Literary Terms

Epigram A brief, witty saying or poem often dealing with its subject in a satirical manner. “There never was a good war or a bad peace.” -Benjamin Franklin

Diction Word choice. To discuss a writer’s diction is to consider the vocabulary used, the appropriateness of the words, and the vividness of the language.

Verbal Irony The use of words used to suggest the opposite of what is meant.

Farce Literature based on a humorous and improbable plot.

Epithet A word or phrase used in place of a person’s name; it is characteristic of that person: Alexander the Great, Material Girl, Mr. Know-it-All.

Antithesis Figure of balance in which two contrasting ideas are intentionally juxtaposed, usually through parallel structure; a contrasting of opposing ideas in adjacent phrases, clauses, or sentences.

Hyperbole A deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.

Denouement The final resolution or outcome of a play or story.

Mood The feeling a text arouses in the reader: happiness, peacefulness, sadness, and so on.

Tragic Hero A character who experiences an inner struggle because of a character flaw. That struggle ends in the defeat of the hero.

Motif The term for an often-repeated idea or theme in literature.

Hubris Excessive pride. In Greek tragedy, hubris is often viewed as the flaw that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero.

Soliloquy A speech delivered by a character when he or she is alone on stage. It is as though the character is thinking out loud.

Oxymoron A combination of contradictory terms as in jumbo shrimp, tough love, or intelligent woman.

Omniscient point of view Point of view which allows the narrator to share the thoughts and feelings of all the characters.

Renaissance Means “Rebirth”. The period of history following the Middle Ages. The term now applies to any period of time in which intellectual and artistic interest is revived or reborn.

Person Vs. Self Conflict A character has a problem deciding what to do in a situation.