Lit. Terms #1

allegory - noun an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances; an extended metaphor; a short moral story (often with animal characters); a visible symbol representing an abstract idea
alliteration - noun use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse
allusion - noun reference or indirect mention
ambiguity - noun unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning; an expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context
anachronism - noun an artifact that belongs to another time; something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred
analogy - noun drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect
analysis - noun an investigation of the component parts of a whole and their relations in making up the whole; a form of literary criticism in which the structure of a piece of writing is analyzed
anaphora - noun repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
anecdote - noun short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)
antagonist - noun someone who offers opposition
antithesis - noun the juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas to give a feeling of balance; exact opposite
aphorism - noun a short pithy instructive saying
apologia - noun a formal written defense of something you believe in strongly
apostrophe - noun address to an absent or imaginary person
argument - noun a summary of the subject or plot of a literary work or play or movie; a fact or assertion offered as evidence that something is true;  a dispute where there is strong disagreement
assumption - noun a statement that is assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn
audience - noun a gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public) performance; the part of the general public interested in a source of information or entertainment
characterization - noun the act of describing distinctive characteristics or essential features; a graphic or vivid verbal description
chiasmus - noun inversion in the second of two parallel phrases; a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases, as in “He went to the country, to the town went she.”