Help us build the new Word Dynamo app! Take this quick survey now.

Useful terms for understanding literature

Word List with 35 words
By Dictionary.com

Play

Words in This List

alliteration

the commencement of two or more stressed syllables of a word group either with the same consonant sound or sound group

allusion

a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication:

ambiguity

n.,

an unclear, indefinite, or equivocal word, expression, meaning, etc.:

assonance

resemblance of sounds.

deus ex machina

any artificial or improbable device resolving the difficulties of a plot.

See all words ‣

epilogue

a concluding part added to a literary work, as a novel.

figurative

adj.

of the nature of or involving a figure of speech, esp. a metaphor; metaphorical; not literal:

first person

the grammatical person used by a speaker in statements referring to himself or herself or to a group including himself or herself, as I and we in English.

foreshadow

v.t.

to show or indicate beforehand; prefigure:

homonym

homophone

a word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning, whether spelled the same way or not, as heir and air.

interior monologue

a form of stream-of-consciousness writing that represents the inner thoughts of a character.

irony

n.,

a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated.

literal

adj.

in accordance with, involving, or being the primary or strict meaning of the word or words; not figurative or metaphorical:

metonymy

a figure of speech that consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related, or of which it is a part, as "scepter" for "sovereignty," or "the bottle" for "strong drink," or "count heads (or noses)" for "cou

objective

adj.

being the object of perception or thought; belonging to the object of thought rather than to the thinking subject (

onomatopoeia

the formation of a word, as cuckoo or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent.

oxymoron

n.,

a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in "cruel kindness" or "to make haste slowly."

paradox

a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

parody

a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing:

picaresque

adj.

pertaining to, characteristic of, or characterized by a form of prose fiction, originally developed in Spain, in which the adventures of an engagingly roguish hero are described in a series of usually humorous or satiric episodes that often depict, in rea

postmodernism

any of a number of trends or movements in the arts and literature developing in the 1970s in reaction to or rejection of the dogma, principles, or practices of established modernism, esp. a movement in architecture and the decorative arts running counter

prologue

a preliminary discourse; a preface or introductory part of a discourse, poem, or novel.

second person

the person used by a speaker in referring to the one or ones to whom he or she is speaking: in English you is a second person pronoun.

soliloquy

n.,

an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking to himself or herself or is disregardful of or oblivious to any hearers present (often used as a device in drama to disclose a character's innermost thoughts):

stanza

an arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme, forming a division of a poem.

stream of consciousness

thought regarded as a succession of ideas and images constantly moving forward in time.

subjective

adj.

relating to properties or specific conditions of the mind as distinguished from general or universal experience.

symbol

something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial; emblem, token, or sign.

synaesthesia

a sensation produced in one modality when a stimulus is applied to another modality, as when the hearing of a certain sound induces the visualization of a certain color.

synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part, the special for the general or the general for the special, as in ten sail for ten ships or a Croesus for a rich man.

third person

the person that is used by the speaker of an utterance in referring to anything or to anyone other than the speaker or the one or ones being addressed.

trope

any literary or rhetorical device, as metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony, that consists in the use of words in other than their literal sense.

vehicle

the thing or idea to which the subject of a metaphor is compared, as "rose" in "she is a rose."

tenor

noun

the subject of a metaphor, such as ?she? in ?She is a rose?