"A narrative technique in which characters [and events and settings] representing things or abstract ideas are used to convey a message or teach a lesson. Allegory is typically used to teach moral, ethical, or religious lessons but is sometimes used for satiric or political purposes." (Gale Glossary of Literary Terms)
An indirect reference to a person, event, statement, or theme found in literature, the other arts, history, mythology, religion, or popular culture. An author's use of this device tends to presuppose that readers in general will possess the knowledge to recognize the allusion . . . . (The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms)
Repetitions of phrases at the beginnings of successive lines of poetry. For example, in the final section of Allen Ginsburg's poem "Howl", he begins almost every line with the phrase "I am with you in Rockland".
A figure of speech in which the speaker directly and often emotionally addresses a person who is dead or otherwise not physically present, an imaginary person or entity, something inhuman, or a place or concept . . . . The speaker addresses the object . . . as if this object were present and capable of understanding and responding. An example of this in American literature is Allen Ginsberg's apostrophe to America in the poem "America." (definition from The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms)
"Generally, the original model from which something is developed or made; in literary criticism, those images, figures, character types, settings, and story patterns that, according to the Swiss analytical psychologist Carl Jung, are universally shared by people across cultures" (The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms).
Examples of archetypes popular in American literature are the snake as a symbol of evil, the character type of the self-made man, and the story pattern of the rags-to-riches story.
The ballad has a long tradition in Western (European and American)poetry and song, so there is much to be said about it, but I will give you a brief and general definition here. A ballad is "a poem that recounts a story-- generally some dramatic episode-- and that has been composed to be sung. Although traditional ballads . . . may address 'noble' subjects (for instance, tragic love,), they are normally sung by common people and thus employ simple language. The traditional ballad was at its height in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Britain" (The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms). Ballads are often associated with classic tales of knights in armor, damsels in distress, valiant young men and women, and wise, noble elders. All these ideas are floating in the background of Gwendolyn Brooks' poems about Emmett Till.
the various means by which an author describes and develops the characters in a literary work
"An elaborate and often surprising comparison between two apparently dissimilar things . . . . Conceits often take the form of extended metaphors." (The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms) A metaphysical conceit uses the surprising comparison of an extended metaphor-- usually between a mundane object or activity (such as a piece of bread or baking) and an abstract, spiritual, or philosophical concept (such as the salvation Christians believe is available through belief in Jesus)-- in order to better describe the abstract concept. An example of a methaphysical conceit can be seen the the poem "Meditation 8" by Edward Taylor.
roughly any contemporary poetry in which the poet discusses matters relating to his/her private life; this generally includes intimate details and even psychoanalytic ruminations about the poet's mental and emotional state. Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton are considered confessional poets.
the special idiom of a locality or class (from The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary, 3rd Edition); in other words, the different ways people from different places and social groups speak the same language-- this includes a combination of accent and diction
the words characters speak to each other (conversation)in a literary work; used loosely, this can mean any words spoken aloud in a literary work, though officially if a character talks to him/herself it is a "monologue"
A device used in literature to create expectation or to set up an explanation of later developments. (Gale Glossary of Terms)
A story that contains another story or stories. Usually, the frame story explains why the interior story or stories are being told (The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms). The shift from the frame story to the interior story also generally affects the POV and theme of the story.
"[P]oetry that lacks a regular meter, does not rhyme, and uses irregular . . . line lengths." (The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms)
A category of literary work. In critical theory, genre may refer to both the
content of a given work — tragedy, comedy, pastoral — and to its form, such as poetry, novel, or drama. This term also refers to types of popular literature, as in the genres of Science Fiction or the detective story (from
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"(1) the actual language that a writer uses to convey a visual picture (or . . . to create or represent any sensory experience); and (2) the use of figures of speech . . . to express abstract ideas in a vivid and innovative way [such as simile, metaphor, and personification]" (The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms)
When the voice telling a story or poem (the narrator) makes specific commentary and/or inserts his/her opinions and beliefs into the story or poem in addition to simply telling what happens
"A contradiction or incongruity between appearance and expectation. . . . A discrepancy may exist between what someone says and what he or she actually means, between what someone expects to happen and what really does happen, or between what appears to be true and what actually is true. Furthermore, the term irony may be applied to events, situations, and even structural elements of a work, not just to statements" (The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms)
A figure of speech that associates two unlike
things; the representation of one thing by another [without using a
connecting word such as like" or "as"]" Ex. That child is a mouse.
The child obviously is not a mouse, but has characteristics or engages in
actions that appear mouse-like.
"The more or less regular pattern of accented and unaccented syllables in poetry" (The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms). See also at the Gale Glossary of Literary Terms. For even more information about how to use meter to understand poetry, visit .
The mixture of situation and personality that impels a character to behave the way he or she does
"A short, realistic, and illustrative story intended to teach a moral or religious lesson" (The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms)
"Generally, the speaker (the "I") in any first-person poem or narrative. The term derives from the Latin word for 'mask' and literally refers to that through which sound passes. Although the persona often serves as the 'voice' of the author, it nonetheless should not be confused with the author, for the persona may not accurately reflect the author's personal opinions, feelings, or perspective on a subject" (The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms).
The perspective from which a story is told, typically first-person (I, me, my-- a narrator who is a character in the story) or third-person (he, she, they-- a narrator who is not a character in the story); the narrator's point of view may allow him or her to know everything about the story and the characters (such as their histories and thoughts)--this is called an "omniscient point of view" -- or only a little bit (such as we often experience in life)-- this is called a "limited point of view."
a line or lines that are repeated throughout a poem or song; the line or lines are usually repeated exactly, but may include slight variations; the refrain usually occurs at the end of a stanza. See "Her Kind" by Anne Sexton for an example of a refrain.
The pattern of sounds at the ends of the lines of a poem. Starting with the first line of a poem, similar sounds are noted with a lowercase letter of the alphabet in order to keep track of the rhyme scheme.
For example, in John Ciardi's limerick,
It took me some time to agree To appear in a film about me and my various ex-wives Detailing our sex lives, But I did-- and they rated it G
the rhyme scheme would be
a a b b a
because the final sounds of the first, second, and fifth lines are the same, and the final sounds of the third and fourth lines are the same.
"From the Greek for 'flow,' a term referring to a measured flow of words and signifying the basic (though often varied) beat or pattern in language that is established by stressed syllables, unstressed syllables, and pauses." When rhythm is organized into specific, regular patterns in poetry, it becomes meter (The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms).
The combination of place, historical time, and social milieu that provides the general background for the characters and plot of a literary work.
"A figure of speech . . . that compares two distinct things by using words such as like or as to link [them]" (The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms).
One of the most famous similes in English is "O my love's like a red, red, rose" from Robert Burns' poem "A Red, Red Rose".
"A grouped set of lines in a poem, usually physically set off from other such clusters by a blank line" (The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms).
A type of character (often two dimensional or based on stereotypes) who generally appears in certain kinds of fiction, for example: the mysterious, silent stranger in Westerns, the mad scientist in science fiction, the evil landlord in urban realist drama, or the bumbling policeman in detective fiction.
Something that, although it is of interest in its own right, stands for or suggests something larger and more complex-- often an idea or a range of interrelated ideas, attitudes, and practices
Not simply the subject of a literary work, but rather a statement that the text seems to be making about that subject.
Themes are best explained as complete statements rather than as simple words or phrases. Thus, the theme "people often think they can control nature, but nature consistently reminds them that they cannot" is much more clear, specific, and useful than saying the theme is "people vs. nature" or "nature".
"The attitude of the author toward the reader or the subject matter of a literary work. An author's tone may be serious, playful, mocking, angry, commanding, apologetic and so forth" (The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms).
A common stanza form that involves a quatrain of iambic pentameter (4 llines wherein each line has ten syllables in it; these syllables are grouped in pairs with the accent coming on the second syllable in the pair) followed by a couplet in iambic pentameter. The lines usually have a rhyme scheme of ababcc.
This is the type of stanza that the early American poets Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor use in such poems as "The Prologue" and "Meditation 8" respectively.