Literary Terms Handbook

A
Anecdote A short written or oral account of an event
in a real person’s life. Essay writers often use anec-
dotes to support their opinions or clarify their ideas, to
Act A major unit of a drama. A play can be subdi- grab a reader’s attention, and to entertain. Evelyn
vided into several acts. George Bernard Shaw’s play Waugh’s essay “People Who Want to Sue Me” contains
Pygmalion is divided into five acts. an anecdote about a young lady who mistakenly
See also DRAMA. thought she knew who the characters in his book were.
See page 585.

Allegory A literary work in which all or most of the

characters, settings, and events symbolize ideas, quali- Antagonist A person or force that opposes the
ties, or figures beyond themselves. The overall purpose protagonist, or central character, in a story or drama.
of an allegory is to teach a moral lesson. Pilgrim’s Antagonists may try to prevent the protagonist from
Progress is an allegory in which Vanity Fair represents doing something or may simply have beliefs that con-
the world, and the Celestial City symbolizes Heaven. tradict the protagonist’s. The antagonist in Tolstoy’s
See pages 224 and 476.
“The Long Exile” is Makar Semyonof.
See also SYMBOL. See page 1222.
See also CONFLICT, PROTAGONIST.

Alliteration The repetition of consonant sounds at

the beginning of words. Alliteration is often used to Anthropomorphism The endowment of human
emphasize certain words or to create a musical quality. form or characteristics to gods, animals, or inanimate
For example, note the alliteration in the following line objects. It is a key element in fables, where the main
from Gerard Manley Hopkins’s “Pied Beauty”: characters are often animals. Aesop’s fable “The Raven
and the Fox” contains anthropomorphism.
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
See page 1242.
See pages 47, 188, and 836. See also FABLE, PERSONIFICATION.
See also SOUND DEVICES.

Aphorism A short, pointed statement that expresses

Allusion A reference in a work of literature to a well-
a wise or clever observation about human experience,
known person, place, event, written work, or work of
such as Pope’s saying from An Essay on Criticism:
art. Discovering the meaning of an allusion can often
We think our fathers fools, so wise we grow;
be essential to the understanding of a work. In W. H.
Our wiser sons, no doubt, will think us so.
Auden’s poem “Musée des Beaux Arts,” Auden alludes
See page 539.
to the Greek myth of Icarus.
See also EPIGRAM.
See pages 473 and 1033.

Apostrophe A literary device in which a speaker talks

Analogy A comparison based on a similarity between directly to an inanimate object, a person who is absent
things that are otherwise dissimilar. Shakespeare pokes or dead, or an abstract quality, such as love. In “Ode to
fun at analogies in his “Sonnet 130,” claiming “My mis- the West Wind,” by Percy Bysshe Shelley, the speaker
tress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.” addresses the wind.
See also METAPHOR, SIMILE. See page 271.

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Argument A type of persuasive writing in which logic view of himself or herself and of the society in which
or reason is used to try to influence the reader’s ideas he or she lived.
or actions. Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the See page 208.
Rights of Woman presents a powerful argument for See also BIOGRAPHY, MEMOIR, NONFICTION.
the education of women.
See page 412.
See also PERSUASION, RHETORIC.

Aside In a play, a character’s comment that is

B
directed to the audience or another character, but is Ballad A short, musical narrative song or poem that
not heard by any other characters on the stage. An in most cases recounts a single exciting or dramatic
example occurs in act 1, scene 4, of Macbeth: episode. Folk ballads were passed down by word of
mouth for generations before being written down.
KING. My worthy Cawdor!
Literary ballads are written in imitation of folk ballads
MACBETH. [Aside.] The Prince of Cumberland!
That is a step and have a known author, as opposed to the anony-
On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap, mous folk ballad. Ballads often include a refrain—a
See also SOLILOQUY. regularly repeated line or phrase at the end of each
stanza. Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the
Assonance The repetition of the same or similar Ancient Mariner is an example of a literary ballad.
vowel sounds in stressed syllables that end with differ- See page 108.
ent consonant sounds. The first line of Ben Jonson’s See also NARRATIVE POETRY, ORAL TRADITION.
poem “On My First Son” provides an example of
assonance: Ballad stanza A quatrain, or four-line stanza, in
which the first and third lines have four stressed sylla-
Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;
bles, and the second and fourth lines have three
See page 827.
stressed syllables. Only the second and fourth lines
See also SOUND DEVICES.
rhyme. Although the basic foot in this stanza is the
Atmosphere The general mood, or emotional qual- iamb (
), there tend to be many irregularities.
ity, of a literary work. Authors create atmosphere pri- See page 117.
See also METER, QUATRAIN, STANZA.
marily through details of setting, such as time, place,
and weather. The description of the weather in Robert
Biography A nonfiction account of a person’s life and
Browning’s “Porphyria’s Lover” builds an atmosphere
personality, written by someone other than the subject.
of suspense and foreboding.
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell’s biography of Charlotte
See page 325. Brontë is a famous example.
See also MOOD.
See page 626.
See also AUTOBIOGRAPHY, MEMOIR,
Author’s purpose An author’s intent in writing a liter- NONFICTION.
ary work. An author typically writes to accomplish one
or more of the following purposes: to persuade, to Blank verse Poetry or lines of dramatic verse written
instruct, to inform or explain, to entertain, to describe, in unrhymed iambic pentameter. In this verse form,
or to tell a story. John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim’s Progress each line is divided into five units, or feet, with stress
to provide moral instruction. falling on every second syllable. Most of Shakespeare’s
See page 558. characters speak in blank verse.
See also DICTION, STYLE, THEME, TONE. See page 461.
See also IAMBIC PENTAMETER, METER, RHYTHM.
Autobiography A person’s account of his or her life.
Autobiographies can give insights into the author’s Byronic hero. See HERO.

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“B. Wordsworth,” are called flat. A dynamic character,

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such as Paul in D. H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse
Winner,” grows or changes significantly during the
Caesura An obvious pause in a line of poetry. It is course of a story. This type of character is influenced
usually found near the middle of a line, with two by his or her experiences and by the other characters
stressed syllables before and two after, creating a in the story. A static character, such as the old lord
strong rhythm. A caesura can be indicated with double in “The Blue Jar,” by Isak Dinesen, remains primarily
slashes ( // ). For example, the following line from John the same throughout a story. Things happen to the
Donne’s “Death Be Not Proud” has a caesura: character, but he does not change.
One short sleep past, // we wake eternally, See pages 16, 434, and 987.
See page 47. See also CHARACTERIZATION, STEREOTYPE.
See also RHYTHM.
Characterization The methods used to reveal the
Carpe diem A Latin phrase meaning “seize the day”; personality of a character. In direct characterization,
in other words, “make the most of each moment.” In the author describes a character’s personality, as in this
carpe diem poems, the speaker emphasizes the short- sentence from “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” by D. H.
ness of life—usually to persuade a young woman to Lawrence: “There was a woman who was beautiful,
yield to love while she still has her youth and beauty. who started with all the advantages, yet she had no
Andrew Marvell’s poem “To His Coy Mistress” is a luck.” In indirect characterization, the author suggests
famous example. traits through a character’s words, actions, or appear-
See page 445. ance, as well as through the reactions of other charac-
ters to the person being portrayed. For example, note
Cavalier poetry The work of a group of seventeenth- this description from the same story: “Wildly the horse
century English poets who were loyal to the monarchy. careered, the waving dark hair of the boy tossed, his
Cavalier poetry is generally intended to entertain rather eyes had a strange glare in them. The little girls dared
than to instruct. It is characterized by regular rhythmic not speak to him.”
patterns, carefully structured stanzas, and simple but See pages 145 and 892.
eloquent language. Love is a popular theme. Robert See also CHARACTER.
Herrick, Sir John Suckling, and Richard Lovelace were
cavalier poets. Classicism A style that reflects the principles and
See page 441. concerns of the art and literature of ancient Greece
and Rome. Usually, a classical style displays simple,
Character A personage in a narrative or drama. Less harmonious purity of form.
important characters, known as minor characters, are
used by a writer to “fill out” a scene, to provide a line Climax. See PLOT.
of dialogue, or to further the plot in some way.
Jerome’s housemaster, Mr. Wordsworth, in Graham Comedy A type of drama that is humorous and often
Green’s “A Shocking Accident” is a minor character. has a happy ending. A heroic comedy focuses on the
As opposed to main characters, (such as Jerome) exploits of a larger-than-life hero.
who are typically characterized fully, minor characters See also DRAMA, FARCE, HUMOR, WIT.
display few personality traits and generally act in a
consistent manner. Characters who show varied and Comic relief A humorous scene, event, or speech in a
sometimes contradictory traits, such as Rosemary Fell serious drama. It usually provides relief from emotional
in “A Cup of Tea,” by Katherine Mansfield, are called intensity, while at the same time highlighting the seri-
round. Characters who reveal only one personality ousness of the story. The porter scene in Shakespeare’s
trait, such as the narrator’s mother in V. S. Naipaul’s Macbeth (act 2, scene 3) is a famous example.

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Conceit An elaborate metaphor or simile that makes
a comparison between two significantly different
things. The conceit draws an analogy between some
D
object from nature or everyday life and the subject or Denotation The literal, or dictionary, meaning of a
theme of a poem. A metaphysical conceit is an intel- word.
lectual comparison—rather than one based on nature— See pages 557 and 627.
that can develop a wide range of ideas and capture See also CONNOTATION.
a broad range of emotions. In Sir Thomas Wyatt’s
“Whoso List to Hunt,” the poet makes use of a conceit Dénouement. See PLOT.
that compares romance with deer hunting.
Dialect A way of speaking that is characteristic of a
See pages 413 and 424. particular region or group of people. Dialects may dif-
See also ANALOGY, METAPHOR, METAPHYSI-
CAL POETRY, SIMILE.
fer from the standard form of language in pronuncia-
tion, vocabulary, or grammar. In The Diary of Fanny
Conflict The central struggle between two opposing Burney, Burney’s mother speaks in the dialect of an
forces in a story or drama. An external conflict exists upper-class Englishwoman of her time:
when a character struggles against some outside force, ‘Pho, pho,’ said she, ‘you mayn’t choose to tell,
such as another person, nature, society, or fate. An but you must know.’

internal conflict is a struggle that takes place within See pages 675 and 953.
See also VERNACULAR.
the mind of a character who is torn between opposing
feelings or goals. Dialogue Conversation between characters in a
See pages 1175 and 1200. literary work.
See also ANTAGONIST, PLOT, PROTAGONIST.
See pages 641 and 953.

Connotation The suggested or implied meanings Diary An individual’s private, day-to-day account of
associated with a word beyond its dictionary definition, personal thoughts, feelings, and experiences written for
or denotation. A word can have a positive, negative, or his or her own use rather than for publication.
neutral connotation.
See page 580.
See page 557. See also JOURNAL, NONFICTION.
See also DENOTATION, FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE.
Diction The author’s word choice, or use of appropri-
Consonance The repetition of consonant sounds, ate words to convey a particular meaning. Good writ-
typically within or at the end of nonrhyming words, as ers choose their words carefully to express their
in this succession of echoing d sounds in William intended meaning precisely.
Butler Yeats’s “The Second Coming”: See page 1147.
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, . . . See also CONNOTATION, DENOTATION, STYLE.

See page 827.

See also SOUND DEVICES.
Drama A story intended to be performed by actors
in front of an audience. The script of a dramatic work,
Couplet Two lines of rhymed verse that work or play, may include stage directions that explain how
together as a unit to express an idea or make a point. characters should look, speak, move, and behave. They
For example, the closing lines of Shakespeare’s also might specify details of the setting and scenery,
“Sonnet 29” are a couplet: such as lighting, props, and sound effects. Plays are
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
often divided into acts, which may also be divided into
That then I scorn to change my state with kings. scenes, indicating a change in location or the passage
See page 245. of time.
See also QUATRAIN, SESTET, SONNET. See also ACT, COMEDY, PROPS, TRAGEDY.

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Dramatic monologue A form of dramatic poetry in
which the speaker describes a crucial moment in his or involve supernatural events, long time periods, distant
her life to a silent listener—and in the process reveals journeys, and life and death struggles between good
much about his or her own character. The speaker may and evil. Works like Beowulf are called folk epics
be a fictional or historical figure and is clearly distinct because they have no certain authorship and arise,
from the poet. Often the speaker will reveal the lis- usually through storytelling, from the collective experi-
tener’s identity and the dramatic situation in which the ences of a people. Literary epics, like John Milton’s
monologue is spoken. Robert Browning’s poems “My Paradise Lost, are written by known authors.
Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” are dramatic See page 46.
monologues. See also ORAL TRADITION.
See page 847.
See also NARRATIVE POETRY, SPEAKER. Epigram A short, witty poem; a saying. Ben Jonson
and Robert Herrick excelled at writing epigrams.
Dynamic character. See CHARACTER. See page 539.
See also APHORISM.

Epigraph A quotation from another work that sug-

E gests the theme, or main idea, of the work at hand. It
is often up to the reader to determine how the quoted
Elegy A serious poem of lament, usually mourning a work relates to the piece of literature it introduces.
death or other great loss. Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “In See page 1081.
Memoriam A. H. H.” is an example of an elegy.
See page 440.
Epilogue A concluding statement or section added to
a work of literature. George Bernard Shaw added an
Empathy An individual’s close identification with a epilogue to his play Pygmalion.
person, place, or thing, as when audience members See also PROLOGUE.
experience the same emotions as a character in a play.
See page 700. Epiphany A moment of sudden realization of the
true meaning of a situation, person, or object. James
Enjambment The continuation of a sentence from Joyce was an innovator in the use and development of
one line of a poem to another. Poets often use enjamb- this technique and suggested that these “glimpses”
ment to emphasize rhyming words. Enjambment also offered a kind of revelation into a character. In “A Cup
enables poets to create a conversational tone, breaking of Tea,” by Katherine Mansfield, Rosemary Fell’s real-
lines at points where people would normally pause in ization that her husband finds Miss Smith pretty is an
conversation, yet still maintaining the unity of thoughts. epiphany.
Lord Byron’s “She Walks in Beauty” contains an exam- See page 1058.
ple of enjambment:
She walks in beauty, like the night Epitaph A tombstone inscription or brief poem com-
Of cloudless climes and starry skies; posed in memory of someone who has died. Ben
See page 696. Jonson is well known for his moving epitaphs.
See also RHYTHM. See page 605.
See also ELEGY.
Epic A long narrative poem that recounts, in formal
language, the exploits of a larger-than-life hero. The Epithet A brief phrase that is used to characterize a
epic hero is usually a man of high social status who person, place, or thing. The phrase ’the Great’ in
embodies the ideals of his people. He is often of great “Alexander the Great” is an epithet.

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Essay A short piece of nonfiction writing in which the moral, or lesson to be learned, while others leave it up
author presents his or her view on a particular topic. In to the reader to infer the moral. In a beast fable, ani-
a formal essay, such as Francis Bacon’s “Of Studies,” mals talk and act like representative human types.
the author writes as an impersonal, objective authority See pages 547 and 1238.
on a particular subject, with the purpose of instructing See also EXEMPLUM.
or persuading the audience. Typically, the author strikes
a serious tone and develops a main idea, or thesis, in Falling action. See PLOT.
a logical, highly organized way. By contrast, the infor-
mal or personal essay has a lighter tone, is less struc- Farce A type of comedy with ridiculous situations,
tured (almost conversational), and typically includes characters, and events.
personal details and references as well as humor. Joan See also COMEDY, HUMOR, PARODY,
Didion’s “On Keeping a Notebook” is an example of SATIRE, WIT.
an informal essay. Joseph Addison and Richard Steele
wrote many entertaining periodical essays—a type of Fiction A narrative in which situations and characters
informal essay that appears in a periodical publication are invented by the writer. Some aspects of a fictional
such as a magazine or newspaper. work may be based on fact or experience.
See pages 30, 273, 504, and 560. See also DRAMA, NOVEL, SHORT STORY.
See also NONFICTION.

Figurative language Language that is not meant to

Evocative words. See IMAGERY. be interpreted literally and is used for descriptive effect,
often to imply ideas indirectly. Figurative language is
Exaggeration. See HYPERBOLE. especially prominent in poetry.
See page 263.
Exemplum A brief story used as an example to illus- See also FIGURE OF SPEECH.
trate a moral point. Chaucer’s “The Pardoner’s Tale” is
an exemplum.
Figure of speech A specific device or kind of figura-
See page 146. tive language such as metaphor, personification,
See also ANECDOTE, FABLE.
simile, or symbol.
See page 263.
Exposition. See PLOT. See also CONNOTATION, FIGURATIVE LAN-
GUAGE, METAPHOR, OXYMORON,
Extended metaphor A metaphor that compares two PERSONIFICATION, SIMILE, SYMBOL.
unlike things in various ways throughout a paragraph,
stanza, or selection. Flashback A narrative passage set in an earlier time
See page 556. that interrupts the chronological order of the rest of a
See also METAPHOR. story. Flashbacks allow writers to go back in time to
explain what has happened previously, giving readers
External conflict. See CONFLICT. information that may help explain the main events of
the story.
See page 1020.

F
See also FORESHADOWING.

Flat character. See CHARACTER.

Fable A very brief, often humorous, story intended to
teach a lesson about human behavior or to give advice Foil A minor character whose attitudes, beliefs, and
about how to behave. Many fables end by stating the behavior differ significantly from those of a main

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character. Through contrast, the foil underscores the
distinctive characteristics of the main character and
may (1) highlight flaws in the main character’s person-
ality, and (2) suggest what the main character might Genre A category or type of literature. Fiction, nonfic-
have been like if these flaws had not been present. tion, poetry, and drama are examples of genres.
See page 355.
Gothic novel A novel that has a gloomy, foreboding
setting and contains strong elements of horror, mys-
Folklore The traditional beliefs, customs, stories,
tery, and the supernatural. Anne Radcliffe’s The
songs, and dances of a culture. Folklore is passed
Mysteries of Udolpho is a good example.
down through the oral tradition and is based on the
concerns of ordinary people. See page 751.
See also NOVEL.
See also FOLKTALE.
Haiku A nature poem that generally consists of sev-
Folktale A traditional story passed down orally long enteen syllables arranged in three lines. The first and
before being written down. Commonly, the author of a third lines have five syllables each; the middle line has
folktale is anonymous. Folktales include fairy tales, seven syllables.
myths, legends, and tall tales. See page 794.
See also BALLAD, EPIC, FOLKLORE, LEGEND,
MYTH, ORAL TRADITION, TALL TALE. Hero The chief character in a literary work, typically
one whose admirable qualities or noble deeds arouse
Foreshadowing The author’s use of hints or clues to the admiration of the reader. A Byronic hero is the
prepare readers for events that will happen later in a unconventional, brooding romantic character popular-
narrative. ized by Lord Byron in some of his verse.
See pages 78 and 1048. See pages 46 and 760.
See also FLASHBACK. See also EPIC, LEGEND, MYTH, PROTAGONIST,
TALL TALE.

Formal essay. See ESSAY. Heroic couplet A couplet is two lines of rhymed
verse that work together as a unit to express an idea or
Frame story A plot structure that includes the telling make a point. In a heroic couplet (so named because
of a story within a story. The frame is the outer story, it is based on the poetic form used by ancient Greek
which usually precedes and follows the inner and and Roman poets in their heroic epics), each line typi-
more important story. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is a cally consists of ten alternating unstressed and stressed
frame story. The pilgrims’ contest and journey is the syllables (or iambic pentameter). The following lines
outer story, or frame. The tales told by the pilgrims are from Pope’s An Essay on Man make a heroic couplet.
the inner stories.
And, spite of pride, in erring reason’s spite,
See page 121. One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right.
See also STRUCTURE. See page 544.
See also COUPLET, IAMBIC PENTAMETER.
Free verse Poetry that has no fixed pattern of meter,
rhyme, line length, or stanza arrangement; it generally Heroic stanza A group of four poetic lines (a qua-
imitates natural forms of speech. Writers often use free train) in iambic pentameter having a rhyme scheme of
verse to emphasize the relationship between form and abab. This style is also known as the elegaic stanza.
meaning in a poem. Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country
See page 1237.
Churchyard” features heroic, or elegaic stanzas.
See also METER, RHYME, RHYTHM, STANZA. See also IAMBIC PENTAMETER, QUATRAIN.

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Historical fiction A work of fiction, such as the his- Imagery The “word pictures” that writers create to
torical novel, that sets characters, either real or imag- help evoke an emotional response in readers. In creat-
ined, against a backdrop of actual events. Ivanhoe, by ing effective images, writers use sensory details, or
Sir Walter Scott, is a well-known example. descriptions that appeal to one or more of the five
See page 594. senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Note
See also FICTION, NOVEL. Yeats’s use of imagery in “The Wild Swans at Coole.”
See pages 393 and 850.
History A factual account of real events that occurred See also FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE.
in the past. Typically, a history is in the form of a narra-
tive, is arranged chronologically, and seeks to provide Informal essay. See ESSAY.
an objective description of what happened.
See page 103. Internal conflict. See CONFLICT.
See also HISTORICAL FICTION, NONFICTION.
Inversion The reversal of the usual word order in a
Humor The quality of a literary work that makes the prose sentence or line of poetry. Writers use inversion
characters and their situations seem funny, amusing, or to maintain rhyme scheme or meter or to emphasize
ludicrous. Humor often points out the foibles or incon- certain words or phrases. An example of inversion
gruities of human nature and the irony found in many occurs in the following line from Richard Lovelace’s
situations. Humorous language includes sarcasm, exag- “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars”:
geration, puns, and verbal irony. Tell me not, sweet, I am unkind,
See page 1140. See page 515.
See also COMEDY, FARCE, PARODY, SATIRE, WIT.

Irony A contrast or discrepancy between expectation

Hyperbole A figure of speech that uses exaggeration
and reality. Irony can take several forms: verbal irony
to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke
exists when a person says one thing while meaning
humor. For example, note the hyperbole in this stanza
another; situational irony exists when the outcome of
from “The Constant Lover,” by Sir John Suckling:
a situation is the opposite of what someone expected;
Time shall molt away his wings, dramatic irony occurs when the audience or reader
Ere he shall discover
In the whole wide world again knows something that the characters do not know.
Such a constant lover. Paul’s success in “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” by D. H.
See page 458. Lawrence, is ironic because it does not stop the house
See also FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE. from whispering, “There must be more money!”
See pages 167, 769, and 874.

I J–L
Iambic pentameter A specific poetic meter in which
each line has five metric units, or feet, and each foot Journal A daily record of events kept by a participant
consists of an unstressed syllable (
) followed by a in those events or a witness to them. A journal is usu-
stressed syllable (). The rhythm of a line of iambic ally less intimate than a diary, emphasizing events
pentameter would be indicated as shown in this exam- rather than emotions. James Boswell kept a journal of
ple from Spenser’s “Sonnet 75”: his travels with Samuel Johnson, and published it

came
But  the
tide and

made my
pains his

prey. under the name The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides.
See page 244. See page 706.
See also BLANK VERSE, METER, SCANSION. See also DIARY, NONFICTION.

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Kenning A descriptive figure of speech that takes the
place of a common noun, especially in Anglo-Saxon metaphors:
and Norse poetry. For example, in Beowulf, a battle is Come sleep! O Sleep, the certain knot of peace,
described as a “storm of swords.” The baiting place of wit, the balm of woe,
See page 47. See page 668.
See also FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE. See also FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE.

Legend A tale that is based on history and handed Metaphysical conceit. See CONCEIT, EXTENDED
down from one generation to the next. Usually, a leg- METAPHOR, METAPHYSICAL POETRY.
end celebrates the heroic qualities of a national or cul-
tural leader. Because legends are the stories of the Metaphysical poetry The work of a group of
people, they are often expressions of the values or seventeenth-century English poets led by John Donne.
character of a nation. Robin Hood is a legendary hero. Metaphysical poetry is written in a conversational style,
See page 201. emphasizes complex meanings, contains unusual
See also FOLKTALE, HERO, ORAL TRADITION. imagery, and extends the range of metaphors into
areas of science, religion, and learning.
Literary criticism A type of writing in which the
See page 413.
writer analyzes and evaluates a literary work. See also CONCEIT, METAPHOR.
See page 510.
Meter A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed
Lyric poetry Poetry that expresses a speaker’s per- syllables that gives a line of poetry a predictable
sonal thoughts and feelings. Lyric poems are usually rhythm. The basic unit of meter is known as a foot,
short and musical. While the subject of a lyric poem consisting of one or two stressed syllables (marked )
might be an object, a person, or an event, the empha- and/or one or two unstressed syllables (marked
).
sis of the poem is on the experience of emotion. “The The basic types of metrical feet are the iamb (
), the
World Is Too Much with Us,” by William Wordsworth, is trochee (
), the anapest (

), the dactyl (

),
an example of a lyric poem. and the spondee (). A pyrrhic foot (

), or empty
See page 890. foot, appears only as a substitute foot; it cannot deter-
mine meter. The length of a metrical line is often
expressed in terms of the number of feet it contains: a
dimeter has two feet, a trimeter three, a tetrameter
M four, a pentameter five, a hexameter six, and a hep-
tameter seven. The meter (iambic tetrameter) is
Memoir A type of narrative nonfiction that presents marked in the following lines from “The Passionate
the story of a period in the writer’s life and is usually Shepherd to His Love,” by Christopher Marlowe:
written from the first-person point of view. A memoir Co

me li
ve w

ith me a

nd be my

love,
often emphasizes the writer’s thoughts and feelings, his
or her relationships with other people, or the impact of A

nd we w

ill all t

he pl
easu

res pr
ove

significant historical events on his or her life. See also RHYTHM, SCANSION.

See also AUTOBIOGRAPHY, NONFICTION.

Minor character. See CHARACTER.
Metaphor A figure of speech that makes a compari-
son between two seemingly unlike things to help read- Miracle play A medieval religious drama presenting
ers perceive the first thing more vividly and to suggest a story from the Bible or the lives of the saints, also
an underlying similarity between the two. A metaphor called a mystery play.
does not use the word like or as. The lines below, See page 209.

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Modernism A term applied to a variety of twentieth-
century artistic movements that shared a desire to
break with the past and to change the very structure of
N
literature. Some writers of the modernist movement Narrative Writing that tells a story. Driven by a con-
include T. S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and James Joyce. flict or problem, a narrative unfolds event by event and
See page 915. leads to a resolution. The story is narrated, or told, by
a narrator and can take the form of a novel, an essay,
Monologue A long speech by a character in a play, a poem, or a short story.
spoken either to others or as if alone. See page 899.
See also DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE, SOLILOQUY. See also NARRATIVE POETRY, NARRATOR.

Mood The emotional quality, or atmosphere, of a Narrative poetry Verse that tells a story. Narrative
work of literature. A number of elements may con- poems have a narrator and often use literary devices
tribute to creating mood, such as the writer’s choice of such as figurative language or dialogue. Ballads, epics,
language, subject matter, setting, and tone, as well as and romances are all types of narrative poetry. “The
such sound devices as rhyme, rhythm, and meter. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” by Samuel Taylor
mood of Daniel Defoe’s “A Journal of the Plague Year” Coleridge, is an example of narrative poetry.
is somber and horrific. See page 708.
See page 1007. See also BALLAD, DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE,
See also ATMOSPHERE, SETTING, TONE. EPIC, NARRATIVE, ROMANCE.

Morality play A medieval religious play that drama- Narrator The person who tells a story. In some
tized points of religious doctrine. The plays centered cases the narrator is a character in the story, as in
around the moral struggles of everyday people, and “B. Wordsworth” by V. S. Naipaul. At other times the
were designed to teach important lessons about salva- narrator stands outside the story, as in “Mammie’s
tion and the struggle between virtue and vice. Form at the Post Office” by E. A. Markham.
See page 209. See page 899.
See also NARRATIVE, POINT OF VIEW, SPEAKER.
Motif A significant phrase, description, or image that
is repeated throughout a literary work and is related to Neoclassicism The term for the classicism that domi-
its theme. Luck is a central motif of D. H. Lawrence’s nated literature during the Restoration period (espe-
“The Rocking-Horse Winner.” cially dominant from about 1660–1780). Neoclassical
See page 373. writers valued order, reason, balance, and clarity over
emotion. These writers imitated the work of classical
Motivation A character’s reason for acting, thinking, writers such as Horace and Virgil. The work of
or feeling in a certain way. This motivation may be Alexander Pope is an example of neoclassicism.
stated in the story or implied. It may be an external cir- See page 539.
cumstance or an internal moral or emotional impulse.
In “Empty Seat,” by Yuan Qiongqiong, the main char- Nonfiction Literature that deals with real people,
acter is motivated by a desire not to appear foolish. events, and experiences. Among the categories of non-
See page 1103. fiction are biographies, autobiographies, and essays.
See also AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BIOGRAPHY, ESSAY,
Myth A traditional story of anonymous origin that FICTION, MEMOIR.
deals with gods, heroes, and supernatural events.
Myths explain a belief, custom, or force of nature. Nonsense verse Humorous poetry that defies logic.
See also FOLKTALE, ORAL TRADITION. It usually has a strong rhythm and contains made-up

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words known as nonce words. Edward Lear and Lewis Oxymoron A figure of speech in which opposite
Carroll are well known for their nonsense verse. ideas are combined, as in the phrase “wise fool.”
See page 859. Milton’s description of Hell in Paradise Lost as “dark-
ness visible” is an example of oxymoron.
Novel A book-length fictional prose narrative, typi- See page 1161.
cally having a plot that unfolds through the actions, See also FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, PARADOX.
speech, and thoughts of characters.
See page 500.
See also FICTION, GOTHIC NOVEL, SHORT STORY.

P–Q
O Paradox A statement that appears to be contradictory
but is actually true, either in fact or in a figurative
sense. The fifth line of Elizabeth I’s poem “On
Octave The first eight lines of a Petrarchan, or
Monsieur’s Departure” contains two paradoxes:
Italian, sonnet. The octave usually presents a situation,
idea, or question. I am and not, I freeze and yet am burned,

See page 244. See page 453.

See also QUATRAIN, SESTET, SONNET, STANZA. See also OXYMORON.

Ode A long, serious lyric poem that is elevated in Parallelism The use of a series of words, phrases, or
tone and style. Some odes celebrate a person, an sentences that have similar grammatical structures.
event, or even a power; others are more private medi- Parallelism shows the relationship between ideas and
tations. Odes are traditionally written in three stanzas helps emphasize thoughts. The closing lines of “The
and include rhyme. In the Horatian ode, a pattern set Hollow Men,” by T. S. Eliot, use parallel phrasing:
up in the first stanza is followed in the remaining stan- Between the conception / And the creation /
zas. The modern irregular ode has no such regular Between the emotion / And the response /
Falls the Shadow
pattern. Shelley’s “Ode to the West Wind” provides an
example of a modern ode. See page 276.
See also REPETITION.
See page 791.

Parody A humorous imitation of a literary work that

Onomatopoeia The use of words with sounds that
aims to point out the work’s shortcomings. The paro-
imitate or suggest their meanings. The words hiss,
dist imitates some defining feature of the work, such as
bang, and buzz are onomatopoetic.
its style, exaggerating it to comic effect. Shakespeare’s
See page 713.
“Sonnet 130” is a parody of Renaissance love poetry.
Oral tradition Literature that passes by word of See page 535.
See also SATIRE, WIT.
mouth from one generation to the next.
See also BALLAD, EPIC, FOLKLORE, FOLKTALE, Pastoral Poetry that idealizes the simple lives of
LEGEND, MYTH.
shepherds in a rural setting. These poems exaggerate
Ottava rima A poetic stanza of eight lines (an rural pleasures and the innocence of country people
octave) written in iambic pentameter with the rhyme living in harmony with nature.
scheme abababcc. See page 279.

See page 1028.

See also IAMBIC PENTAMETER, RHYME Personification A figure of speech in which an ani-
SCHEME, STANZA. mal, object, force of nature, or idea is given human

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qualities. William Butler Yeats personifies love in these with third-person omniscient, or all-knowing, point of
lines from “When You Are Old”: view, the narrator is not a character in the story, but
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled someone who stands outside the story and comments
And paced upon the mountains overhead on the action. A third-person omniscient narrator
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars. knows everything about the characters and events and
See page 263. may reveal details that the characters themselves could
See also FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE. not reveal. “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” by D. H.
Lawrence, is told from the third-person omniscient
Persuasion A piece of writing, usually nonfiction, that point of view.
seeks to move the reader to the author’s viewpoint by See pages 892, 1109, and 1232.
See also NARRATOR, SPEAKER.
one or more means, such as logic, emotion, entreaty,
or salesmanship. Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of
the Rights of Woman is a powerful example of persua- Props Theater slang (a shortened form of properties)
sive writing. for articles used in a play, movie, or TV show.
See also DRAMA.

Plot The sequence of events in a narrative work. The

Prologue An introductory section of a play, speech,
plot begins with the exposition, or the introduction of
or other literary work.
the characters, the setting, and the conflict. The rising
See also DRAMA, EPILOGUE.
action adds complications to the conflict, leading to
the climax, or emotional high point. The climax gives
way rapidly to its logical result in the falling action, Protagonist The central character in a story, drama,
and finally to the resolution (sometimes called the or dramatic poem around whom most of the action
dénouement) in which the final outcome is revealed. revolves. During the course of the work, the protago-
nist undergoes some conflict that is crucial to the plot.
See pages 892 and 1070.
See also CONFLICT. Generally the audience is meant to sympathize with
the protagonist. The young wife is the protagonist in
Nadine Gordimer’s “The Train from Rhodesia.”
Poetry A form of literary expression that differs from See page 975.
prose in emphasizing the line as the unit of composi- See also ANTAGONIST, CONFLICT, HERO.
tion. Many other traditional characteristics of poetry
apply to some poems but not to others—for example, Psalm A song of praise most commonly found in the
emotional, imaginative language; use of metaphor, Biblical book of the same name. David, king of Israel
simile, and other figures of speech; division into stan- around 1000 B.C., wrote many of these psalms.
zas; rhyme; and regular pattern of meter.
See page 402.

Point of view The relationship of the narrator to the Puritan writing The work of early seventeenth-
story. In a story with first-person point of view, the century writers who supported the Puritan cause.
narrator is a character in the story, referred to as “I.” John Milton and John Bunyan were two major Puritan
The reader sees everything through that character’s writers.
eyes. “B. Wordsworth,” by V. S. Naipaul, is told from See page 459.
the first-person point of view. In a story with third-
person limited point of view, the narrator reveals the Quatrain A four-line poem or stanza.
thoughts, feelings, and observations of only one char-
See page 245.
acter, referring to that character as “he” or “she,” as in See also BALLAD, COUPLET, HEROIC STANZA,
“The Demon Lover” by Elizabeth Bowen. In a story OCTAVE, SESTET, STANZA.

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while end rhyme occurs at the ends of lines.
See also OTTAVA RIMA, RHYME SCHEME,
Realism A nineteenth-century literary movement that SLANT RHYME, SOUND DEVICES.
usually focused on everyday middle- or working-class
conditions and characters, often with reformist intent. Rhyme scheme The pattern that end rhymes form in
a stanza or a poem. The rhyme scheme is designated
Refrain A passage repeated at regular intervals with by the assignment of a different letter of the alphabet
variations, usually in a poem or song. For example, in to each new rhyme. For example, the rhyme scheme
Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good of the following lines from Thomas Hardy’s “The Man
Night,” the line “Rage, rage against the dying of the He Killed” is abab:
light” serves as a refrain. “Had he and I but met a
By some old ancient inn, b
See page 708.
We should have sat us down to wet a
See also REPETITION.
Right many a nipperkin! b
See page 252.
Repetition The recurrence of sounds, words, phrases, See also RHYME, SONNET.
lines, or stanzas in a speech or piece of writing. Writers
use repetition to emphasize an important point, to Rhythm The pattern of beats created by the arrange-
expand upon an idea, to help create rhythm, and to ment of stressed and unstressed syllables, especially in
increase the feeling of unity in a work. poetry. Rhythm gives a poem a musical quality and
See page 22. may help convey its meaning. Rhythm can be regular,
See also REFRAIN.
with a predictable pattern or meter, or irregular. Note
the rhythm in the following lines from A. E. Housman’s
Resolution. See PLOT. “To an Athlete Dying Young”:
T
he ti
me y
ou w on yo
ur town t
he ra ce
Rhetoric The art of using language to present facts W
e cha
ired y

ou thro
ugh t


he market-pl
ace;
and ideas in order to persuade. Formal rhetorical dis- See page 92.
course includes the following devices: See also IAMBIC PENTAMETER, METER,
SCANSION.
invention: the putting forth of logical, ethical, and
emotional arguments
Rising action. See PLOT.
arrangement: the structure of these arguments
style: the selection of original words and phrases to Romance Historically, a term used to describe long
express the arguments narrative works about the exploits and love affairs of
memory: a system for committing the text to the chivalric heroes such as King Arthur and Sir Lancelot.
speaker’s mind The term romance can also be applied to any story
that involves noble heroes, idealized love, or fantastic
delivery: the manner of presentation in a speech; events that seem remote from everyday life. Thomas
including tone of voice, gesture, and expression Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur is a romance.
See page 1117. See page 997.
See also ARGUMENT, PERSUASION. See also LEGEND.

Rhyme The repetition of the same stressed vowel Romanticism An artistic movement that values imag-
sounds and any succeeding sounds in two or more ination and feeling over intellect and reason. The works

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of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, and Keats represent Joseph Conrad’s “The Lagoon” plays an important part
the height of romantic poetry. in the story.
See pages 657 and 687. See pages 892 and 1194.

Shakespearean songs Shakespeare used songs in

Round character. See CHARACTER.
his plays to heighten the drama, making what is merry
merrier or what is sad sadder. His plays include love
songs, nonsense songs, and dirges, songs that mourn

S
a death.
See pages 286 and 295.

Satire Literature that exposes to ridicule the vices or Short story A brief fictional narrative in prose. A
follies of people or societies through devices such as short story usually focuses on a single event with only
exaggeration, understatement, and irony. Jonathan a few characters. Elements of the short story include
Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels is an example of satire. plot, character, setting, point of view, and theme.
See page 525.
See pages 891–892.
See also EXAGGERATION, IRONY, PARODY,
See also FICTION, NOVEL.
UNDERSTATEMENT, WIT.

Simile A figure of speech that uses the words like

Scansion The analysis of the meter of a line of verse.
or as to compare two seemingly unlike things. Note
To scan a line of poetry means to note the stressed
the following example from Andrew Marvell’s poem
and unstressed syllables and to divide the line into its
“To His Coy Mistress”:
feet, or rhythmical units.
Now, therefore, while the youthful hue
See also FOOT, METER, RHYTHM.
Sits on thy skin like morning dew . . .
See pages 263 and 883.
Screenplay The script of a film, which, in addition to See also ANALOGY, FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE.
dialogue and stage directions, usually contains detailed
instructions about camera shots and angles. Slant rhyme An approximate rhyme based on
See page 642. assonance, the repetition of a vowel sound, or on
consonance, the repetition of a consonant sound
Sensory details. See IMAGERY. at the end of a word. For example, the repetition of
the short a vowel sound in the words back and land
Sestet A six-line poem or stanza; also the final six forms a slant rhyme, as does the repetition of the ck
lines of a Petrarchan, or Italian, sonnet. In a consonant ending in the words sock and pluck.
Petrarchan sonnet, the sestet provides a resolution, See page 1249.
comment, or answer to the question or situation posed See also RHYME.
in the octave.
See page 244. Soliloquy A dramatic device in which a character,
See also COUPLET, OCTAVE, QUATRAIN, alone on a stage (or while under the impression
SONNET, STANZA. of being alone), reveals his or her private thoughts
and feelings as if thinking aloud. A soliloquy gives
Setting The time and place in which the events of a information that the character would not reveal to
literary work occur. The setting includes not only physi- other characters in the play. In act 3, scene 1 of
cal surroundings, but also the ideas, customs, values, Macbeth, by Shakespeare, Macbeth delivers a soliloquy
and beliefs of the people who live there. The setting in that begins,

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LITERARY TERMS HANDBOOK

To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus—
Our fears in Banquo stick deep,
Soldier” is a soldier commemorating his homeland.
See page 339.
See page 1153.
See also ASIDE, MONOLOGUE.
See also DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE, NARRATOR,
POETRY, TONE.
Sonnet A lyric poem of fourteen lines, typically
written in iambic pentameter and usually following Spenserian stanza Nine-line poetic stanza composed
strict patterns of stanza division and rhyme. The of eight lines of iambic pentameter and one of iambic
Shakespearean, or English, sonnet consists of three hexameter, with the rhyme scheme ababbcbcc. Byron
quatrains, or four-line stanzas, followed by a couplet, used this stanza in “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.”
or pair of rhyming lines. The rhyme scheme is usually
See page 245.
abab, cdcd, efef, gg. The rhyming couplet often pre- See also IAMBIC PENTAMETER, RHYME,
sents a conclusion to the issues or questions presented STANZA.
in the three quatrains. Like a Shakespearean sonnet,
the Spenserian sonnet has three quatrains and a cou- Sprung rhythm A meter in which each foot has one
plet, but it follows the rhyme scheme abab bcbc cdcd stressed syllable, usually the first, and any number of
ee. This interlocking rhyme scheme pushes the sonnet unstressed syllables. Gerard Manley Hopkins believed
toward the final couplet, which makes a key point or this to be the rhythm of speech. The following line,
comment. In a Petrarchan, or Italian, sonnet the first from his “Pied Beauty,” exhibits sprung rhythm:
eight lines (called an “octave”) present a problem or
Wh
at ev
 er


is fickle,

freckl
 ed
(who kn 
ows how?)
situation. The last six lines (called a “sestet”) provide
an answer or resolution to the problem. The rhyme See page 877.
See also RHYTHM.
scheme is typically abbaabba cdecde, or abbaabba
cdcdcd.
Stage directions. See DRAMA.
See pages 244–245.
See also COUPLET, OCTAVE, PETRARCHAN SON-
NET, RHYME SCHEME, SESTET, SONNET Stanza A group of lines forming a unit in a poem. A
SEQUENCE, STANZA.
stanza in a poem is similar to a paragraph in prose.
See also BALLAD STANZA, COUPLET, HEROIC
Sonnet sequence A series of sonnets focused on a STANZA, OCTAVE, OTTAVA RIMA,
particular theme. For example, Petrarch wrote hun- QUATRAIN, SESTET, SONNET, SPENSERIAN
STANZA, TERCET.
dreds of sonnets about a woman named Laura.
See pages 244 and 833.
See also SONNET. Static character. See CHARACTER.

Sound devices Elements of poetry that appeal to the Stereotype A generalization about a group of people
ear. In poetry, sound devices such as alliteration and that is made without regard for individual differences.
assonance are used to emphasize certain words and In literature, this term is often used to describe a con-
underscore their meaning, to enhance rhythm, and to ventional character who conforms to an expected, fixed
add a musical quality to the work. pattern of behavior.
See also ALLITERATION, ASSONANCE, CONSO- See page 967.
NANCE, ONOMATOPOEIA, RHYME, See also CHARACTER.
RHYTHM.
Stream of consciousness The literary representation
Speaker The voice of a poem, sometimes that of the of an author’s or character’s free-flowing thoughts and
poet, sometimes that of a fictional person, an animal, feelings. The authors James Joyce, William Faulkner,

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and Virginia Woolf are noted for their use of stream-of- Symbolist poetry A kind of poetry that emphasizes
consciousness techniques. suggestion and inward experience instead of explicit
See page 915. description. The symbolist poets of the late 1800s influ-
See also MODERNISM. enced twentieth-century writers such as William Butler
Yeats, T. S. Eliot, James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, D. H.
Structure The framework or general plan of a literary Lawrence, and Virginia Woolf.
work. Structure refers to the relationship of the parts of
a work to each other and to the whole piece. In a long
narrative, structure is the device the writer uses to
arrange the events in a story to proceed by stages to a
satisfying conclusion. The structure of The Canterbury
T
Tales allowed Chaucer to represent a wide variety of Tall tale A wildly imaginative story, usually passed
characters and social classes. down orally, about the fantastic adventures or amazing
See page 736. feats of folk heroes in realistic local settings.
See also FOLKLORE, ORAL TRADITION.
Style The expressive qualities that distinguish an
author’s work, including word choice, sentence struc- Tercet A stanza of three lines, sometimes
ture, and figures of speech. Winston Churchill’s style rhymed aaa.
includes many strong emotional appeals. See pages 778 and 1155.
See also RHYME, OCTAVE, SESTET, STANZA.
See pages 482 and 615.
See also AUTHOR’S PURPOSE, DICTION.
Terza rima A verse form consisting of a sequence of
interlocking three-line stanzas, or tercets. The first and
Suspense The anticipation of the outcome of events,
third lines of the first stanza rhyme, and the second
especially as they affect a character for whom one has
line provides the rhyme for the first and third lines of
sympathy. Suspense produces a feeling of uncertainty
the next stanza, forming the rhyme scheme aba bcb
that causes anxiety. Writers can produce suspense by
cdc and so on.
creating a threat to the main character and including
mysterious events. Writers usually build suspense See page 778.
throughout a story, building to the most suspenseful
Theater of the absurd The name given to the plays
moment just before the climax. Anita Desai builds
of a group of twentieth-century dramatists who portray
suspense in “Games at Twilight” as the young boy
life as devoid of meaning and purpose. To portray
waits to be discovered in the shed.
what they see as the absurdity of life, these playwrights
See page 1126.
often write plays with little or no action, with frag-
mented dialogue interrupted by long silences, and with
Subject The topic of a piece of writing. lonely characters who desperately hate being alone.
See page 684. Harold Pinter, Samuel Beckett, and Eugene Ionesco are
leading dramatists of theater of the absurd plays.
Symbol Any person, animal, place, object, or event See page 1253.
that exists on a literal level within a work but also rep- See also DRAMA.
resents something on a figurative level. The lamb is a
symbol of innocence in William Blake’s “The Lamb.” Theme The main idea of a story, poem, novel, or
The term symbolism refers to the use of symbols. play, sometimes expressed as a general statement
about life. Some works have a stated theme, which is
See pages 259 and 1170.
See also ALLEGORY, FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, expressed directly and explicitly. Other works have an
SYMBOLIST POETRY. implied theme, which is revealed gradually through

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other elements such as plot, character, setting, point of Translation The rendering of a work from one lan-
view, and symbol. A literary work may have more than guage into another.
one theme. A theme of Doris Lessing’s “A Mild Attack See page 409.
of the Locusts” is that life goes on.
See pages 83, 741, and 892.

Thesis The main idea of a work of nonfiction. A the-

sis statement describes the topic and the author’s
approach to it. The thesis of Francis Bacon’s “Of
U–W
Studies” is that books have multiple uses, and readers Understatement Language that makes something
have multiple needs and capabilities. seem less important than it really is. Understatement
may be used to add humor or to focus the reader’s
See page 684.
attention on something the author wants to emphasize.
See also HYPERBOLE.
Title The name given to a literary work. The title can
help explain the setting, provide insight into the theme,
or describe the action that will take place in the work. Vernacular The ordinary spoken language of the
See page 1186. people of a particular region. Writers often have their
characters speak in everyday language to convey infor-
Tone A reflection of the writer’s attitude toward a mation about the characters’ social classes and places
subject as conveyed through such elements as word of origin. Regionalist writers commonly use vernacular
choice, punctuation, sentence structure, and figures of to help them accurately re-create a region.
speech. A writer’s tone may convey a variety of atti- See page 1216.
tudes such as sympathy, irony, sadness, or bitterness. See also DIALECT.
The tone of Thomas Hardy’s “Ah, Are You Digging on
My Grave?” is one of bittersweet humor. Villanelle A nineteen-line poem divided into five ter-
See page 1089. cets (three-line stanzas), each with the rhyme scheme
See also AUTHOR’S PURPOSE, NARRATOR, aba, and a final quatrain with the rhyme scheme abaa.
POINT OF VIEW, SPEAKER, STYLE.
The first line is repeated as a refrain at the end of the
second and fourth stanzas. The last line of the first
Tragedy A play in which the main character, or tragic stanza is repeated at the end of the third and fifth stan-
hero, suffers a downfall as a result of a fatal character zas. Both lines reappear as the final two lines of the
flaw, errors in judgment, or forces beyond human con- poem. This six-stanza form was originally used in
trol, such as fate. Traditionally, the tragic hero is a per- French pastoral poetry.
son of high rank who, out of hubris (an exaggerated
See page 1155.
sense of power and pride), violates a human, natural,
See also QUATRAIN, REFRAIN, STANZA, TERCET.
or divine law. By breaking the law, the hero poses a
threat to society and causes the suffering or death of
family members, friends, and associates. In the last act Wit An exhibition of cleverness and humor. In the
of a traditional tragedy, these wrongs are set right 16th and 17th centuries, people considered wit the
when the tragic hero is punished or dies and order is expression of truth in a surprising way, such as by
restored. For example, in Macbeth, by Shakespeare, pointing out a meaningful resemblance between seem-
Macbeth’s tragic flaw is excessive ambition. ingly dissimilar things. During the 18th century, how-
ever, people came to think of wit as any original or
See page 388.
See also DRAMA.
clever expression of an idea. The works of Jonathan
Swift and Alexander Pope are known for their wit.
Tragic hero. See TRAGEDY. See page 639.

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