Analyzing and Interpreting Literature CLEP Study Guide 2023/2024

allegory --The device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning. allusion --passing or casual reference referring to something anagram --a word or phrase spelled by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase analogy --a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based: anapest --A metrical foot consisting of two unaccented syllables followed by one accented syllable anaphora --repetition of a word or words at the beginning of two or more successive verses, clauses, or sentences. anecdote --a short account of a particular incident or event of an interesting or amusing nature, often biographical. anthropomorphism --the representation of objects (especially a god) as having human form or traits anticlimax --an event, conclusion, statement, etc., that is far less important, powerful, or striking than expected. antithesis --the placing of a sentence or one of its parts against another to which it is opposed to form a balanced contrast of ideas, as in "Give me liberty or give me death." aphorism --a terse saying embodying a general truth, or astute observation, as "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" (Lord Acton). archetype --the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype. bilungsroman --a type of novel concerned with the education, development, and maturing of a young protagonist. burlesque --an artistic composition, esp. literary or dramatic, that, for the sake of laughter, vulgarizes lofty material or treats ordinary material with mock dignity. caesura --a break, esp. a sense pause, usually near the middle of a verse, and marked in scansion by a double vertical line, as in know then thyself â€- presume not God to scan. circumlocution --a roundabout or indirect way of speaking; the use of more words than necessary to express an idea. conceit --an elaborate, fanciful metaphor, esp. of a strained or far-fetched nature. consonance --the correspondence of consonants, esp. those at the end of a word, in a passage of prose or verse. couplet --a pair of successive lines of verse, esp. a pair that rhyme and are of the same length. dactyl --a foot of three syllables, one long followed by two short in quantitative meter, or one stressed followed by two unstressed in accentual meter, as in gently and humanly. denotation --the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression denouement --the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, as of a drama or novel. diction --style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words: dramatic monologue --a poetic form in which a single character, addressing a silent auditor at a critical moment, reveals himself or herself and the dramatic situation. eclogue --a pastoral poem, often in dialogue form. elegy --a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, esp. a funeral song or a lament for the dead. epic --noting or pertaining to a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events is narrated in elevated style: epigram --any witty, ingenious, or pointed saying tersely expressed. epithet --any word or phrase applied to a person or thing to describe an actual or attributed quality: euphony --agreeableness of sound; pleasing effect to the ear, esp. a pleasant sounding or harmonious combination or succession of words: exposition --(in a play, novel, etc.) dialogue, description, etc., that gives the audience or reader the background of the characters and the present situation.