Literary Terms

When a drama or play is divided into parts, those parts are called______: Acts

______ (also the Aesthetic Movement) is an intellectual and art movement supporting the emphasis of aesthetic values more than social-political themes for literature, fine art, music and other arts: Aestheticism

An ______ is a lyrical love song sung by troubadours, often about leaving each other at dawn: Alba

“A tune about leaving one’s lover after a romantic night together” is an example of______: Alba

______ is a poem which looks very simple story at surface level but has different and deeper meanings: Allegory

In literature,  ______ is the conspicuous repetition of identical initial consonant sounds in successive or closely associated syllables within a group of words, even those spelled differently: Alliteration

A reference to something in literature, history, mythology, religious texts, etc., considered common knowledge is called______: Allusion

______, or fallacy of ambiguity, is a word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one meaning: Ambiguity

Simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings (such as attraction and repulsion) toward an object, person, or action is called______: Ambivalence

“Heath cliff” in Wuthering Heights is an example of_______: Ambivalence

______ is a moment in a plot or story, specifically a tragedy, wherein the main character either recognizes or identifies his/her true nature, recognizes the other character’s true identity, discovers the true nature of his situation, or that of the others – leading to the resolution of the story: Anagnorisis

An ______ is a figure of speech that creates a comparison by showing how two seemingly different entities are alike, along with illustrating a larger point due to their commonalities: Analogy

An anapestic foot has ______ syllables: 3

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines in a poem is called______: Anaphora

A short story or joke told at the beginning of a speech to gain the audience’s attention is called______: Anecdote

______ works are works, such as art or literature, that have an anonymous, undisclosed, or unknown creator or author: Anonymous

In literature, an ______is a character, or a group of characters, which stands in opposition to the Protagonist, which is the main character: Antagonist

The term “antagonist” comes from the ______ word antagonistēs, which means “opponent,” “competitor,” or “rival.”: Greek

An ______ is a compilation of literary works such as poems, plays, short stories, excerpts, including television programs, dramas, movies and songs: Anthology

When the ending of the plot in poetry or prose is unfulfilling or lackluster, it is called______: Anti-climatic

An ______ or antiheroine is a main character in a story who lacks conventional heroic qualities and attributes such as idealism), courage, and morality: Anti-hero