Key Terms for English Literature

The Basics

Noun -
A person, animal, place thing, or idea. In other words, a ‘naming’ word.

Verb -
A word that depicts an action (to do or to be).

Adjective -
A descriptive word.

Concrete noun -
Something that can be physically felt, as in something that you can touch, see, hear, smell, or taste. For example: ‘table’, ‘hat’, ‘mirror’.

Abstract noun -
Something that is not physical, for example emotions – love, hatred, sadness.

Proper noun -
A name – for example, Vincent.

Pronouns -
A word that goes in place of a noun, such as ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘she’, ‘her’, or ‘you’.

Adverbs -
A word expressing how a verb is acted out, for example: ‘he walked vigorously’.

Co-ordinate conjunctions -
These are words used to connect clauses of equal value, such as: and, but, either…or, neither…nor.

Subordinate conjunctions -
These are words used to connect a clause that is dependent upon the latter: that, as, after, before, since, when, where, unless, if.

Modal verb -
A verb that conveys either necessity or possibility, otherwise thought of as words to order someone. For example: ‘must’, ‘should’, ‘can’, ‘shall’, and ‘might’.


Types of Poetry

Lyrical Poem –
Formal poetry, often comedic, which has it's roots in ancient Greek literature. It is spread broadly across three categories, epic, lyric, and dramatic, and has a focus upon personal emotion.Narrative Lyrics –

A poem that tells a story, including epics and ballads. Examples of narrative poetry include Robert Burns' Tam O Shanter and John Milson's Paradise Lost.

Observational Lyrics –
This form of poetry typically makes observations reflecting upon reality, life, and emotions.

Conceit –
This is an extended (and often complex) simile.

Metaphysical poetry-
Poetry that was often full of conceits and addressed with spiritual and religious issues.


Poetic Meter

Iamb –
Unstressed - Stress

Trochee –
Is a poetic meter containing two beats  starting stressed and ending unstressed.
Stress - Unstressed

Spondee -
Stress - Unstressed

Dactyl - 
Stress - Unstressed - Unstressed

Anapaest -
Unstressed - unstressed - stress

Pentameter -A poetic line that containing five poetic feet.

Iambic tetrameter -
A poetic line containing four iambic feet.


Rhyming Patterns

Rhyming Couplet -
These are two lines of the same length that rhyme and follow a single thought. There is no limit to the length of the lines.

Heroic couplets –
These two poetic lines that are made up of iambic pentameter and share the same end line rhyme. Shakespeare typically wrote in heroic couplets.

Mock-heroic couplets -
Two poetic lines in iambic tetrameter that share the same end line rhyme. Falling one short of the heroic couplet, they usually covey a sense of irony.

Open couplets -
Two poetic lines that share the same meter end line rhyme. The idea will extend from one line to the next.

Cadence - The technical term for the pace in a poem.

Caesuras - A mid line pause.

Enjambment
A poem uses enjambment when one line runs into another - for example, in Liz Lochhead's 'My Rival's house': 'Oh, and how close / this family that furnishes my rival's place'.

Literary Devices

Asyndeton -
Asyndeton is the omission of conjunctions in order to create dramatic effect, for example: 'I came, I saw, I conquered'.

Anaphora -
This is the technical term for deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence, used to emphasise a certain point.

Alliteration -
A device in which several words, each with the same consonant sound, are adjacent or closely connected.

Assonance -
Two or more words close to one another repeat the same vowel sound but start with different consonant sounds.

Bathos –
A contrast of the sublime to the ridiculous, often used abruptly to make the reader feel uncomfortable. This can be clearly seen in Philip Larkin's 'Sunny Prestatyn'.

Pathetic Fallacy - 
A literary device in which emotions are reflected in the weather, for example storms to show anger.

Polysyndeton -
An excessive use of conjunctions.

Paradox –
A contradicting conclusion despite a reasonable premise - though useless in arguments, they serve to be thought provoking and promote critical thinking.

Caesura - 
A mid-line pause

Enjambement - Continuing a sentence without pause over a line, couplet, or stanza. Derived from the french 'enjamber', meaning 'to stride over'.

Tautology - 
Saying the same thing twice in different words, unnecessarily. E.g. 'fatal murder'. This is generally considered to be a fault of style.

Epizeuxis - 
Repetition of a word or phrase in imedite succession. E.g. 'Never, never, never'.

Atanaclasis - 
Stylistic device of repeating the same word or phrase but with different meanings. Often a pun, using homophones for humour. This is often used in slogans.

Epiphora/Epistrophe -
Words repeated successively at the ends of phrases, lines, or stanzas. A counterpart to anaphora.

Conduplicatio - 
Repetition in which a key word is repeated in successive phrases, sentences or lines.

Mesodiplosive -
Repetition of the same word(s) in the middle of a sentence, clause or line.

Satire –
The use of exaggeration to show the faults of society. The ultimate aim of this is the promote change.