactyl situational 99. sestet

29. denotation* 63. legend 100. setting*

30. denouement 64. mask/persona 101. simile*

31. diction* 65. melodrama 102. soliloquy

32. dramatic monologue 66. metaphor* 103. sonnet

33. elegy 67. metaphysical 104. spondee

34. ellipsis 68. meter 105. stanza

35. end-stop line 69. metonymy 106. stream of consciousness

NOTE: I would recommend keeping a separate definition list for each week. On Monday I will assign the subset for which you are responsible; every Friday you will be quizzed on that subset. Keep this list, and your definitions, in the CLASSWORK section of your notebook.