Lost ‘n’ Found
No Rhyme, No Reason
Speaker
voice/character who speaks; also known as the narator
Addressee
character who is spoken to/who listens
Statement
what the speaker says to the addressee
Rhythm
effect created through regular distribution of stressed and unstressed syllables
Caesura
pause or break in the middle of a line
End-stopped line
line that completes a syntactic unit, mostly ending with a punctuation
Run-on line
line that contains part of a syntactic unit, to be completed in the following
Rhyme
identity of sound from the last stressed vowel, to the end of words or phrases
Alliteration
identity of sound at the beginning of words
Assonance
identity of sound in the middle of words
Symbol
something that stands for or points to something else
Metaphor
way of speaking about something as if it were something else
Metonymy
indirect way of referring to something by naming something else closely related to it, e.g. as container and content, or genus and species
Sonnet
fourteen-line poem in rhymed iambic pentameter
Onomatopoeia
similarity between sound and meaning
Motif
element that occurs in many different texts
Simile
explicit comparison
Hyperbole
poetic exaggeration
Personification
a way of talking about something non-human as if it were a person; also known as prosopopoeia
Neurotic Networks
Literacy, Literally
Genre = a type or kind of literature.
Fiction = narrative prose literature.
Poetry = metrical literature.
Drama = representational literature.
Fiction
Short story = written to be read at a single sitting.
Novella = written to be read in several sittings.
Novel = written to be read in multiple sittings.
Poetry
Lyric poetry = expresses thoughts or feelings.
Narrative poetry = the narrator is a storyteller.
Dramatic poetry = the narrator interacts with others.
Drama
Comedy = from disorder to order, ends happily.
Tragedy = from order to disorder, ending badly.
Tragicomedy = mixes tragedy and comedy.
lit-er-a-ture | [noun]
∎ Written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit.
2.
∎ Books and writings published on a particular subject.
3.
∎ Leaflets and other printed matter used to advertise products or give advice.
lit-er-ar-y | [adjective]
∎ Concerning the writing, study, or content of literature, especially of the kind valued for quality of form.
∎∎ “Orwell’s are among the great literary works of the twentienth century”
lit-er-al | [adjective]
∎ Taking words in their usual or most basic sense without metaphor or exaggeration.
2.
∎ (of a translation) representing the exact words of the original text.
∎∎ “A literal translation from the Arabic”
∎∎∎ synonyms: word-for-word, verbatim, line-for-line, letter-for-letter
3.
∎ (of a person or performance) lacking imagination; prosaic.
∎∎ “his interpretation was rather too literal”
∎∎∎ synonyms: literal-minded, factual
∎∎∎∎ antonyms: whimsical
Poetic Modus Operandi
Some modes or types of poetic style… the full list is indefinite.
Argumentative mode
Speaker expresses an opinion or disagrees with another one
Confessional mode
Speaker expresses private or secret thoughts or emotions
Descriptive mode
Speaker details a scene, usually in the present tense
Dialogic mode
Two or more voices take turns in speaking
Didactic mode
Speaker informs or advises the addressee or addressees
Discursive mode
Speaker discusses a topic in the manner of an essay
Dramatic mode
Speaker interacts with others in a well-defined situation
Elegiac mode
Speaker regrets the loss of something or someone
Eulogic mode
Speaker praises something or someone
Expository mode
Speaker illustrates or explains something
Lyric mode
Speaker expresses thoughts or emotions
Narrative mode
Speaker tells a story, usually in the past tense
Persuasive mode
Speaker tries to convince the addressee or addressees
Polemic mode
Speaker criticises something or someone explicitly
Satiric mode
Speaker criticises something or someone implicitly