Literary Analysis Terms

• Alliteration


  Repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of neighboring words. Example: "She sells seashells by the seashore."
• Alliterative verse


  Poetry characterized by repeated consonant sounds at the beginning of words. Example: Old English poems like "Beowulf."
• Allusion


  Reference to a well-known person, event, or literary work. Example: "He had the strength of Hercules."
• Anacrusis


  One or more unstressed syllables at the beginning of a line of verse. Example: "In the forest, the trees stand tall."
• Archaism


  Use of outdated or old-fashioned language. Example: "Thou art" instead of "You are."
• Ascending meter


  Ascending meter increases in stress from one syllable to the next. Example: Ascending - "Do not go gentle into that good night.
• Descending meter


  Decreases in stress from one syllable to the next. Descending - "Once upon a midnight dreary."
• Assonance


  Repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words. Example: "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain."
• Ballad stanza


  A quatrain with alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. Example: "Oh, the wind whispers through the trees,
• Basic stanzas


  Different types of stanzas with a specific number of lines. Couplets (2 lines), tercets (3 lines), quatrains (4 lines), sestets (6 lines), and octaves (8 lines).
• Blank verse


  Poetry with unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter. Example: Shakespeare's plays.
• Cacophony


  Harsh, discordant sounds in poetry. Example: "I detest war because cause of war is always trivial."
• Caesura


  A pause or break in a line of poetry, often marked by punctuation. Example: "To be, or not to be, that is the question."
• Catalexis


  Omission of one or more syllables from the end of a line in poetry. Example: "When I have fears that I may cease to be" (instead of "When I have fears that I may cease to be alive").
• Conceit


  An extended metaphor comparing two unlikely things. Example: "Love is a battlefield."
• Consonance


  Repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of nearby words. Example: "The boat floats on the moonlit moat."
• Diction


  The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing. Example: The poet's diction was simple yet powerful, using words like "gleaming" and "gentle."
• Dramatic Monologue


  A poem in which a single character speaks to a silent listener, revealing their thoughts and feelings. Example: In the forest, the ancient oak whispered its secrets to the passing breeze.
• Elegy


  A poem mourning the loss of someone or something. Example: The sunset cast a solemn hue over the landscape, as if nature itself were mourning the passing of the day.
• End rhyme, internal rhyme


  End rhyme occurs at the end of lines, while internal rhyme occurs within lines. Example of end rhyme: The cat sat on the mat, wearing a hat. Example of internal rhyme: I wandered lonely as a cloud.
• End-stopped lines


  Lines of poetry that end with punctuation, creating a pause. Example: The river flowed gently, its waters clear and calm.
• Enjambment


  The continuation of a sentence or clause from one line of poetry to the next without a pause. Example: The sun set behind the mountains, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold.
• Epigram


  A short, witty poem or saying expressing a single thought or observation. Example: "I can resist everything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde
• Euphony


  The quality of being pleasing to the ear, achieved through the use of harmonious sounds. Example: The gentle rustle of leaves in the breeze created a sense of euphony in the forest.
• Free verse


  Poetry that does not follow a regular meter or rhyme scheme. Example: The poet's words flowed freely, unrestricted by the constraints of form or structure.
• Heroic couplet


  A pair of rhymed lines in iambic pentameter. Example: The knight rode forth into the fray, With sword in hand and heart so brave.
• Image


  A word or phrase that appeals to the senses, creating a mental picture. Example: The scent of roses filled the air, mingling with the sound of distant laughter.
• Imagery


  The use of vivid language to create mental images or sensory experiences. Example: The waves crashed against the shore, their foam sparkling in the sunlight.
• Line length


  The number of metrical feet or syllables in a line of poetry, such as monometer, dimeter, trimeter, tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter, etc.
• Masculine and feminine ending or rhyme

  Masculine rhyme occurs when the rhyme falls on a single stressed syllable, while feminine rhyme occurs when the rhyme falls on the last two or more syllables, with the stress on the penultimate syllable. Example of masculine rhyme: "light" and "night." Example of feminine rhyme: "ending" and "bending."
• Iamb (iambic)


  A metrical foot consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable. Example: "To-DAY."
• Trochee (trochaic)

  A metrical foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable. Example: "WIN-ter."
• Anapest (anapestic)


  A metrical foot consisting of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable. Example: "un-der-STAND."
• Dactyl (dactylic)

  A metrical foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. Example: "MER-ri-ly."
• Pyrrhic


  A metrical foot consisting of two unstressed syllables. Example: "to the."
• Spondee (spondaic)


  A metrical foot consisting of two stressed syllables. Example: "HEART-BEAT."
• Common meter


  A hymn meter consisting of alternating lines of iambic tetrameter (four metrical feet per line) and iambic trimeter (three metrical feet per line), usually in a rhyming pattern of ABAB or ABCB.
• Short meter


  A hymn meter similar to common meter but with the second and fourth lines in iambic trimeter, creating a rhyming pattern of ABAB.
• Long meter


  A hymn meter in which all lines are in iambic tetrameter, typically with a rhyming pattern of ABAB.
• Ode


  A lyrical poem typically expressing praise or celebration of a person, event, or object. Example: "Ode to Joy" by Friedrich Schiller.