Literary Terms

A Canto -  A division of an epic.

Allegory -  Prose or verse in which the objects, events or people are presented symbolically. 

A Fantasy -   An imaginary story.

A lexicographer -  A person who writes dictionary. 

A Machiavellian Character -  A selfish person. 

An autobiography -  A person who writes about  his life.

Ballad-  A kind of short narrative poem.

Blank Verse -  A kind of verse having no  rhyming  ends.

Catastrophe -  The tragic event of dramatic  events. 

Dirge -  A song expressing grief, lamentation,  and mourning 

Elegy -  Song of lamentation. 

Epic -  A long poem.

Melodrama -  Violent and Sensational theme.

Monologue -  A speech in a play in which a character,  who is alone on the stage, Speaks his thought aloud.

Limerick-   A kind of short narrative poem. 

Linguistics -   The scientific study of language. 

Playwright -   Someone who writes play. 

Protagonist -  The leading character of actor in a  play.

Sonnet -    A poem of fourteen lines. Sonnet is originated in Italy. It is divided into two parts ; First eight lines is called Octave & Last six lines is called Sestet. Generally The first eight lines is consist of theme/ problem and the last six lines is consist of Solution. 

There are three kinds of sonnets -

1 Italian or Petrarchan sonnet. 

2. Shakespearean or English sonnet.

3. Spenserian sonnet.

Shakespeare has written 154 sonnets. All his sonnets consists of three objects -

1. The Young Friend (The Earl of Southampton. 

2. The Dark Lady

3. The Rival poet ( Marlowe and Chapman) 

His sonnets named after Sonnet- 1 to Sonnet - 154

 Example : sonnet - 18

 "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? 

 Thou art more lovely and more temperate."

The poet Laureates -   The Court poet of England. 

Alliteration -  The repetition of the initial letter or sound in two or more closely associated words or stressed syllables. 

 Example : Birds of the same feather flock together. 

Here, feather flock the two words begins with F (Repeat) 

1. Alone, alone, all, alone ; Alone on a wide sea

2. Full fathom five they father lies.

3. The faint fresh flame of they young year flushes.

Comedy-  In general,  a literary work that is amusing and ends happily. 

Drama-  A story acted out, Usually on a stage by actors and actress who take the parts of specific characters. 

Epithet-  A descriptive adjectives or phrase used to characterize someone or something. 

Essay -  A piece of prose writing,  usually short that deals with a subject in a limited way and expresses a particular point of view. 

Metaphor -  A comparison between two unlike things with the intent of giving added meaning to one of them.

There is no as, such like ; Example - 

1. The soul was a star.

2. He is the only hope of his family. 

3. Revenge is a kind of wild Justice. 

Note: If a comparison between same things / subjects, it will not be a Metaphor.  Example : Nazrul is Shelly- Here both persons are same and same contain with same feature,  So no Metaphor.  But if we say - Life is a dream,  Here Life and dream are not contain with same feature, so it is Metaphor. 

Novels-  A fictional narrative in prose, generally longer than a short story. 

Plot -  The sequence of events or happenings in a literary work. 

Poetry-  Traditional poetry is language arranged in lines, with a regular rhythm and often a definite rhyme scheme. 

Satires -  A kinds of Writing that holds up to ridicule or contempt the weaknesses and wrong doing of individual, groups,  institutions or humanity in general. 

Short Story-   Narrative prose fiction that is shoter than novel.

Tragedy -  In general, a literary work in which the central character meets an unhappy or disastrous end.

Utopia -  A place in which social, legal, and political justice perfect harmony exist. 

Vernacular -  The domestic or native language of the people of a particular country or geographical area.

Personification  :  The technique of treating non living things as humans is called personification. 

 Example : Mr. Pneumonia was not a polite old gentleman.

Here - Pneumonia is imagine as a person.

1. Nature might stand up.

2. Let the floods clap their hands.

3. The fog comes on little cat feet.

4. Ahthens in the eye of Greece.

5. Darkness spreads his jealous wings.

 Hyperbole :  It is figure in which a deliberate overstatement is made for emphasis.  Hyperbole ( exaggeration or hype) so in this figure of speech exaggeration is used for emphasis. 

 Example : Ten thousand saw at a glance.

 This is an example of Hyperbole because it is impossible to count Ten thousand ( at a glance)