Literature Key Terms and Definitions
Figurative language: Use of words in ways they are not normally used in order to create a distinct, imaginative effect or impression. For example, in the expression “He sang at the top of his lungs,” the suggested meaning of the words is understood—not their literal meaning.
Hyperbole: A figure of speech that deliberately exaggerates a description about something or somebody to create a desired effect.
Irony: A circumstance in which there is a contra¬diction or difference between what is intended or expected to occur and what actually occurs.
Metaphor: An implied comparison between one object and another that is different from it.
Metonymy: A figure of speech, a kind of meta¬phor, formed when a characteristic of a thing is used to represent the whole thing.
Onomatopoeia: A word whose sound sug¬gests its meaning or sense—for example sizzle, meow.
Oxymoron: An expression in which two con¬tradictory terms are brought together to emphasize an idea or a feeling in a striking or shocking manner. For example, a wise fool or cruel kindness.
Persona: Literally, a mask. In literature, the per¬son who is the narrator in a story or the speaker in a poem. The main voice in fiction or poetry is usually not the author’s voice, although it may reflect the author’s views. The main voice comes from the persona the author creates to narrate or speak. In most cases, this speaker is a character in the story or the poem, but sometimes a persona can be an outside voice, a speaker who is looking at the action but is not part of it.
Personification: A figure of speech formed when qualities normally associated with a per¬son are attributed to abstract things or inani¬mate objects.
Simile: A direct comparison of two objects that are similar in at least one respect, using like or as to link the similarities.
Symbol: An object, person, or action that conveys two meanings: its literal meaning and something it stands for as well.
Ballad: A story that is sung. In ancient oral
Hyperbole: A figure of speech that deliberately exaggerates a description about something or somebody to create a desired effect.
Irony: A circumstance in which there is a contra¬diction or difference between what is intended or expected to occur and what actually occurs.
Metaphor: An implied comparison between one object and another that is different from it.
Metonymy: A figure of speech, a kind of meta¬phor, formed when a characteristic of a thing is used to represent the whole thing.
Onomatopoeia: A word whose sound sug¬gests its meaning or sense—for example sizzle, meow.
Oxymoron: An expression in which two con¬tradictory terms are brought together to emphasize an idea or a feeling in a striking or shocking manner. For example, a wise fool or cruel kindness.
Persona: Literally, a mask. In literature, the per¬son who is the narrator in a story or the speaker in a poem. The main voice in fiction or poetry is usually not the author’s voice, although it may reflect the author’s views. The main voice comes from the persona the author creates to narrate or speak. In most cases, this speaker is a character in the story or the poem, but sometimes a persona can be an outside voice, a speaker who is looking at the action but is not part of it.
Personification: A figure of speech formed when qualities normally associated with a per¬son are attributed to abstract things or inani¬mate objects.
Simile: A direct comparison of two objects that are similar in at least one respect, using like or as to link the similarities.
Symbol: An object, person, or action that conveys two meanings: its literal meaning and something it stands for as well.
Ballad: A story that is sung. In ancient oral