Lit Terms Presentation
Emily Beaudette, Amy Bryant, Manuel Rios, Rebecca Stobby
Tercet
● any three lines of poetry, whether as a stanza or as a poem,
rhymed or unrhymed, metered or unmetered
● PB Shelley and Lord Byron often used tercet poetry form
● Ter means three, so it’s easy to remember a tercet is any
three lines of poetry
Theme
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An underlying meaning,
message, or moral of a literary
work that is stated directly or
indirectly
Example: The theme of “The
Boy Who Cried Wolf” is lying
and deceiving others breaks
trust.
Way to remember theme:
Theme Helps Evaluate
Meaning Everywhere
Volta
● The turn of thought or argument in a sonnet
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For a Petrarchan sonnet, this occurs between the octave and the sestet
For a Shakespearean sonnet, this occurs before the final two lines
● Example: When the poem changes from describing one’s
flawed beauty to admiring the person’s inner beauty and
qualities, this is the volta.
● The root vol means to turn!!
Zeugma
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A figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses or
to two others of which it suits only one
Example: The farmers grew potatoes and bored. Queen Anne “dost sometimes
counsel take—and sometimes tea.” (“The Rape of the Lock”)
A way to remember: If you are doing Zumba (which sounds similar to zeugma),
your eyes and calves will be weeping.
Abstract
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As applied to writing or literary works, abstract refers to words or phrases that
name things not knowable through the five senses. Can be a feeling.
Example: Love or art can be abstract.
Way to Remember: ABS-track. Someone brags about their abs, but you have to
squint to see them.
Allegory
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A narrative technique in which characters representing objects or abstract ideas
are used to convey a message or teach a lesson. Allegory is typically used to
teach moral, ethical, or religious lessons but is sometimes used for satiric or
political purposes.
Examples:
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John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, George Orwell's Animal Farm and Golding’s lord of the
Flies
Tortoise and the Hare: Slow and steady wins the race
Way to Remember: All-are-gory. The message is that everyone is human, and
sometimes we don’t look perfect.
Alliteration
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The repetition of a speech sound in a sequence of nearby words.
Example:
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Sally sells seashells by the sea shore
Coleridge’s Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner
Ways to remember: All-iteration: iteration meant to repeat. L’s repeat in the
word.
Ambiguity
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Ambiguity is a word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one
meaning, or a hidden one. Ambiguous words or statements can lead to
vagueness and confusion.
Examples:
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Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Way to remember: ambiguity is a hidden meaning, and the word BIG is hidden
in the word.
Analogy
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Definition: A comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of
explanation or clarification
Example: “There are plenty of fish in the sea.”
Way to remember (Mnemonic device):
The term has the word “log” in it so you can think of the analogy that someone is as
important to you as logs to a fire (meaning they are very important). From that you
can think of the definition being a comparison.
Anaphora
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Definition: The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive
clauses.
Example: “Every century. Every year. Every month. Every day”
Way to remember (Mnemonic device): Imagine that
one person presenting in your class that does not know
how to use different vocabulary for the start of their
Sentences. (--------->) Annnnn...aphora…. And…...
Anastrophe
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Definition: The inversion of the usual order of words or clauses.
Example: “Into the goal, the player shot the ball”
Way to remember (Mnemonic device): Just think about how Yoda talks (maybe
this picture will help more)
Anticlimax
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Definition: A disappointing end to an exciting or impressive series of events.
Example: A person in a movie slowly walks down a long highway to a room
with a strange noise coming from inside with the door moving back and forth.
Then he reaches the room and notices a toy car is continuously hitting the door
and the television is playing the strange noise.
Way to remember (Mnemonic device): “Anti-” means
opposite and climax is the most important or exciting part of
something, so think of the term as the opposite of exciting or
impressive.
Antithesis
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Definition: A figure of speech in which an opposition or contrast of ideas is
expressed by parallelism of words that are opposites of , or strongly contrasted
with, each other.
Example: John Milton writes in “Paradise Lost” that it is “Better to reign in
Hell, than serve in Heav’n”.
Way to remember (Mnemonic device):
Again, “anti-” means opposite and thesis
means a statement, so think of the term as
a statement of “opposing” ideas.
Epigraph
Definition: a pertinent motto at the beginning of a
book, chapter, etc.
Basically, it’s an attention getter. Have you ever
used a quote to start off an essay? That was an
epigraph! You used a well-known saying from a
notable author to draw a connection to what you had
to say.
Epi- means “before” and a graph is a connection of
lines and shapes, so an epigraph is the quote that
precedes the thematic connections you make in
essays and writers make in literature.
Apposition
Definition: the setting of a second word beside a first as an adjunct term
Example: Peter, King of Narnia
Basically, it’s a descriptive repetition of the noun.
Maui,
shapeshifter,
demigod of the
wind and sea,
hero of men
Epistrophe
Definition: the repetition of the same word at the end of clauses or sentences.
Example: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...we had everything
before us, we had nothing before us” (A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)
Anadiplosis
Definition: repetition of a
word, especially the last
word, of one clause at the
beginning of the next.
Example: Anna ran through
the field of flowers. Flowers
were her favorite part of
springtime.