Literary Terms and Definitions

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Allegory

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A narrative in which characters and settings stand for abstract ideas or moral qualities.

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Alliteration

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Repetition of the same or very similar consonant sounds usually at the beginning of words that are close together in a poem.

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Allusion

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Reference to a statement, a person, place, or an event from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, science, or pop culture.

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Ambiguity

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An element of uncertainty in a text, in which something can be interpreted in a number of different ways.

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Analogy

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Comparison made between two things to show how they are alike in some respects.

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Aside

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Words that are spoken by a character in a play to the audience or to another character but that are not supposed to be overheard by the others on stage.

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Assonance

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Repetition of similar vowel sounds that are followed by different consonant sounds, especially in words that are close together in a poem.

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Ballad

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Song that tells a story.

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Biography

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An account of a person’s life, written or told by another person.

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Blank verse

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Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.