Name: ________________________________ Date: ______________________

ENG 3U0 - GLOSSARY OF

LITERARY TERMS
Note: ** You will need this glossary for the duration of the year:

Allegory – The characters or events in a story present a hidden

meaning. For example, in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, Santiago
goes on a literal journey, however, the journey is not just physical, it
is a journey of self-discovery

Alliteration – The repetition of consonant sounds. For example,

“please place the pickled peppers on the plate.”

Allusion – A reference made to religion, literature, history or film,

etc. E.g. A novel might reference a historical battle.

Anthropomorphism – attributing human characteristics to animals,

objects, or gods.

Archetype – A universal idea, concept or character shared by people

everywhere. For example, the hero, the teacher, the child, the
trickster, the villain, the scapegoat, the monster, the great mother,
the warrior and the magician are character archetypes.

Black Humour – Finding humour in serious and tragic topics. In

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, three orphans try to
escape their murderous uncle, with some surprisingly humorous
results.

Connotation – The emotional coloring of a word. For example, blue is

a colour, but one can also feel blue, so the connotation is that one is
feeling sad.

Denotation – The exact dictionary definition of a word. E.g. Home: a

place where one lives.

Dialect – The language of a particular group or class of people. For

example, there are many Japanese, Chinese and Tamil dialects.

Dialogue – a conversation between at least two people.

“Luke, I am your father.”
“NO!”

Diction - The word choice chosen by a writer to convey a particular

meaning or a specific emotional response from the audience. For
example, a poet chooses rich words that sound musical. The writer of
Name: ________________________________ Date: ______________________
an assembly manual, however, chooses technical straightforward
language when writing about how to build a table.

Dramatic Monologue – A poetic convention in which a character in a

poem is heard to be talking to a silent listener.

Dystopia – a miserable society in which we do not want to live.

Writers present dystopias to warn society about its present pitfalls.
Modern disaster films like San Andreas are dystopic, but also science
fiction films, especially a film like The Hunger Games.

Epiphany – A moment of sudden realization. Some of you may

experience these the night before a big test you have not yet studied
for.

Euphemism – A nice way to say something not so nice. For example,

if someone is being dishonest, instead of calling that person a liar, we
might say that they are being economical with the truth. A pre-owned
vehicle sounds better than a used car and a landfill site less repulsive
than a garbage dump.

Figurative Language: Figurative language adds richness and beauty

to writing.

a) Metaphor – a comparison between two different things not

using like or as –
e.g. he is a raging bull, I ploughed through the book, the
wolfish dog.
b) Personification – Giving human qualities to natural forces or
concepts – e.g. the
fire danced, the wind sang a sad song, the clouds made
pirouettes in the sky.
c) Simile – a comparison between two different things using
like or as – e.g. “O my
love’s like a red, red rose that’s newly sprung in June” (Robert
Burns). The tree was like a skyscraper.

Flashback – A pause in a story to describe events from the past. In

Life of Pi, Pi’s story is a flashback of his life.

Foil – A contrast in character, action or setting. For example, on

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Will and Carlton are foils.

Foreshadowing – Suggesting before it happens something that will

occur later in a work of literature. These are the hints that the writer
provides early on that many astute readers pick up.
Name: ________________________________ Date: ______________________

Formal Language – Language that is sophisticated and professional.

Please write your critiques and essays using this level of language.

Genre – A type of literature (Examples: Autobiography, Romance

Novel and Tragic Play).

Gothic – The atmosphere of a horror story with ghosts, mystery and

terrible events. For example, gothic elements (metonymy – e.g. an old
abandoned house stands for fear) includes: gusts of wind, doors
slamming shut, and rain.

Hyperbole – An obvious exaggeration. When we are thirsty we

could say, “I could drink an entire lake!”. 

Illusion – A false perception. Sometimes a character will believe they

see something, but it is a trick of their mind, a hallucination. They can
also lie to themselves and be deluded, therefore living an illusion.

Imagery – All the images in a work used to create pictures in the

reader’s mind. Imagery can best be created using figurative language.
For example, the fire waltzed before her eyes, a tall burning suitor
filled with passion.

Informal Language – Language one might use during conversations

with friends, but not in school writing or during presentations.

a) Slang – “Frenemy”

b) Colloquialism – common expressions. “It was raining cats

and dogs last night” “Bread basket” (stomach) “Darn tootin” (for
sure) “Fixin” (we’re fixing to leave soon) “Egg on” (push
someone to do something).

Interior Monologue – A character’s inner thoughts and feelings

revealed to us. In The Wonder Years and in Everybody Hates Chris,
the audience can hear the internal thoughts of the two young male
characters.

Irony: When something appears one way, but the reverse is actually
true.

a) Cosmic Irony/Irony of Fate – The contrast between human

determination and fate. The characters seek out a promising
end, as though they had free will, but Destiny steers them
away from their hope towards a dreadful close. E.g. You plan,
save and prepare for two years to go on an incredible
holiday. When you go, it rains the entire week you are there.
Name: ________________________________ Date: ______________________
b) Dramatic Irony – When the audience knows something the
characters do not, which can be extremely painful or
humorous for the
viewer. In Beauty and the Beast, the audience knows Beast
is really a prince, but Belle is completely unaware of this.

c) Situational Irony – When the opposite of what is expected

happens. For example, a high diving instructor is afraid of
both water and heights.

d) Verbal Irony – When someone says the opposite of what

they mean. For
example, when we wish our enemies well, or congratulate
our rivals.

Juxtaposition: two contradicting ideas, often placed side-by-side for

effect (comparison and contrast – e.g. War and Peace).

Literal – When one explains something using only the facts, without
thematic or figurative interpretations. For example, providing an
exact plot summary, with only key events would be considered literal.

Mood (Atmosphere) – The reader’s general feeling when reading a

work of literature. For example, when reading horror literature, the
general feeling might be fearful or anxious. When reading comic
books on the other hand, the mood should be cheerful.

Motif – An image or theme repeated in a work of literature. In art a

repeated pattern is a motif. The doughnut is a motif in The Simpsons.

Oxymoron – An expression that combines contradictory or opposite

ideas. For example, Night of the Living Dead – “living dead” is an
oxymoron.

Paradox – An apparently contradictory statement that has an element

of truth to it.
(Gauguin– a post-impressionist artist): "I shut my eyes in order to
see."

Parody – A work that imitates another work in order to poke fun at it.
For example, Scary Movie 3, parodies both Signs and The Ring. Weird
Al Yankovic is notorious for making parodies of famous songs. Pharrell
William’s song, “Happy” was parodied in Weird Al’s version, “Tacky.”

Pathetic Fallacy – When the events in nature echo the events in

human society, or when human emotions are reflected in the natural
world. For instance, when mourners at a funeral are crying and the
rain, like tears, pours down upon them. In the Hobbit, the sun comes
out when the battle is over.
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Poetic Justice – When the good are rewarded and the evil are
punished. In Batman, The Joker eventually meets his fate at the hands
of the masked hero. Thanos get defeated by The Avengers.

Pun – Words that are identical in sound but have different meanings,
which are used by writers for humorous effect. (E.g. Grammarians
have a lot of comma sense.)

Satire – A work that uses humour to expose the weaknesses of people

or social institutions.
Mean Girls is a satire that shows the unpleasant side of high school
culture.

Soliloquy – When a character in a play speaks alone on stage. The

audience is able to know his/her innermost feelings. It is very similar
to a monologue.

Stanza – Paragraphs in poetry.

Symbol – An object or image that stands for something else. There

are a lot of symbols in literature. (The linked rings are symbolic of The
Olympic Games, a ♥ is a symbol of love and a dove is a symbol of
peace).

Theme – The broad idea or message in a work of literature. (E.g.

Obsession, Love, Fear, Injustice, Family and Friendship are possible
themes).

Tone – The writer’s attitude towards his/her subject, audience,

him/herself etc. Is the author for instance serious, playful, apologetic,
militant, happy, angry or commanding?

Utopia – A perfect place, a paradise. It is derived from the Greek and

refers to a place that does not exist. An example would be a world
without war, climate change, poverty, etc.

Work Cited:

Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Fort Worth: Harcourt

Brace Jovanovich College, 1993. Print.