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| A summary of a piece of written work, or b) language that conveys ideas or general qualities of people or things. Abstract is the opposite of concrete, which conveys specific information about a particular person or thing. Abstract writing lacks vivid or precise detail, whereas concrete writing possesses specific detail |
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| (Aesthetic movement) Refers to a movement in late nineteenth-century Europe centered on a belief in "art for art's sake." Rooted in the ideas of Immanuel Kant, Baudelaire, Flaubert, Mallarmé, and others, aestheticism believed that art was not meant to serve a moral or didactic purpose; art's value was its beauty. The ideas of aestheticism came to England through writers such as Walter Pater and later influenced writers such as Wilde and Swinburne who were connected with the Decadence movement. For major writers and works in this area, see the Literary History Chart. |
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| The major division in a play or dramatic work. An act has one or more scenes |
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| A term first used by William K. Wimsatt and Monroe C. Beardsley for the practice of basing literary interpretation upon the response of readers or upon the emotional effect a particular work has on readers. Wimsatt and Beardsley believed affective fallacy to be flawed, as with another fallacy they coined, intentional fallacy, in which one evaluates a literary text according to its author’s explicit or implicit intentions. These are major ideas within New Criticism. Reader Response criticism has also countered the notions of the affective and intentional fallacies |
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| The study of beauty in both nature and art. Aesthetics addresses philosophical questions about the nature of beauty, psychological questions about the effects of beauty, and theoretical issues related to taste and perception of beauty |
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| Age of Sensibility (Age of Johnson |
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A period of British literature spanning the years 1744-1785, though 1789 and 1798 are alternate end dates. This period is sometimes referred to as the Age of Johnson because of Samuel Johnson's considerable influence upon literature. The characteristics of the Age of Johnson link this period with the end of the Neoclassical period, whereas the Age of Sensibility anticipates the Romantic period. In contrast to the Augustan era, the Age of Sensibility focused upon instinct, feeling, imagination, and sometimes the sublime. New cultural attitudes and new theories of literature emerged; the novel became an increasingly popular and prevalent form. For major writers and works in this area, see the Literary History Chart in the Writing and Research section |
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| Often referred to as Romanticism, Transcendentalism is a literary period spanning the years 1828 to 1865, the time between Jacksonian democracy and the end of the U.S. Civil War. This period was one of increased westward expansion and the beginnings of urbanization and industrialization. The Romantic period was also the first major explosion of a distinctively American body of literature; for this reason, this period is also referred to as the American Renaissance. Many of American literature's most well-known writers emerged during this time. Issues and subjects addressed in literature of this time ranged from the American identity, to the slavery debate, to historical narratives, to poems and narratives inspired by Romanticism, to prose works examining the nature the American democracy and national unity. American Romanticism is related to, but distinct from, British Romanticism. For major writers and works in this period, see the Literary History Chart in the Writing and Research section |
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| A narrative in which abstract concepts are represented as something concrete, typically major elements in the story, such as characters, objects, actions, or events. It possesses two parallel levels of meaning and understanding: a literal level, where a surface level story is recounted, and a symbolic level, which addresses abstract ideas. Allegories are often considered extended metaphors: the surface level story helps to convey moral, religious, political, or philosophical ideas. There are two major kinds of allegory: historical and political allegories and allegories of ideas. Related to allegory are the parable and exemplum. Parables are very short, realistic narratives about people that are meant to teach a moral or a religious lesson. Often they are used to emphasize a narrator's lesson or point. Exemplums are used in sermons to illustrate and validate a particular theme or idea |
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| The repetition of the same sounds in initial consonants or stressed syllables in a sequence of words |
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| An indirect reference in a literary text to a well-known person or place, or to an historical, political, or cultural event. The reference can also be to a literary, religious, or mythological text. Allusions are not usually identified, as it is assumed the reader will make the connection |
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| Ambiguity refers to the ways words or phrases can connote a range of meanings. Ambiguity points to the openness of language to different interpretations and understanding. Also called "plurisignation" or "multiple meanin |
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| Often referred to as the Age of Transcendentalism or, more often, the Romantic period (American), the American Renaissance refers to the first major explosion of a distinctively American body of literature. It is a literary period spanning the years 1828 to 1865, the time between Jacksonian democracy and the end of the U.S. Civil War. This period was one of increased westward expansion and the beginnings of urbanization and industrialization. Many of American literature's most well-known writers emerged during this time. Issues and subjects addressed in literature of this time ranged from the American identity, to the slavery debate, to historical narratives, to poems and narratives inspired by Romanticism, to prose works examining the nature the American democracy and national unity. American Romanticism is related to, but distinct from, British Romanticism. For major writers and works in this period, see the Literary History Chart in the Writing and Research section |
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| anapest) A common metrical unit of poetry consisting of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable. Metrical units (called feet) make up a poem’s meter, or rhythms in poetry made by units of sound created by accented and unaccented syllables |
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| The most significant character or force that opposes the protagonist in a narrative |
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| A term used to describe pre-Civil War American literature; the term is usually applied to pre-Civil War Southern American literature in particular. |
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A rhetorical or philosophical contrast or opposition which is emphasized by parallelism. |
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| The Anxiety of Influence (1973), and his other works, Harold Bloom introduces this concept that asserts that all poets' work is a rewriting of the poetic tradition and that this rewriting involves the misreading of previous poets. This poetic act of misreading, however, is a site of creativity and innovation. Bloom acknowledges that critics also misread and that their misreadings result in a range of interpretations which go beyond what the poet thought he or she was saying |
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| The Anxiety of Influence (1973), and his other works, Harold Bloom argued that a poet must confront and resist the poetic tradition in order to find and assert his or her individual poetic voice. Bloom also describes how an Oedipal-type relationship arises between the poet and the poetic tradition. Emerging from Bloom's work is the concept of antithetical criticism. Bloom asserts that all poets' work is a rewriting of the poetic tradition and that this rewriting involves the misreading of previous poets. This poetic act of misreading, however, is a site of creativity and innovation. Bloom acknowledges that critics also misread and that their misreadings result in a range of interpretations which go beyond what the poet thought he or she was saying. |
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A figure of speech wherein a thing, place, abstract idea, dead or absent person is addressed directly as if present and capable of understanding and responding. |
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| A type of literary criticism that focuses on particular archetypes, narrative patterns, themes, motifs, or characters that recur in a particular literary work or in literature in general |
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| According to Carl Jung, archetypes are characters, images, plot patterns, rituals, and settings that are shared by diverse cultures. Jung believed that archetypes are part of humanity's "collective unconscious" and that they appear in literature, myth, folklore, and rituals from a wide range of cultures. They also manifest themselves in the subconscious thoughts and dreams of people. Literary critic Northrop Frye argued that literary archetypes are recurrent images and symbols in literature. Archetypal criticism focuses on particular archetypes, narrative patterns, themes, motifs, or characters that recur in a particular literary work or in literature in general |
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| A short remark or speech spoken by a character to the audience or to another character. According to convention, it is assumed that the aside is not heard by the other characters. Asides tend to reveal insight into plot, character, or emotion |
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| The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in a sequence of words. Usually the repetition occurs in the stressed syllables and the vowel sound is followed by different consonant sounds. The effect of assonance is thought to be euphony |
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| The general feeling or emotion created in the reader at a given point in a literary work. Atmosphere (also called mood) is created by language, setting, imagery, sensory, and extra-sensory perceptions. It should not be confused with tone |
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| The general feeling or emotion created in the reader at a given point in a literary work. Atmosphere (also called mood) is created by language, setting, imagery, sensory, and extra-sensory perceptions. It should not be confused with tone. |
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| A term used since the late nineteenth century to suggest art or writing that challenges tradition, or that is innovative, experimental, revolutionary, or ahead of its time. |
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