Literature Analysis Terms
Glossary of Terms for the Analysis of Literature
ACROSTIC - Usually verse arranged in such a way as to present names or phrases or sentences when certain letters selected according to an orderly sequence are brought together to form an alphabet, a name
(often that of the author, a patron, or a loved one), or some other concealed message.
AESTHETICS – Philosophical investigation into the nature of beauty and the perception of beauty, especially the arts; the theory of art or of artistic tastes.
AFFLATUS – a Latin term for poetic inspiration.
ALLEGORY - A story or visual image with a second distinct meaning partially hidden behind its literal or visible meaning. The characters in an allegory often represent abstract concepts, such as faith, innocence, or evil. An allegory may be conceived as a METAPHOR that is extended into a structured system. E.g.
George Orwell's Animal Farm is an allegory of totalitarian (specifically Communistic) states.
ALLITERATION - Repetition of the same sound beginning several words in sequence.
*Let us go forth to lead the land we love. J. F. Kennedy, Inaugural
*Viri validis cum viribus luctant. Ennius
*Veni, vidi, vici. Julius Caesar
ALLUSION - An explicit or implicit reference to a fictional, mythological, or historical person, place, or event, outside the story. The narrator does not explain the nature and relevance of the allusion but relies on the reader's familiarity with the reference. Allusions enrich a story by suggesting similarities to comparable circumstances in another time or place. Explicit allusions are signaled openly by the narrator, "As Vergil said.." Such allusions are rare in the highly literate aesthetic of antiquity. Allusions can include a citation
(verbatim reference to another text) or an evocation (picks up on certain words, phrases, or ideas).
AMBIGUITY - Either a faulty, vague expression, or a poetic device which deliberately uses a word or expression to signify two or more distinct
ACROSTIC - Usually verse arranged in such a way as to present names or phrases or sentences when certain letters selected according to an orderly sequence are brought together to form an alphabet, a name
(often that of the author, a patron, or a loved one), or some other concealed message.
AESTHETICS – Philosophical investigation into the nature of beauty and the perception of beauty, especially the arts; the theory of art or of artistic tastes.
AFFLATUS – a Latin term for poetic inspiration.
ALLEGORY - A story or visual image with a second distinct meaning partially hidden behind its literal or visible meaning. The characters in an allegory often represent abstract concepts, such as faith, innocence, or evil. An allegory may be conceived as a METAPHOR that is extended into a structured system. E.g.
George Orwell's Animal Farm is an allegory of totalitarian (specifically Communistic) states.
ALLITERATION - Repetition of the same sound beginning several words in sequence.
*Let us go forth to lead the land we love. J. F. Kennedy, Inaugural
*Viri validis cum viribus luctant. Ennius
*Veni, vidi, vici. Julius Caesar
ALLUSION - An explicit or implicit reference to a fictional, mythological, or historical person, place, or event, outside the story. The narrator does not explain the nature and relevance of the allusion but relies on the reader's familiarity with the reference. Allusions enrich a story by suggesting similarities to comparable circumstances in another time or place. Explicit allusions are signaled openly by the narrator, "As Vergil said.." Such allusions are rare in the highly literate aesthetic of antiquity. Allusions can include a citation
(verbatim reference to another text) or an evocation (picks up on certain words, phrases, or ideas).
AMBIGUITY - Either a faulty, vague expression, or a poetic device which deliberately uses a word or expression to signify two or more distinct