Alliteration-The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or at the beginning of accented syllables.

Allusion-A reference within a work to something outside the work, such as historical people and events, mythological and biblical figures, places and other works of literature.

Antagonist-The opponent, whether human or otherwise, of the protagonist.

Assonance-The repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds.

Biographical criticism-Literary criticism that shows the relationship between authors' lives and their works of literature.

Blank verse-Iambic pentameter with no end rhyme.

Caesura-A strong pause in a sentence, used as rhythmic and thematic device in lines of poetry.

Character-the people in narratives and dramas.

Connotation-The subjective, emotional associations that a word has for one person or a group of people.

Consonance-The repetition of final consonant sounds that are preceded by different vowel sounds.

Conventions-devices of literature, such as stock characters, omniscient point of view, end-rhyme, and symbolism that an audience easily recognizes and accepts.

Denotation-The object or idea-the referent-that a word represents.

Diction-An author's choice of words.

Dramatic Irony-Statements and beliefs by characters that the audience knows to be false or that signal meanings the audience knows but the characters do not.

Dynamic Character-Character who changes during the course of drama and narrative fiction.

Feminist Criticism-Literary criticism that studies the representation of women and issues that concern women in works of literature.

Figurative Language-The conscious departure from normal or conventional ways of speaking.

Flat Character-Character with one or two traits who can be described in a short phrase.

Free verse-Poetry without meter.

Freytag Pyramid-A diagram, developed by Gustav Freytag, that illustrates the typical plot pattern of a five-act tragedy and of most works of fiction.

Iambic Pentameter-A line of poetry consisting of five iambic feet.

Metaphor-Any analogy. It is a statement that claims a similarity between things that are essentially unlike and that omits the comparative words like and as.

Meter-A regular and repeated pattern of rhythm in a line of poetry. Meter can be based on the duration of syllables, the number of syllables per line, and the number of stresses per line.

Narrator-The teller of a story. The narrator can be a person or a medium that conveys the story.

New Criticism-Literary criticism that de-emphasizes the value of biography and history for interpreting literature and that instead focuses on the form and unity of works of literature.

Onomatopoeia-The use of words that sound like what they mean.

Personification-An analogy that attributes human qualities to something not human.

Point of View-In narrative fiction, the narrator's relationship to the world of the work. The location from which the narrator sees everything in the narrative and from which the narrator tells the story.

Protagonist-The main character of a narrative.

Psychological Criticism-Literary criticism that attempts to explore the psychological implications of works in literature.

Reader-response Criticism-Literary criticism that focuses on how readers respond to literature and especially how readers, in the act of reading, help create works of literature.

Round Character-Character who has multiple personality traits, who resemble the complexity of real people.

Rhythm-One of the characteristic features of poetic language.

Setting-The physical, sensuous location of the action, the time in which the action occurs, and the social environment of the characters.

Simile-A statement that claims the similarity of things that are essentially unlike and that uses the comparative words like or as.

Situational Irony-A situation that differs from what common sense indicates it is, will be, or ought to be.

Stanza-In a poem, a unit of lines set apart from other units by spaces. A stanza can encompass the whole poem or part of the poem. Stanzas are often organized by patterns of end rhyme.

Static Character-Character that does not change throughout a narrative or play.

Stream of Consciousness-The presentation of characters' preconscious or prespeech thoughts as an apparently incoherent "stream".

Symbol-An object, event, or character that signifies an abstract idea or ideas. The symbol's meaning is often interestingly vague, suggestive rather than precise.

Theme-An idea about the human condition that the audience extracts from works of literature. A theme is what the work seems to say about a subject.

Tone-A narrator's or writer's predominant attitude toward a subject. The subject can be a place, event, character, or idea.

Tragedy-A subgenre of drama that, according to Aristotle, contains conventions such as larger-than-life hero whose flaw brings about a precipitous fall and whose fate inspires pity and fear in the audience.

Tropes-Generally, the extension of the meaning of a word beyond its literal meaning. More specifically, a trope is an analogy such as metaphor and simile.

Turn-A point in a poem when the poet shifts from one meaning or mood to another.

Verbal Irony-A statement of the opposite of what one means.