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Terms for subject Literature (1001 entries)
allusion A casual reference to any aspect of another piece of literature, art, music, person or life in general. Authors suppose that the reader will identify the original source and relate the meaning to the new context. An example of allusion is TS. Eliot's The Waste Land.
genre A category of literature or film marked by defined shared features or conventions. The three broadest categories of genre are poetry, drama, and fiction. These general genres are often subdivided, for example murder mysteries, westerns, sonnets, lyric poetry, epics and tragedies.
the fair unknown A character found in Grail stories and Arthurian legend.
static character A character who doesn't develop or change throughout the text.
dynamic character A character who experiences a change in personality or outlook.
stereotype A character who is so average or unoriginal that he or she seems like an oversimplified representation of gender, class, religious group, or occupation. This technique in creating a character can be intentionally employed.
penny dreadful A cheap novel, usually with a sensational plot. These were popular during Victorian times.
first folio A collection of Comedies, Histories and tragedies (36 in total) of Shakespeare's works, published in 1623.
Bestiary A collection of moral tales or fables originally written in the Middle Ages about real or mythical animals. The tales often had an allegorical dimension.
punctuation A collection of symbols used to break, group, divide or clarify a sentence. For example, full stops or commas.
limerick A comic or bawdy poem that has a AABBA rhyme scheme.
witch's familiar A companion of a witch, generally an animal.
The Admiral's Men A company of Elizabethan actors directed by Henslowe, who were rivals to The Lord Chamberlain 's Men (later The King's Men) Shakespeare wrote for both parties.
simile A comparison of two things not usually paired, made by using the adverbs like or as. Similes contrast with metaphors; however, both devices bring out a deeper meaning.
metaphor A comparison, between two things not usually compared, that implies that one object is another one, figuratively speaking. The phrase "the ladder of success," implies to the reader that being successful is like climbing a ladder to a higher and better position.
bibliography A compilation of books, articles, essays and other written materials, on a particular author or subject.
sequel A complete literary work, which continues the narrative of an earlier composition.
coda A concluding section which rounds off a piece of literature, see epilogue.
epilogue A conclusion to a literary work such as a novel, play, or long poem. It is the opposite of a prologue.
emotion A conscious state of feeling created by the writer to convey joy, sorrow, love, hate etc to the reader. See mood, ambience and atmosphere