Chiasmus Figure of speech by which the order of the terms in the first of parallel clauses is reversed
in the second. “Has the Church failed mankind, or has mankind failed the Church?”-- T.
S. Eliot,
Thesis Focus statement of an essay; premise statement upon which the point of view or
discussion in the essay is based. Antithesis—The juxtaposition of sharply contrasting
ideas in balanced or parallel words or phrases.
Litote Form of understatement in which the negative of the contrary is used to achieve emphasis
and intensity. For example, "She is not a bad cook." Or "No man ever followed his genius
until it misled him." Thoreau
Doppelganger Ghostly counterpart of a living person or an alter ego
Zeugma Grammatically correct linkage of one subject with two or more verbs or a verb with two
or more direct objects. The linking shows a relationship between ideas more clearly.
Ethos In dramatic literature, the moral element that determines a character's actions, rather than
thought or emotion.
Propaganda Information or rumor deliberately spread to help or harm a person, group, or institution
Didactic Intended for teaching or to teach a moral lesson
Formal Language Language that is lofty, dignified, or impersonal
Allegory Narrative form in which characters and actions have meanings outside themselves;
characters are usually personifications of abstract qualities
Abstract Not related to the concrete properties of an object; pertaining to ideas, concepts, or
qualities, as opposed to physical attributes
In medias res Opening a story in the middle of the action, requiring filling in past details by exposition
or flashback.
Colloquial Ordinary language; the vernacular. For example, depending on where in the United States
you live, a sandwich is called a sub, a grinder, or a hero.
Isocolon Parallel structure in which the parallel elements are similar not only in grammatical
structure, but also in length. For example, "An envious heart makes a treacherous ear"
(Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston).
Aesthetic Pertaining to the value of art for its own sake or for form
Juxtaposition Placing of two items side by side to create a certain effect, reveal an attitude, or
accomplish some other purpose
Elegy Poem or prose lamenting the death of a particular person. Perhaps the most famous elegy
is Thomas Grey's poem, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard."
Antihero Protagonist of a literary work who does not embody the traditional qualities of a hero
(e.g., honor, bravery, kindness, intelligence); for example, the protagonists created by
Byron in Don Juan and Childe Harold, and the characters of Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Catharsis Purification or cleansing of the spirit through the emotions of pity and terror as a witness
to a tragedy.
Epigraph Quote set at the beginning of a literary work or at its divisions to set the tone or suggest a
theme.
Motif Recurrent device, formula, or situation that often serves as a signal for the appearance of
a character or event
Parallelism Recurrent syntactical similarity where several parts of a sentence or several sentences are
expressed alike to show that the ideas in the parts or sentences equal in importance. It
also adds balance, rhythm, and clarity to the sentence. For example, "I have always
searched for, but never found the perfect painting for that wall."
Anaphora regular repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or
clauses. For example, "We shall fight in the trenches. We shall fight on the oceans. We
shall fight in the sky."
Anadiplosis Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the next clause. For example,
"The crime was common, common be the pain." (Alexander Pope)
Appeals to: authority, emotion, logic Rhetorical arguments in which the speaker: either claims to be
an expert or relies on information provided by experts (appeal to authority), attempts to
affect the listener's personal feelings (appeal to emotion), or attempts to persuade the
listener through use of deductive reasoning (appeal to logic).