Glossary Of Literary

Terms

NickMorris
 Period 6 AP Literature
Diction

Denotation – The literal, dictionary definition of a word.

Example 1: In “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost, the wall is literally a collection of stones that forms a
barrier between the two properties. It is important to the work as a whole because that wall is what
keeps the neighbors distant from one another.

Example 2: In “Going Out” by Natasha Haigh, the small pile of ash is literally the remnants of a fire.
It is important to the poem as a whole because the pile of ash is created from literally burning the
things someone gave to the author and represents the end of something.

Connotation – The suggested deeper meaning beyond the definition of a word.

Example 1: In “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost, the wall is literally a barrier, but the wall also
represents something more. It represents the distant relationship the neighbors have and how
something from the past continues to be between them.

Example 2: In “Going Out” by Natasha Haigh, the small pile of ash is literally a pile of ashes, but it
also represents the end of a relationship. The fire that had burned inside each of their hearts was
extinguished and all that was left was a small pile of ashes.

Cacophony – Words that sound off, disjointed, or out of tune when placed together.

Example 1: In “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath, the line “A man in black with a Meinkampf look” sounds
disjointed when read. The device is important to the work as a whole because it is symbolic of the
rough relationship between the speaker and her father. Just as the sentence sounds disjointed, so is
the relationship of the characters in the poem.

Example 2: In “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll, the line “Beware the jubjub bird and shun the
frumious Bandersnatch” is very difficult to articulate and sounds off. It is important to the work as a
whole because the disjunction of the words characterizes the odd Jabberwocky, because it is an
offbeat creature.

Euphony – Words that create harmony and are pleasing to the ear when placed together.

Example 1: In “The Ball” by John Berryman, the line “I suffer and move, my mind and my heart
move me, under the water or whistling, I am not a little boy” is pleasing to the ears. It is important
to the work as a whole because as the author is trying to prove he has grown up and is no longer a
little boy, he constructs harmonious lines to back his claim. He does not speak with cacophony like a
child, but rather with sophistication of an adult.

Example 2: In “To Autumn” by John Keats, the line “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, close
bosom-friend of the maturing sun” is very smooth and harmonious. It is important to the work as a
whole because the euphony of the lines accentuates and exemplifies the beauty of nature and the
seasons.

Onomatopoeia – Use of words that sound like what they mean.

Example 1: In “The Book Of Yolek” by Anthony Hecht, the line “The dowsed coals fume and hiss”
uses onomatopoeia. The hissing of the coals is both an action as well as a sound. It is important to
the poem as a whole because even after the fire is out, the remains still hiss. This is similar to the
way Yolek’s memory is still around even after his death.

Example 2: In “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes, the line “Tlot-tlot, tlot-tlot!” utilizes
onomatopoeia. The words sound like the hooves of a horse. This device is important to the work as
a whole because the sound is accompanied by the highwayman. In every stanza where the tlot-tlot
is found, the highwayman appears and everyone feels a sense of terror at his arrival.

Juxtaposition – Putting two unlike things together to create tension, contrast, and surprise.

Example 1: In “Southern Man” by Neil Young, the line “Tall white mansions and little shacks” uses
juxtaposition to show contrast. It is important to the work as a whole because Young is criticizing
the South and their people by illustrating the difference in social classes.

Example 2: In “What Are Years” by Marianne Moore, the line “Dumbly calling, deafly listening” is
used to create tension. It is important to the meaning as a whole because deafly listening has no
purpose, and shows how men are affected by the actions of others without thinking about the true
consequences.

Imagery

Visual – Images experienced through sight.

Example 1: In “The Book Of Yolek” by Anthony Hecht, images like loudspeakers, smoke, tattoos, and
a camp are things that the reader can picture. The dark images are vital to the work as a whole
because they convey a sense of despair and morbidity. Seeing all of those horrible images
reinforces the fact that Yolek’s memory will always be there.

Example 2: In the poem “Flower-Gathering” by Robert Frost, happy images like morning glow
change to sad images like faded flowers. These images are important to the work as a whole
because the images go from positive to negative, just like the plot events in the poem.

Auditory – Images experienced through sound.

Example 1: In “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen, auditory images like the gas, flares, and
five-nines are things that the audience and the soldiers can hear. The images are important to the
work as a whole because it shows the constant danger the soldiers felt as bombs kept going off.
Even in the distance they could hear the violence and it showed the longevity of the war.

Example 2: In “The Bells” by Edgar Allen Poe, the sounds of the bells are auditory images. They are
important to the poem as a whole because the sounds are described through the words and their
changes show the shift in tone as the poem goes. Merry sounds turn morbid as the tone of the
poem changes.

Tactile – Images experienced through touch.

Example 1: In “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath, the line “It stuck in a barb wire snare” is tactile imagery. It
can be felt by the reader, though it does not literally happen in the poem. It is important to the
work as a whole because the reader feels the pain of being stuck in barbed wire. The feeling is
associated with the speakers inability to talk to her father and tell him he his wrong. Being in pain
and unable to do anything because you are stuck is painful and reminiscent of the pain the speaker
feels.

Example 2: In “After Apple Picking” by Robert Frost, the line “the fruit to cherish in hand” is tactile
imagery. It is important to the work as a whole because the image conveys to the reader that they
must enjoy life to the fullest and cherish the good things that they have.

Olfactory – Images experienced through smell.

Example 1: In “A Break From The Bush” by Yusef Komunyakaa, the burning steaks on the wire grill is
an olfactory image because the soldiers can smell the cooking meat. This image is important to the
meaning as a whole because all of the things the speaker mentions in the poem, like smelling
cooking steaks, are just a distraction from the war. No matter what they see or smell at a given
time, that comfort can be broken in an instant.

Example 2: In “To A Wretch” by Robert Frost, the reader can “smell the green” of the tree that was
cut down. It is important to the meaning as a whole because the smell of green is representative of
life. The main character cuts down the tree without really considering the effect of losing that tree
or what it means to the area around where that tree was.

Gustatory – Images experienced through taste.

Example 1: In “The Book Of Yolek” by Anthony Hecht, the images of a corn roast and grilled salmon
conjure are things the reader can taste. The images are important to the meaning of the poem as a
whole because these tastes are comforting and reminiscent of summer camp. These images are
later contrasted by the camp that Yolek is sent to, where there is nothing good to eat.
Example 2: In the song “Lollipop” by The Chordettes, lollipops and apple pie are images that the
listener can taste. They are important to the meaning as a whole because they are sweet and good
to eat and everyone likes them. The author compares another person to these images to show their
affection.

Synesthesia – Images experienced through multiple senses.

Example 1: In “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden, the blueblack cold is experienced through
multiple senses. The reader could feel the cold as well as seeing it. That image is important to the
meaning as a whole because the author feels cold in a few ways. There is the actual cold in the
house that his father takes care of by making a fire, but there is the feeling of coldness between the
father and the son that cannot be fixed.

Example 2: In “Isabella” by John Keats, the line “taste the music of that vision pale” has a
combination of three senses. It has taste, sound, and sight all in one sentence. It is important to the
meaning as a whole because it shows all of the mixed feelings that Isabella had about her brothers.
They left her all alone, so she had mixed feelings of love and hate to them.

Kinesthetic – Images experienced through movement or action.

Example 1: In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, the waltz is an example of kinesthetic
imagery because the reader can feel waltzing with someone. It is important to the meaning as a
whole because the syntax of the poem is set up rhythmically like a waltz. The clumsy waltz is also a
symbol of how the father interacts with his son, doing good things but missing a step every once in
a while.

Example 2: In “Ghost House” by Robert Frost, “the black bats tumble and dart”. This is an example
of kinesthetic imagery because the bats are moving around. It is important to the meaning as a
whole because the bats, which are scary creatures, are dangerously moving around, creating a
sense of fear about the ghost house.

Organic – Images experienced through internal feelings.

Example 1: In “Fear” by Stephyn Dobyns, the line “It is his own face he finds there, hopeless and
afraid”. This line shows the feelings that the main character feels as he realizes that fear has taken
his life over. It is important to the meaning as a whole because when the main character looks at
the dog that represents fear, he sees his own face and realizes that he is no longer in control. Fear
has taken over his life and he is hopeless and afraid.

Example 2: In “After Apple Picking” by Robert Frost, the line “my instep arch not only keeps the
ache, it keeps the pressure of a ladder round” has organic imagery because the reader can feel the
ache of a foot. It is important to the meaning as a whole because the narrator presents the good
and the bad of apple picking, which are symbols of the good and bad in life. We must deal with the
bad to get to the good, and the aching foot is a symbol of this.
 Syntax
Declarative – A sentence that makes a statement.

Example 1: In “Fear” by Stephyn Dobyns, the first line “His life frightened him” is declarative
because it just makes a statement. It is important to the meaning as a whole because the
declaration gives the poem a detached tone. It shows very little emotion, it just states facts and this
tone is kept throughout.

Example 2: In “The World Doesn’t End” by Charles Simic, the line “We were so poor I had to take
the place of the bait in the mousetrap” makes a statement. It is important to the work as a whole
because it moves the poem in quick bursts, like staccato in music. The brief sentences show how
the author uses a detached tone to make his claim.

Rhetorical – A sentence that asks a question that is already answered or has no answer.

Example 1: In “Hitler’s First Photograph” by Wislawa Szymborska, the line “Will he grow up to an
L.L.D?” is rhetorical because the reader knows that the boy will not become this when he grows up.
It is important to the poem as a whole because the poem has dramatic irony throughout that asks
what Hitler will become. The rhetorical questions show that when Hitler was first born, people did
not know what he would become, he was just another little baby boy.

Example 2: In “Who Can It Be Now” by Men At Work, the chorus is a rhetorical question. The singer
asks who is at the door, but the verses show that he knows who it is. This is important to the work
as a whole because it shows that the person at the door is unimportant because the singer is asking
who can it be now showing that the person is an irritation. The verses are a lecture telling the
person at the door to leave.

Imperitive – A sentence that gives a command.

Example 1: In “The Book Of Yolek” by Anthony Hecht, the line “prepare to receive him” commands
the reader to prepare for Yolek. It is important to the poem as a whole because the memory of
Yolek will always be there and those guilty for his death must prepare for the fact that they will
never be ridden of his guilt. It is also a biblical reference to communion because Yolek was shown as
a Jesus-like figure.

Example 2: The song “Beat It” by Michael Jackson has imperatives throughout. Beat it is a command
in itself, telling someone to go away. This is important to the meaning as a whole because the song
is about standing up for what is right and telling groups of people that do bad things, like bullies, to
leave the situation.

Word Order – Placement of the words in a sentence to achieve a certain affect.

Example 1: In “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden, the line “Sundays too my father got up
early” utilizes word order to add emphasis. The fact that the word too is placed in the sentence
after Sunday shows that one would not ordinarily expect someone to get up early on a Sunday. This
is important to the meaning as a whole because it shows the true sacrifice the father made to keep
his family warm by waking up early every day, Sundays too, and making a fire.

Example 2: In “Kubla Kahn” by Samuel Coleridge, the line “Where Alph, the sacred river, ran” uses
an inverted word order to give the poem a unique tone. It is important to the work as a whole
because the entire poem utilizes inverted sentences. It gives the poem a noble and old sound
because everything is spoken atypical of how we speak it.

Figurative Language

Allusion – A reference to something outside of the work.

Example 1: In “Facing It” by Yusef Komunyakaa, the “black granite” references the Vietnam
Veterans’ Memorial. It is important to the work as a whole because the black granite is a reference
to the memorial, but also to the war itself and how it changes people. The war hardened people
and made them cold and black, so facing that once again was significant.

Example 2: In “Grass” by Carl Sandburg, there are many allusions to famous battle grounds.
Asuterlitz, Waterloo, Gettysburg, and many more are all mentioned, but it does not say that they
are battle grounds. The reference is to battles that happened at these places. This is significant to
the meaning of the poem because where these bodies are being piled up (and the grass is growing)
are famous places in history. It is telling people not to forget the battles at these places because for
all anybody knows in the future, it could just be a bunch of grass on some dirt.

Apostrophe – Reference to someone or something that is not physically present.

Example 1: In Springsteen’s “The River”, Springsteen references a person who is not present when
he says, “Come from down in the valley where mister when you’re young.” This is apostrophe
because the “mister” is not present in the song but he is being spoken to. It is significant to the
meaning of the song because it identifies the song as a lecture from an old wise man to a younger
person. He is telling him about the experiences of life and how life is like a river and things in life
always go on.

Example 2: In “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman, the captain is referred to many times
despite not being present. His reference is important to the work as a whole because it shows that
the poem is an elegy to a dead person. The continued reference shows the speaker’s connection
with the “captain”.

Dramatic Irony – The meaning of a situation is understood by the audience, but not the characters
in the literary work.
Example 1: In “Hitler’s First Photograph” by Wislawa Szymborska, there is dramatic irony through
the use of rhetorical questions. The speaker does not know what Hitler will grow up to be, nor do
the characters in the poem. This is important to the work as a whole because the readers know
Hitler’s future. They know that he will not become a singer or an L.L.D. but rather something far
different than the cute little boy portrayed in the poem.

Example 2: In Shakespeare’s “Romeo And Juliet”, Juliet fakes her own death so that she and Romeo
can be together (and she won’t marry Paris). This is dramatic irony because the Romeo and some
other characters in the play do not know that she is not really dead, but the audience does. This is
important to the piece as a whole because Romeo kills himself out of love for Juliet. If he had
known that her death was faked, they would have lived happily ever after. Instead, the dispute
between the Capulets and Montagues raged on.

Simile – Comparison between two things using the words like or as.

Example 1: In “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath, the line “black shoe, in which I have lived like a foot” uses a
simile to compare the life of the girl to living in a shoe. It is important to the work as a whole
because the girl was very restricted in her life. She was too afraid to stand up to her father, so she
lived an unhappy life and disapproved of her father’s actions (thus why the shoe is black). It was as
if she was trapped inside of her father’s actions and could not get out.

Example 2: In “A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns, the line “O my luve’s like a red,red rose”
compares the affection of the speaker to a rose. It is significant to the meaning of the poem as a
whole because the speaker is trying to show that his love is delicate and precious and will keep
coming back year after year.

Metaphor – A comparison between two unlike things to show something in common.

Example 1: In “Fear” by Stephen Dobyns, fear is represented by a brown dog. It is significant to the
poem as a whole because as time goes on and the character lives with the fear, it begins to take
control of him. Before he knows it, he is being controlled by fear and when he sees the dog, he sees
his own face.

Example 2: In “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, the global politicians of the day are represented by
animals that share their tendencies. This is significant to the work as a whole because it allowed the
author to criticize the politicians without getting into trouble. The animals could talk and they
interacted with one another just like the politicians, and then slowly some of the animals began to
take control. It was very closely related to the politics of the day.

Metonymy/Synecdoche – Part of an object or experience is used in reference to the entire thing.

Example 1: In Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, the characters reference the golden round. This literally
means a crown, but it also represents the position of king. It is important to the work as a whole
because Macbeth’s goal is to obtain the actual crown, signifying that he is king.
Example 2: In the epic “Beowulf”, iron refers to swords. It literally means pieces of iron, but signifies
the swords that people had. It is significant to the work as a whole because metonymy is used
throughout the poem to reference things without saying their literal meaning. It gives the epic an
archaic feel.

Personification – Attribution of human characteristics to an inanimate object.

Example 1: In “The Train” by Emily Dickinson, the train is given humanlike characteristics. It is
significant to the poem as a whole because the author is awestruck by the train. It was a fairly new
thing at the time the poem was written and was the fastest way to travel. The awe that the author
feels is something that the reader feels through the description of the way the train moves.

Example 2: In “Two Sunflowers Move In The Yellow Room” the sunflowers talk to each other and
move like humans. Their humanlike characteristics are important to the poem as a whole because it
shows how plants have the tendency to move towards light. While they cannot do this humanly,
they do like to be in the sunlight. The author is in awe of this movement that happens to inanimate
objects.

Hyperbole – An exaggeration.

Example 1: In “Homework! Oh, Homework” by Jack Prelutsky, the author says that he would rather
wrestle a lion, take a bath with a shark, or eat spinach and liver than do homework. This is obviously
an exaggeration because a little boy would actually not do any of these things. It is important to the
work as a whole because it shows the strong feelings the speaker has towards homework. If
someone would pet porcupines over doing homework, they strongly dislike it.

Example 2: In “The Concord Hymn” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “the shot heard around the world”
was not literally heard throughout the world, it is an exaggeration. That is important to the work as
a whole because it shows the significance of the shot. The story of the shot may reach around the
world because of its importance, but the sound of the gunshot would not.

Understatement – Saying less than what is meant or what is needed in the situation.

Example 1: In “The Century’s Decline” by Symobroska, the line “A couple of problems weren’t going
to come up anymore: hunger for example, and war, and so forth.” This is understatement because
there are a lot more problems in the world then just those. It is important to the work as a whole
because it establishes an almost emotionless tone. The speaker seems so casual about the
problems of the world and how they won’t happen again.

Example 2: In the song “Sorry” by Buckcherry, the phrase “I’m sorry” is repeated over and over
again. It’s obvious that the singer has done something wrong, and the verses talk about all the
things that he has done wrong. I’m sorry is an understatement because what the singer feels is
much more than just two words. It is important to the meaning of the poem because there is
nothing the singer can do other than apologize for his actions. He regrets them, but cannot say
anything more than say he is sorry.