Common mistakes in the use of verbs

In this article we will take a closer look at some common mistakes in the use of verbs.

Incorrect: I have visited him yesterday.

Correct: I visited him yesterday.

Incorrect: They have finished the work a week ago.

Correct: They finished the work a week ago.

The present perfect tense cannot be used with adverbs that refer to a definite point of time in the past. If you want to say when something happened in the past, you have to use the simple past tense.

Incorrect: We had gone to the movies last night.

Correct: We went to the movies last night.

Incorrect: I had seen him yesterday.

Correct: I saw him yesterday.

The past perfect tense is not used to say that something happened some time ago. That idea is expressed using the simple past tense.
The past perfect tense is only used to suggest that an action had completed before another action commenced.
For example, you can say: We had eaten our dinner before we went to the movies last night.

Incorrect: I had spoken to the boys about my holiday.

Correct: I have spoken to the boys about my holiday.

We use the present perfect tense to talk about actions and situations that happened at an unspecified point of time in the past.
Note that we use the past simple tense if we mention a specific point of time in the past.

Incorrect: He hanged the pictures on the wall.

Correct: He hung the pictures on the wall.

Incorrect: The terrorist was hung.

Correct: The terrorist was hanged.

Use hanged to talk about execution by hanging.

http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/phonemic-chart-ia.htm


In phonetics, a vowel in which there is a noticeable sound change within the same syllable. (In contrast, a single or simple vowel is known as a monophthong.) Adjective: diphthongal.
The process of moving from one vowel sound to another is called gliding, and thus another name for diphthong is gliding vowel.















Definition:
In phonetics, a vowel in which there is a noticeable sound change within the same syllable. (In contrast, a single or simple vowel is known as a monophthong.) Adjective: diphthongal.
The process of moving from one vowel sound to another is called gliding, and thus another name for diphthong is gliding vowel.

Irregular Adjectives (comparative, superlative)

The regular way to make comparative/superlative adjectives is to add -er/-est or to use more/most. A small number of adjectives, however, are irregular and some of these can be regular or irregular. The most important ones are listed here:

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative		Example
good	better	the best	irregular	Tara is the best athlete in the school.
well (healthy)	better	the best	irregular	He is still in hospital, but he is better than he was last week.
bad	worse	the worst	irregular	You are the worst driver I have ever known.
far	further	the furthest	irregular	My house is the furthest one.
far	farther	the farthest	regular	My house is the farther one.
old (people in a family)	elder	the eldest	irregular	Ram is my elder brother.
old (general use)	older	the oldest	regular	Your teacher is older than my teacher.

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25 Most Important Literary Devices

Common structures that are used in writing are called literary devices that may be literary techniques or literary elements. The latter are mostly found in practically every story that may be related to a play or a novel. It is used to interpret and analyze for example team, plot, setting, and protagonist. On the other hand the former is used to construct the text with the use of language that can express the artistic meaning. Mostly figures of speech are used for this purpose. You can define these literary devices as an element or a technique. It entirely depends upon how you interpret the same. The most common literary devices and elements that are used in literature are given below.
A figure of speech is a departure from the ordinary form of expression or the original course of ideas in order to produce a greater effect. Figure of speeches may be classified as those that are based on resemblance such as:
Simile- A comparison is made between 2 objects of different kinds which have however at least one point in common, for e.g.
1. Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale
2. Thy soul was like a star, and dwelt apart

Metaphor-It is an implied Simile. It does not use like or as but take for granted that one thing is like another or as if the two things were one, for e.g.
1. He fought like a Lion can be written as he was a lion in the fight
2. The camel is the ship of the desert

Personification- In animates objects abstract notions are spoken off as having life and intelligence, for e.g.
1. Laughter holding both her sides
2. Death lays his icy and on Kings
Apostrophe- this is the direct address to the dead, to the absent or to a personified object or idea, for e.g.
1. O death! Where is thy sting? O Grave! Where is thy Victoria?
2. O Judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts
Those based on contrast are:
Antithesis
In this a striking opposition or contrast of words or sentiments is made in the same sentence. It is employed to secure emphasis, for e.g.
1. Man proposes God disposes
2. Speech is silver but silence is golden

Hyperbole
This is used to make emphases by over stating, for e.g.
1. O Hamlet! Thou hast cleft my heart in twain
2. I loved Ophelia; forty thousand brothers could not with all their quality of love makeup the sum
Euphemism
Consist in description of a disagreeable thing by an agreeable name, for e.g.
1. He has fallen asleep ( he is dead)
2. You are telling me a fairy tale (A lie)
Oxymoron
This is a special form of Antithesis, whereby two contradictory qualities are predicted at once of the same thing, for e.g.
1. His honor rooted in dishonor stood. And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true.
2. So innocent arch, so cunningly simple

Epigram
This is a brief pointed saying frequently introducing antithetical ideas which exit surprise and arrest attention, for e.g.
1. The child is the father of the man
2. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread

Those based on association are:
Metonymy
This is a change of name; an object is designated by the name of something which is generally associated with it, for e.g.
1. The Bench, for the judges
2. The house for the members of Loksabha
Synecdoche
In this a part is used to designate the whole or the whole to designate a part, for e.g.
1. Give us this day our daily bread
2. England won the first test match against Australia
Irony
It is a mode of speech in which the real meaning is exactly the opposite of that which is literally conveyed, for e.g.
1. But Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man.
2. It is an Irony of Faith that a man so good in day time can turn to a demon at night (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)
Pun
This consists in the use of a word in such a way that it is capable of more than one application, the object being to produce a ludicrous effect, for e.g.
1. Is life worth living? – It depends upon the liver
2. An ambassador is an honest man who lies abroad for the good of his country
Transferred-Epithet
An Epithet is transferred from its proper world to another that is closely associated with it in the sentence, for e.g.
1. He passed a sleepless night.
2. The ploughman homeward plods his weary way
Interrogation
This is also known as Rhetorical Question, as the question is asked nearly to ask a question, for e.g.
1. Am I my brother’s keeper?
2. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?
Exclamation
This figure of speech is used to draw attention to a point than a mere bald statement of it could do for e.g.
1. What a piece of work is man!
2. How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon the bank!
Those depending on construction are:
Climax
This is the arrangement of a series of ideas in the order of increasing importance, for e.g.
1. Simple, erect, severe, austere, sub line
2. What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! How in finite in faculties! In action, how like an angel! In apprehension, how like a God!
Anticlimax
This is opposite of climax, a sudden descent from higher to lower, it is chiefly used for the purpose of satire or ridicule, for e.g.
1. Here thou great Anna! Whom three realms obey, dost sometimes counsel take-and sometimes Tea.
2. And thou Dalhousie the great God of War, Lieutenant-Colonel to the earl of mar.
Repetition
This is done by repeating specific structure, word or phrase several times in close proximity to make emphasis on a particular idea, for e.g.
1. He could not meet him face to face.
2. The gentleman is the father of his father
Alliteration
In this consonant, sounds are repeated consecutively in the same sentence for e.g.
1. Dew drops fall at dun
2. She sells sea shells on the sea shore
Comedy
There are various types of comedies in literature. The old comedies are mostly centered on extravagant fantasy, personal commentary, pungent political commentary and uninhabited obscenity. The new comedy deals with stock characters, stereo typed situations and portrays daily life centered on family. They may center on stodgy parents, young lovers, clever servants and more. You can further characterize comedy as a romantic comedy in which there is a beautiful heroine and hero. The story may start with a flash back or can even end in a comical situation after having gone through comical complications. Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’ is one such example. You can consider a satiric comedy that is usually involved in ridiculing policies of political personalities, social orders, or philosophical doctrines. An example of the same is Ben Johnson’s Volpone and the Alchemist. The comedy of humor is normally based on physiological theories that the writer portray with different characters given each one a particular role to play. The other type of comedy is the comedy of manners. It is usually found in plays and stories where men and women living in upper class sophisticated society enact. It creates a comic effect on the wit of the dialogue.
Epic
When a serious subject is narrated in a long verse it is called an epic. It can be a story centered on a heroic figure. One such example is Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad. These are oral epics. There is an example of a secondary epic which is Milton’s Paradise Lost which is also known as a literary epic. In an epic the central focus is on the hero and there is no epic without action. You may at times find some super natural agent created in an epic. An epic poem is deliberately distinct from an ordinary speech. In epics you will find stereo typed epithets. The diction is elevated in an epic and is a very long verse that may run into a number of books.
Existentialism
This term is philosophy centered. It is applied to a group of attitudes present in artistic, religious and philosophical thought prior and post World War II. According to this philosophical thinking meaning of things, can be created by acting upon them. It is totally based on human being thinking, how he behaves in different situations. Apart of this awareness is the sense they have of meaninglessness in the outer world. This produces loneliness, anxiety, discomfort where human limitations are concerned. There is a desire to invest experience, acting upon the world with a meaning. Though efforts to act in an absurd world leads to anguish despair and greater loneliness. Though each individual has the freedom but the responsibility of making what he feels fit of himself. His destiny is decided by his choices and actions. Example of this is The Stranger and No Exit by Satre.
Essay
The word Essay is defined as a literary composition on any subject. This composition gives expression to one’s own personal ideas or opinions on some topic. Essay’s can be classified as Narrative Essays such as narration of some event, a short story, a biography. The narrative it relates should be treated as a subject for thought and comment. The other type can be a Reflective essay. These types of essays are usually of an abstract nature for e.g. habits, qualities etc. It can be on social, domestic, political or any topic. The other type of essay is a Descriptive Essay. This consists of a description of a place or thing. It may be related to some season, plant, animal, minerals or any topic that can be described. The other type is Expository Essay. This type of an essay is an explanatory essay. It explains about a certain topic in detail such as scientific topics, literary topics, industry, history or even fiction. The other type is Imaginatory Essay. An essay on subject such as the feelings and experiences of the sailor wrecked on a desert island may be called Imaginatory essays. In such a case the writer is called to place himself in imagination in a position of which he has had no actual experience. Such subjects has ‘If I were a king,’ or ‘The Autobiography of a Horse’, would call for Imaginatory Essays. The classification is useful, so long as it is remembered that these classes are not mutually exclusive. Some essays may partake of the peculiarity of more than one class, for e.g. a narrative essay may contain a good deal of description. Mostly all essays should be of original ideas and the writer should express his own feelings and opinion about the subject.
Tragedy
Tragedy may be a domestic tragedy; you can take for example The London Merchant and Death of a Sales Man. These tragedies are centered on lower social families where members suffer or the story is centered on the domestic disaster. The other type of tragedy which is in a play at the end of which there is a catastrophe for e.g. Oedipus the King. Finally a dramatic tragedy what is also known as Tragic Irony. In such type of a tragedy which is normally enacted in a play, the character does something or says something which is ironically different from what the audience or the author is aware of. This is a literary device that the play write or the author uses to create a dramatic situation of irony. The play Oedipus is an example of this type of tragedy.
Literary terms and devices when used in various literary works such as plays, novels, poetry, essay etc bring out the true theme of the subject. The writer portrays his strength and control over literature in bringing out his thought, opinion and feeling to the reader.

lit 3

Literary Devices: Meanings and Examples

Literary Devices

The English language comprises many literary devices that add richness and life to phrases and expressions. In our daily lives we encounter literary devices in poems, stories, newspapers, plays, songs, movies and even in our very own conversations.
This article defines the most common literary devices, and gives examples of each.

ALLEGORY

An allegory is a device used to represent an idea, principle or meaning, which can be presented in literary form, such as a poem or novel; or in a visual form such as a painting or drawing.
As a literary device, an allegory is defined as an “extended metaphor”, or “symbolic representation”. Very often an allegoric story or play illustrates an idea or moral principle in which objects take on symbolic meaning.

Allegory example

ALLITERATION

Alliteration is the repetition of the first syllables of a series of words and/ or phrases. Modern alliteration is predominantly consonantal.
Alliteration can be broken down into two groups:

Assonance

Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds but not consonant sounds.

Assonance example

Consonance

Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds by not vowel sounds.

Consonance definition

ALLUSION

An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, representation of a place, historical event, literary work, myth, or work of art. Allusions can be direct references or implications.

Allusion example

In the first example above, the sentence alludes to Achilles, the warrior of Greek mythology, who could only be harmed if something hit his heel. (i.e. Achilles’ only weakness was his heel)

ANALOGY

An analogy is a comparison that is made between two things that are in some way/ ways similar. An analogy is often used to help explain something or make it easier to understand

Analogy example

CLIMAX

The turning point of the action in a story, play or plot is referred to as the climax.
The climax represents the point at which the story gets exciting and more alive. In some stories there may be several points that can be arguably called the climatic points.

Climax example

HYPERBOLE

A hyperbole is a figure of speech in which an overstatement or exaggeration occurs.
Often used in poetry or in casual speech, hyperboles are usually used to create emphasis or effect.

Hyperbole example

IRONY

Irony is incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs.

Verbal Irony

Ironic statements (verbal irony) typically imply a meaning that is opposite to the literal meaning.
Sarcasm is a form of verbal irony.

Verbal irony example

Situational Irony

A situation is ironic if actions taken have an effect exactly opposite from what was intended or expected.

Situational irony example

METAPHOR

A metaphor is a comparison in which one thing is said to be another. The words “like” and “as” are not used in metaphors.

Metaphor example

ONOMATOEPIA

Onomatopoeia is the formation of a word that imitates or suggests the sound that it represents.

Onomatoepia example

OXYMORON

An oxymoron is figure of speech that combines contradictory terms.

Oxymoron example

PERSONIFICATION

Personification is a figure of speech where something nonhuman is given the characteristics of a human.

Personification example

PUN (also called PARANOMASIA)

A pun is a play on words wherein one word is used to convey two meanings at the same time. Puns are often intended for a humorous or rhetorical effect.

Pun example

SIMILE

A simile is a figure of speech that compares two unlike quantities by employing the words “like”, “as”, or “than”.

Simile example

The following video illustrates excellent examples of literary devices that can be found in songs.

lit terms2

Literary Terms to Know…..

These are the most common terms/devices we will encounter. We may add more to the list as the year progresses, but you should be familiar with each of these.Except for the first five terms, which belong in a group, this list is alphabetized.

Exposition- The essential background information at the beginning of a literary work
Rising action- the development of conflict and complications in a literary work
Climax- the turning point in a literary work/ “point of no return”
Falling action- results or effects of the climax of a literary work
Denouement- the "unravelling"  or series of events that tie up loose ends and move the plot toward resolution
Resolution-end of a literary work when questions are answered and final fate of characters is determined (sometimes this is left intentionally vague or open)

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Alliteration – repetition of the initial consonant sounds of words: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”
Allusion – a reference to something well-known that exists outside the literary work – the reference is often indirect and relies on audience knowledge and understanding
Antagonist- character that is the source of conflict in a literary work
Aside – a dramatic device in which a character makes a short speech intended for the audience but not heard by the other characters on stage
Assonance – repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds: “Anna’s apples,” “the pond is long gone”
Characterization- The manner in which an author develops characters and their personalities. Direct characterization=author description/Indirect characterization= character’s appearance, speech, thoughts, actions and what other characters think of the character
      Character Types:  Flat:one-dimensional or one-sided
                                   Round:multidemensional
                                    Static: character remains unchanged emotionally or     psychologically throughout the story
                                    Dynamic: character undergoes emotional or psychological change
Conflict - struggle between two or more opposing forces (person vs. person; nature; society; self; fate/God. ETC…)
Dialogue - direct speech between characters in a literary work
Diction - word choice to create a specific effect
Figurative Language –language that represents one thing in terms of something dissimilar (non-literal language).  Includes simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and symbolism
Flashback- the method of returning to an earlier point in time for the purpose of making the present clearer
Foreshadowing- hint of what is to come in a literary work
Genre – type or category to which a literary work belongs
Hyperbole – extreme exaggeration to add meaning
Idiom - a combination of words that has a meaning that is different from the meanings of the individual words themselves. It can have a literal meaning in one situation and a different idiomatic meaning in another situation. It is a phrase which does not always follow the normal rules of meaning and grammar.
Imagery – language that appeals to the five senses
Irony
   Dramatic…  when the reader or audience knows something a character does not
   Situational…   when there is a disparity between what is expected and what actually occurs
   Verbal…   when the speaker says one thing but means the opposite
Metaphor – an implied comparison between dissimilar objects without the use of like or as:   “Her talent blossomed”
Motif- a recurring feature of a literary work that is related to the theme
Onomatopoeia – use of a word whose sound imitates its meaning: “hiss”
Oxymoron – phrase that consists of two words that are contradictory: “living dead” or “jumbo shrimp”
Paradox – a statement that seems contradictory but may reveal a truth….. ex. “She was alone in the crowd”.
Parody - A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule
Personification – figure of speech in which non-human things are given human characteristics
Plot- The sequence of events in a literary work
Point of view- the vantage point or perspective from which a literary work is told…
    1st person point of view- the narrator is a character in the story  (use of ‘I’)
    2nd person point of view- the speaker addresses the listener or reader directly, using "you"    3rd person point of view- the narrator is outside of the story (use of ‘he’ ‘she’ ‘they’)* may be limited or omniscient
Protagonist- the main character in a literary work
Rhyme – repetition of similar or identical sounds: “look and crook”
Rhyme Scheme – pattern of rhyme among lines of poetry [denoted using letters, as in ABAB CDCD EE]
Satire -A literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit.
Setting- The time and place of a literary work
Simile – a direct comparison of dissimilar objects, usually using like or as:       “I wandered lonely as a cloud”
Soliloquy - a dramatic device in which a character is alone and speaks his or her thoughts aloud
Speaker – voice in a poem; the person or thing that is speaking
Stanza – group of lines forming a unit in a poem
Stereotype- standardized, conventional ideas about characters, plots and settings
Suspense – technique that keeps the reader guessing what will happen next 
Symbol/symbolism – one thing (object, person, place) used to represent something else
Theme – the underlying main idea of a literary work.  Theme differs from the subject of a literary work in that it involves a statement or opinion about the subject.
Tone – the author’s attitude toward the subject of a work or toward the audience
 

Lit terms

1. allegory: story or poem in which the characters, setting, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities. Can be read for a literal meaning and on a second, symbolic meaning.

ANIMAL FARM is a tale of animals who take over a farm and an allegory of the Russian Revolution. MOBY DICK is an allegory for America in an imperialistic mode

2. alliteration: repetition of the same sound in a sequence of words, usually at the beginning of a word

• descending dew drops
• luscious lemons

3. allusion: a brief reference to a person,place, thing, event, or idea in history or literature

Wondering if a woman was beautiful enough to “launch a thousand ships” would be an allusion to Helen of Troy in the Odyssey. Also, “Old Scratch” in American literature refers to the Devil.

4. climax: The point in the plot that creates the greatest intensity, suspense, or interest. After this point, nothing can remain the same; greatest turning point in the story.

The climax in THE SCARLET LETTER is when Dimmesdale finally confesses his sins to the crowd

5. connotation: Associations and implications that go beyond the written word

“Eagle” connotes liberty and freedom that have little to do with the word’s literal meaning of describing a bird. In PUDD’NHEAD WILSON, David Wilson is called a “pudd’nhead to connote his foolishness..

6. denotation: dictionary definition of a word

“buying a ranch” denotes purchasing land on which to raise crops and livestock

7. flashback: scene that interrupts the normal chronological flow of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time

When Hester remembers her early life with her family and her honeymoon with Chillingworth, it is a flashback.

8. foreshadowing: use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in the story, often used to build suspense or tension in a story

Pudd’nhead’s repeated fingerprinting of Tom and Chambers foreshadows its later importance in the book.

9. gothic: use of primitive, medieval, or mysterious elements in literature. Gothic writing often features dark and gloomy places and horrifying, supernatural events

Edgar Allan Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher” is a gothic story featuring a large, dark, gothic mansion.

10. hero: a character whose actions are inspiring or noble. Tragic heroes are noble and inspiring but have a fault or make a mistake which leads to their downfall.

Some critics claim that Dimmesdale in TSL is a tragic hero who falls is society due to poor decisions.

11. hyperbole: boldy exaggerated statement that adds emphasis without intending to be literally true.

He ate everything in the house.

12. lyric poem: a melodic poem which describe an object or emotion.

“Heart, we will forget him” describes a woman trying to recover from heartbreak

13. metaphor: a lterary device in which a direct comparison is made between two things essentially unlike

“You are the sunshine of my life.” Here, “sunshine” is being compared to a person. “Death is a long sleep.” Here “death” is being compared to “sleeping.”

14. narrative poem: a narrative poem tells a story in verse.

“Upon the burning of my house” by Bradstreet tells the story of a family coping with a burned home

15. onomatopoeia: use of words that imitate sounds.

“buzz,” “hiss,” “rustle”

16. personification: a literary device in which human attributes are given to a non-human such as an animal, object, or concept

The wind cried through the night as it moved through the trees.

17. plot: sequence of events in a story, usually involves characters and a conflict

Think of the storyline of THE SCARLET LETTER or another book, and name 5 things that occurred in the story in order.

18. point of view: the perspective or vantage point from which a story or poem is told. Three common points of view include: first-person, omniscient, and third person limited.

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” was told from a third person limited point of view. The narrator of the story told what happened in Peyton Farquhar’s mind, but no one else’s thoughts.

19. setting: the time and place of the story or poem’s action, it helps to create the mood of the story

Poe’s use of dark, mysterious settings helped readers to feel the anxiety he wanted to create when people read his stories.

20. simile: a literary device in which a direct comparison is made between two things essentially unlike usiing the words “like” or “as.”

The dusty road twisted like a snake around the lake. Here, a road is being compared to a snake.

21. soliloquy: A long speech made by a character who is onstage alone and who reveals his/her private thoughts and feelings to the audience.

Romeo, as he is about to kill himself in ROMEO AND JULIET speaks to the audience.

22. stanza: a group of lines in a poem that are considered to be a unit. They function like paragraphs do in prose writing.

The whiskey on your breathCould make a small boy dizzy;But I hung on like death:Such waltzing was not easy

23. symbol: something that means more than what it is; an object, person, situation, or action that in addition to its literal meaning suggests other meanings as well.

The Liberty Bell is not only a bell but a symbol of freedom in the United States. Hester’s scarlet letter symbolized her sin of adultery.

24. theme: an insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work

One of the themes if PUDD’NHEAD WILSON is that everyone suffers in some way in a society that condones slavery.

25. thesis: the organizing thought of an entire essay or piece of writing and which contains a subject and an opinion

“Of the three scaffold scenes in TSL, the third one best encapsulates the theme that self-punishment is the harshest outcome of sin.”

26. tone: the writer’s attitude toward the story, poem, characters, or audience. A writer’s tone may be formal or informal, friendly or anxious, personal, or arrogant, for example

“Hooray! I’m going to get married today!” (ecstatic tone)

27. understatement/litote: literary device that says less than intended. Oppositive of hyperbole. Usually has an ironic effect, and sometimes may be used for comic purposes.

Steinbeck gives Lennie the last name of “Small.” Lennie is a huge, tall man. Lennie is physically oppositive of “small,” yet he is called by this name to draw attention to his real size, and perhaps to his small amount of intelligence.

Act: A major division in the action of a play. The ends of acts are typically indicated by lowering the curtain or turning up the houselights. Playwrights frequently employ acts to accommodate changes in time, setting, characters onstage, or mood
Allegory: A narration or description usually restricted to a single meaning because its events, actions, characters, settings, and objects represent specific abstractions or ideas. Although the elements in an allegory may be interesting in themselves, the emphasis tends to be on what they ultimately mean.
Alliteration: The repetition of the same consonant sounds in a sequence of words, usually at the beginning of a word or stressed syllable: "descending dew drops"; "luscious lemons." Alliteration is based on the sounds of letters, rather than the spelling of words; for example, "keen" and "car" alliterate, but "car" and "cite" do not. Used sparingly, alliteration can intensify ideas by emphasizing key words, but when used too self-consciously, it can be distracting, even ridiculous, rather than effective.
Allusion: A brief reference to a person, place, thing, event, or idea in history or literature. Allusions conjure up biblical authority, scenes from Shakespeare’s plays, historic figures, wars, great love stories, and anything else that might enrich an author’s work. Allusions imply reading and cultural experiences shared by the writer and reader, functioning as a kind of shorthand whereby the recalling of something outside the work supplies an emotional or intellectual context.
Antagonist: The character, force, or collection of forces in fiction or drama that opposes the protagonist and gives rise to the conflict of the story; an opponent of the protagonist.
Apostrophe: An address, either to someone who is absent and therefore cannot hear the speaker or to something nonhuman that cannot comprehend. Apostrophe often provides a speaker the opportunity to think aloud.
Archetype: A term used to describe universal symbols that evoke deep and sometimes unconscious responses in a reader. In literature, characters, images, and themes that symbolically embody universal meanings and basic human experiences, regardless of when or where they live, are considered archetypes. Common literary archetypes include stories of quests, initiations, scapegoats, descents to the underworld, and ascents to heaven.
Catharsis: Meaning "purgation," catharsis describes the release of the emotions of pity and fear by the audience at the end of a tragedy. In his Poetics, Aristotle discusses the importance of catharsis. The audience faces the misfortunes of the protagonist, which elicit pity and compassion. Simultaneously, the audience also confronts the failure of the protagonist, thus receiving a frightening reminder of human limitations and frailties. Ultimately, however, both these negative emotions are purged, because the tragic protagonist’s suffering is an affirmation of human values rather than a despairing denial of them.
Conflict: The struggle within the plot between opposing forces. The protagonist engages in the conflict with the antagonist, which may take the form of a character, society, nature, or an aspect of the protagonist’s personality.
Couplet: Two consecutive lines of poetry that usually rhyme and have the same meter. A heroic couplet is a couplet written in rhymed iambic pentameter.
Enjambment: In poetry, when one line ends without a pause and continues into the next line for its meaning. This is also called a run-on line.
Epigram: A brief, pointed, and witty poem that usually makes a satiric or humorous point. Epigrams are most often written in couplets, but take no prescribed form
Flashback: A narrated scene that marks a break in the narrative in order to inform the reader or audience member about events that took place before the opening scene of a work.
Foreshadowing: The introduction early in a story of verbal and dramatic hints that suggest what is to come later
Lyric: A type of brief poem that expresses the personal emotions and thoughts of a single speaker or describes something. It is important to realize, however, that although the lyric is uttered in the first person, the speaker is not necessarily the poet. There are many varieties of lyric poetry, including the dramatic monologue, elegy, haiku, ode, and sonnet forms
Metaphor: A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, without using the word like or as. Metaphors assert the identity of dissimilar things, as when Macbeth asserts that life is a "brief candle."
Narrative poem: A poem that tells a story. A narrative poem may be short or long, and the story it relates may be simple or complex.
Oxymoron: A condensed form of paradox in which two contradictory words are used together, as in "sweet sorrow" or "original copy."
Paraphrase: A prose restatement of the central ideas of a poem, in your own language.
Protagonist: The main character of a narrative; its central character who engages the reader’s interest and empathy
Pun: A play on words that relies on a word’s having more than one meaning or sounding like another word. Shakespeare and other writers use puns extensively, for serious and comic purposes; in Romeo and Juliet (III.i.101), the dying Mercutio puns, "Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man."
Quatrain: A four-line stanza. Quatrains are the most common stanzaic form in the English language; they can have various meters and rhyme schemes.
Script: The written text of a play, which includes the dialogue between characters, stage directions, and often other expository information.
Simile: A common figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two things by using words such as like, as, than, appears, and seems: "A sip of Mrs. Cook’s coffee is like a punch in the stomach." The effectiveness of this simile is created by the differences between the two things compared.
Sonnet: A fixed form of lyric poetry that consists of fourteen lines, usually written in iambic pentameter. There are two basic types of sonnets, the Italian and the English.

The Italian sonnet, also known as the Petrarchan sonnet, is divided into an octave, which typically rhymes abbaabba, and a sestet, which may have varying rhyme schemes. Common rhyme patterns in the sestet are cdecde, cdcdcd, and cdccdc. Very often the octave presents a situation, attitude, or problem that the sestet comments upon or resolves, as in John Keats’s "On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer."
The English sonnet, also known as the Shakespearean sonnet, is organized into three quatrains and a couplet, which typically rhyme abab cdcd efef gg. This rhyme scheme is more suited to English poetry because English has fewer rhyming words than Italian. English sonnets, because of their four-part organization, also have more flexibility with respect to where thematic breaks can occur. Frequently, however, the most pronounced break or turn comes with the concluding couplet, as in Shakespeare’s "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?"

Tercet: A three-line stanza.
Tragedy: A story that presents courageous individuals who confront powerful forces within or outside themselves with a dignity that reveals the breadth and depth of the human spirit in the face of failure, defeat, and even death. Tragedies recount an individual’s downfall; they usually begin high and end low.
Malapropism: a ludicrous misuse of words that sound alike
Neologism: a new word, usage, or expression
Verbal irony: Verbal irony is a figure of speech that occurs when a person says one thing but means the opposite. Sarcasm is a strong form of verbal irony that is calculated to hurt someone through, for example, false praise.
Dramatic irony: Dramatic irony creates a discrepancy between what a character believes or says and what the reader or audience member knows to be true. Tragic irony is a form of dramatic irony found in tragedies such as Oedipus the King, in which Oedipus searches for the person responsible for the plague that ravishes his city and ironically ends up hunting himself.
Situational irony: exists when there is an incongruity between what is expected to happen and what actually happens due to forces beyond human comprehension or control. The suicide of the seemingly successful main character in Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem "Richard Cory" is an example of situational irony.
Synecdoche: is a kind of metaphor in which a part of something is used to signify the whole, as when a gossip is called a "wagging tongue," or when ten ships are called "ten sails."
Metonymy: is a type of metaphor in which something closely associated with a subject is substituted for it. In this way, we speak of the "silver screen" to mean motion pictures, "the crown" to stand for the king, "the White House" to stand for the activities of the president.
Subplot: The secondary action of a story, complete and interesting in its own right, that reinforces or contrasts with the main plot. There may be more than one subplot, and sometimes as many as three, four, or even more, running through a piece of fiction. Subplots are generally either analogous to the main plot, thereby enhancing our understanding of it, or extraneous to the main plot, to provide relief from it.