a story or visual image with a second distinct meaning partially hidden behind its 

literal or visible meaning.  An allegory may be conceived as a metaphor that is extended into a 

structured system. 

translated literally means “development novel”.  A coming of age work that follows 

its protagonist from youth to experience, or maturity

a literary work written chiefly to amuse its audience.  It usually provides a happy ending and 

emphasizes human limitations rather than human greatness. 

  High Comedy – characterized by grace, elegance and wit; intellectual comedy 

  Low Comedy – crude, boisterous comedy; slapstick and crude jokes; physical comedy

the emotion that a knight was expected to feel toward a noble lady.  A 

convention of literature  of the Middle Ages

spoken or written language. 

 Argument – discourse intended to convince or persuade through appeals to reason or 

emotion. 

 Description – the picturing in words of people, places and activities through detailed 

observations of color, sound, smell, touch and motion. 

 Exposition – the setting forth of a systematic explanation of or argument about any 

subject. 

 Narration – the process of relation a sequence of events or another term for narrative. 

 Rhetoric – the art of persuasion, in speaking or writing 

a short written composition in prose that discusses a subject or proposes an argument 

without claiming to be a complete or thorough exposition.  Essays can be formal, informal or 

humorous

a novel written in the form of correspondence between characters.

brief tale told to illustrate a biblical text or to teach a lesson or moral

A type of drama related to comedy but emphasizing improbable situations, violent conflicts, 

physical action, and coarse wit over characterization or articulated plot

a type of novel characterized by mystery, horror, and the supernatural, often with 

haunted castles, secret passageways, grisly visions, and all of the paraphernalia of the tale of 

terror.

drama that pits unbelievably good characters against a despicably evil character.  

The plot includes dire events and near disasters.  Good is always rewarded, and evil punished

an account of a single period in a writer’s life, often one that coincides with 

important historical events.

 intricate 17th century English poetry employing wit and unexpected images

medieval religious drama based on a miraculous event in a saint’s life or a story 

from the Bible. 

comically or satirically imitates the form and style of the epic, treating a trivial 

subject in a lofty manner

allegory in dramatic form.  Hero, who represents all mankind, is surrounded by 

personifications of virtues, vices, angels, demons and death, who battle for possession of the 

hero’s soul. 

an anonymous narrative, originating in the primitive folklore of a race or nation, that explains 

natural phenomena, or recounts the deeds of heroes, passed on through oral tradition.

built on one incident; shorter than a novel, but has more development of character 

and theme than a short story

a novel, usually comical and satirical, whose characters and plot emerge from and 

are limited by the social customs, values, habits and mores of a particular social class in a particular 

time and place. 

a song of triumph or thanksgiving

a brief tale intended to be understood as an allegory illustrating some lesson or 

moral. 

writing that borders on lecturing.  Scholarly, academic, and often overly difficult 

and distant. 

a novel whose principal character is a low-born rogue who lives by his/her wits and 

who becomes involved in one predicament after another.