Glossary of Literary Terms for Igcse

Alliteration

The repetition of the same consonant sound, especially at the beginning of words.

Allusion

A reference to another event, person, place or work of literature.  The allusion is usually implied rather than explicit and provides another layer of meaning to what is being said

Ambiguity

Use of language where the meaning is unclear or has two or more possible meanings or interpretations.  It could be created by a weakness in the writer’s expression, but it is more likely it is a deliberate device used by the writer to create layers of meaning

Antithesis

Placing contrasting terms or ideas close together to emphasise their difference and give the effect of balance.  For example:  To err is human, to forgive, divine.

For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.       (Alexander Pope)

Assonance

The repetition of similar vowel sounds

Atmosphere

The prevailing mood created by a piece of writing

Caesura

A natural pause, a break in a line of poetry, usually indicated by a punctuation mark.  For example:  When will the bell ring, and end this weariness?          (D. H. Lawrence, Last Lesson of the Afternoon)

Cliché

A trite, dull expression that has lost its originality and humour through constant use.  The English language is full of clichés, often expressed as metaphors or similes.  For example: It’s as hot as an oven in here.

Colloquial

Ordinary, everyday speech and language

Connotation

An implication or association attached to a word or phrase.  It is suggested or felt rather than being explicit

Diction

The choice of words a writer uses.  Another word for “vocabulary”

Empathy

A feeling on the part of the reader of sharing the particular experience being described by the character or writer

End stopped line

A verse line with a pause or stop at the end of it

Enjambment

A line of verse that flows on into the next line without a pause

Extended Metaphor

The comparison between two things is continued beyond the first point of comparison.  For example:

How long have they tugged the leash, and strained apart,

My pack of unruly hounds!  I cannot start

Them again on a quarry of knowledge they hate to hunt,

                                     (D. H. Lawrence, Last Lesson of the Afternoon)

This technique extends and deepens a description.

Figurative language

Language that is symbolic or metaphorical and not meant to be taken literally

Hyperbole

A deliberate exaggeration used to emphasise a feeling or produce a humorous effect.  For example: I could eat a horse.

Imagery

The use of words to create a picture or “image” in the mind of the reader.  Images can relate to any of the senses, not just sight

Imperative

A phrase used to express a request, order or command.  For example: Go to bed now.

Internal rhyme

Rhyming words within a line rather than at the end of lines

Irony

At its simplest level, it means saying one thing while meaning another.  It occurs where a word or phrase has one surface meaning but another contradictory, possibly opposite meaning is implied.  Irony is often confused with sarcasm.  Sarcasm is spoken, relying on the tone of voice and is much more blunt than irony

Metaphor

A comparison of one thing to another to make the description more vivid.  The metaphor actually states that one thing is another

Metre

The regular use of unstressed and stressed syllables in poetry

Onomatopoeia

The use of words whose sounds copies the thing or process they describe

Oxymoron

Two words or phrases of opposite or contrasting meaning placed together for effect.  For example: Parting is such sweet sorrow. (William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet)

This suggests that the two lovers are sad to be parting but this sadness is to be enjoyed a little as they anticipate being together again.

Personification

The attribution of human feelings, emotions, or sensations to an inanimate object.   Personification is a type of metaphor where human qualities are given to things or abstract ideas

Point of View

A story can be told by one of the characters or from another point of view.  The point of view can change from one part of the story to another when events are viewed through the minds of two or more characters.

Pun

A play on words that have similar sounds but quite different meanings

Repetition

Where words and/or phrases are repeated for emphasis or special effect.  For example: It was cold that night, very, very, cold.

Rhetorical question

A question that is designed to make a vivid suggestion rather than demand an answer.  The speaker is inviting the agreement of the audience.  If the answer is not immediately obvious to the audience it will be provided by the questioner directly after the question.  Rhetorical questions are used to involve the audience and make them consider the idea proposed.  For example: Do students hate doing homework?

Rhyme

Corresponding sounds in words, usually at the end of each line, but not always

Rhyme scheme

The pattern of rhymes in a poem

Rhythm

The ‘movement’ of the poem as created through the meter and the way that language is stressed within the poem

Satire

The highlighting or exposing of human failings or foolishness through ridiculing them.  Satire can range from being gentle and light to extremely biting and bitter in tone

Sibilance

The repetition of the consonant s or z to give a hissing sound.  The effect of sibilance is to slow the reader as s and z are more difficult to say.  This, in turn, emphasises the idea and can also create an onomatopoeic effect.  For example: suggesting snake movement and sound – ‘slippery, slithering, sliding snake’.

Simile

The comparison of one thing to another in order to make the description more vivid

Sonnet

A fourteen-line poem, usually with 10 syllables in each line.  There are several ways in which the lines can be organised, but they often consist of an octave and a sestet

Stanza

The blocks of lines into which a poem is divided.  [Sometimes these are, less precisely, referred to as verses, which can lead to confusion as poetry is sometimes called ‘verse’]

Structure

The way a poem or play or other piece of writing has been put together

Style

The individual way in which the writer has used language to express his or her ideas

Symbol

Like the use of images, symbols present things which represent something else.  In very simple terms, a red rose can be used to symbolise love; distant thunder can symbolise approaching trouble.  Symbols can be very subtle and multi-layered in their significance

Syntax

The way in which sentences are structured.  Sentences can be structured in different ways to achieve different effects

Theme

The central idea or ideas that a writer explores through a text

Tone

Shows the writer’s attitude about the topic of the piece.  It may be angry, sarcastic, passionate or sad, and so on.