Allegory A narrative that has 2 meanings one literal or surface meaning and the other metaphorical (the

characters and settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities)

Allusion Any reference, direct or indirect, to a person, place, event, or character in history, literature,
mythology, etc.
Catastrophe The concluding action of a tragedy, where the principal character meets with death or other
significant defeat.
Catharsis Purgation or purification of the emotions of pity and fear from the viewing of a tragic drama

Characters Living beings in a work of fiction

Comic Relief A humorous scene, incident or speech in the course of a serious fiction or drama

Conceit An ingenious and fanciful notion or conception through an elaborate analogy showing striking
parallel between two dissimilar things.
Connotation The suggested or emotional meaning of a word as compared with its dictionary definition

Context The setting or frame of reference in which an event takes place

Effect The impression made by a literary work on a reader or society

Hamartia The tragic flaw or error of judgment

Invocation An address to a god or muse whose aid is sought

Socratic Irony Pretending to be ignorant when in fact the character is being cautious or tentative
Verbal Irony Contrast between what is stated and what is suggested
Mood The atmosphere or emotional effect generated by the words images situations in a literary work
Plot The action that which happens in a literary work

Complication smaller actions or events which confound and compound the original problem
Crisis The turning point for better or worse in a play
Climax A point of high emotional intensity often the protagonist and antagonist clash for the last time
Denouement Falling action, the conclusion of a plot, the resolution
Recognition The moment at which a chief character recognizes the happy or awful truth.

Reversal The thrilling change of luck for the protagonist at the last moment

Setting A combination of locale, historical period, season or hour, and spiritual, ethnic and cultural
background
Tone The writers or speakers attitude toward his subject, audience, or himself
Tragedy A serious fiction involving the downfall of a hero or heroine
Tragic Flaw In a tragedy, the defect in the hero that leads to a downfall

Tragic Irony the most noble and most deserving person, because of the very grounds of his or her
excellence, dies in defeat.