Literary terms

• Anacoluthon: beginning a sentence with a certain grammatical structure and ending it with another
• Anadiplosis: repeating the last word(s) in a clause at the beginning of the following one
• Analepsis: an incursion into the past prolepsis
• Anaphora: the repetition of the same word or expression at the beginning of several lines
• Antithesis: contrasting words, clauses, or ideas balanced against each other in parallel structures
• Aphorism: a principle or pretext expressed in a terse and pointed way
• Apostrophe: a direct address to an absent person or object
• Chiasmus: type of balance created by mirror inversion
• Dead metaphor: a metaphor that has lost its strength through repeated use and becomes a cliché
• Deus ex machina: an improbable device
• Epistrophe: the repetition of a word or expression at the end of several lines or clauses
• Euphemism: a figure of speech using a weak or pleasant expression instead of a more direct or unpleasant one
• Extended metaphor: a metaphor underlying and linking a series of images
• Gradatio: an enumeration following a particular order
• Hypallage: an epithet associated with a noun different from the expected one
• Hyperbole: exaggeration and overstatement for rhetorical effect
• Hypotaxis: the use of subordinate clauses ≠ parataxis
• Litotes: a form of understatement consisting of the denial of the contrary
• Metonymy: using a term closely associated with a word instead of the word itself
• Oxymoron: the juxtaposition of two contradictory terms
• Paradox: a statement appearing contradictory but containing an element of truth
• Pathetic fallacy: the attribution of animate or human characteristics to an inanimate object
• Prosopopla: personification
• Portmanteau words: two words telescoped together (e.g., Oxbridge, workaholic)
• Polysemy: multiple meanings
• Periphrasis: circling around an idea with multiple words rather than directly evoking it
• Reverse metaphor: compares something to what it is not
• Synecdoche: a part standing for the whole or the whole standing for a part
• Synesthesia: describing a sensation in terms of another sensation
• Tautology: needless repetition
• Understatement: the representation of something as less than it is
• Zeugma: two nouns governed by the same verb with a difference in meaning and with one of the two links grammatically incorrect
• Irony: using words that express the opposite of what is meant
• Situational irony: a discrepancy between appearances and reality
• Dramatic irony: when the audience knows more than some characters
• Tragic irony: characters using words without knowing how ominous they are
• Parody: the imitation of a given work or author's style for humorous or satirical purposes
• Wit: use of the playful possibilities of language. the aim is to enlighten and appeal mainly to intellectuals. It involves words or ideas and its chief method is the effect of surprise
• Humor: a generous and amused look at the absurdities of life. No judgment is passed—enjoyment of the entertaining side of life.
• Comedy of manners: social satire; ridicules human follies and vices by exposing them in an unflattering light