Glossary of Literary Concepts in English
ALLITERATION
is the repetition of consonant sounds in a series of words. If the consonants are the same but the sounds are different they do not alliterate.
eg. "...the grease that kisses the onions with a hiss."
from WILLIAM STREET by Kenneth Slessor
ALLUSION
is the reference to well-known figures and/or other texts
eg. "And thrice I heard the Cock crow thinking I knew it's meaning well."
from COCK CROW by Rosemary Dobson The reference here is to the denial of Jesus after his arrest by one of his disciples.
APPROPRIATED TEXT
A text which has been taken from one context and translated The process of translation allows new insights into the original text and emphasises contextual differences between the two.
ASSONANCE
is the repetition of vowel sounds. The vowels themselves may be different but the sound has to be the same.
eg. "If I should die, think this only of me"
from THE SOLDIER by Rupert Brooke
CLICHÉ
is a time-worn phrase used to explain thought or feeling. They are usually images that have lost their power to surprise because of over-use.
eg. like a bat out of hell or as old as the hills or he's a cold fish.
CONNOTATION
is an idea or feeling associated with a word. Some words have richer associations than others eg 'house' may be the building in which you live but 'home' refers to the same object and has associations of warmth, family, security.
CONTEXT
The range of personal, social, historical, cultural and workplace conditions in which a text is responded to and composed.
CONVENTIONS
Accepted practices or features which help define forms of texts and meaning (see genre). We recognise a genre (type of text) through its conventions eg. Conventions of a Western include such stock characters as hero (white hat), villain (black hat), school marm, bar girl, themes such as tension between the settled life of the town and the freedom of the frontier which resolves as hero rides into the sunset with his best pal, his horse.
FIGURE OF SPEECH
(or figurative language) is another term used for imagery and generally refers to such devices as metaphor, simile and personification.
GENRE
A category or type of text that can be recognised by specific aspects of its subject matter, form and language eg. Teenflic - usually set in a high school with stock characters such as the cool kids, sport jocks, nerds. There is often a romantic interest but the central problem is usually social or ethical and problems tend to be resolved in the end with some degree of justice.
ELLIPSIS
refers to the omitting words from a sentence/paragraph. It is common in transcripts of conversations and is sometimes indicated by ...
EUPHEMISM
is an acceptable or mild expression which replaces an unpleasant or hurtful one. For example, some people find it too distressing to speak of death and so soften the effect by such terms as: he has passed on; she has gone to a better place etc.
IMAGE
is a term that is has a range of meanings that are used in the study of English. It can refer to
• a real or ideal resemblance eg. He moulds himself in the image of his father
• a projection of light or arrangement of pixels on a screen
• a public impression eg. a politician's image
IMAGERY
refers to the mental representations of pictures, sounds, smells textures and tastes that are created through powerful or interesting use of language. Imagery can often refer to figures of speech such as metaphor, simile and personification.
INTERTEXTUALITY
is the ways texts make reference to other texts. These references may be
• explicit such as an allusion
• implied by the many different ways a composer can draw our attention to other texts (such as parallel situations, sameness of genre, satire, parody etc.)
• inferred from your own reading. This refers to the way that you draw on your own experience of texts. These references need not have occurred to the composer and can in fact be drawn from texts composed at a later period. For example, our reading of the original Emma by Jane Austen is affected by the fact that we have seen the film Clueless.
JARGON
refers to the language or technical terms specific to a particular subject.
HYPERBOLE
a deliberate exaggeration for dramatic effect and not intended to be taken literally
eg. "...the endless cry of death and pain."
from GALLIPOLI by Mary Gilmore
LANGUAGE MODES
Listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing and representing.
These modes are often integrated and interdependent activities used in responding to and composing texts. It is important to realise that:
• any combination of the modes may be involved in responding to or composing print, sound, visual or multimedia texts; and
• the refinement of the skills of any one of the modes develops skills in the others.
MEDIUM
The physical form in which the text exists or through which the text is conveyed.
METAPHOR
is a comparison where one thing is said to be another eg. The crimson rose of passion (Passion= crimson rose)
ONOMATOPOEIA
is the use of words whose sound echoes their sense
eg. "... the boom of shells"
from THE REAR- GUARD by Siegfried Sassoon
OXYMORON
is a contradiction in two words placed next to each other to heighten the contrast
eg. "Parting is such sweet sorrow."
from ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare
PERSPECTIVE
A way of looking at situations, facts and texts and evaluating their meaning or value.
PARADOX
is a contradiction which at first seems irreconcilable, but with deeper reflection proves to be a truth. A paradox that is frequent in literature is birth in death which refers to the nature of the life cycle.
PARODY
is a conscious imitation of another work usually for a satiric purpose
eg. "I love a sunburnt country a land of open drains..."
REPETITION
of words is used to add emphasis
eg. "Alone, alone, all, all alone
Alone on a wide, wide sea"
from THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
PERSONIFICATION
is the figure of speech which gives human qualities to non-human things
eg. "The Kind old Sun will know"
from FUTILITY by Wilfred Owen
SARCASM
is the use of sharp direct and intentionally cutting words. Literally means flesh tearing
eg. "He has so many faults and defects it will be hard to replace him in the job."
SATIRE
is composition which holds up to ridicule human vice or frailty in a scornful and amusing way
SIMILE
is the figure of speech which compares two things using 'like' or 'as'
eg. "The bomb burst like a flower."
from HIROSHIMA by Angela M. Clifton
TONE
is the writer's attitude to his or her subject matter or readers. You can often decide the tone by imagining the tone of voice a writer might be using if speaking the text.
Source:
http://www.englishteacher.com.au/glossary.php
