Literary Analysis Terms

Cards (62)

  • 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    Use of outdated or old-fashioned language.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.