Use the Glossary of Literary and Critical terms to review the definitions of over 200 literary and critical terms. Click the letters below to access the corresponding glossary entries. If you would like to open a PDF in Adobe Reader of the entire glossary that you may print for review, click here. If you do not have the Adobe Reader, go to the Browser Tune-up to download it. For more details on literary history, see the Literature Timeline and History Charts in the Writing and Research section.

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A

Abstract a) A summary of a piece of written work or b) language that conveys ideas or general qualities of people or things. Abstract is the opposite of concrete, which conveys specific information about a particular person or thing. Abstract writing lacks vivid or precise detail, whereas concrete writing possesses specific detail.

Act The major division in a play or dramatic work. An act has one or more scenes.

Aestheticism (Aesthetic movement) Refers to a movement in late nineteenth-century Europe centered on a belief in "art for art's sake." Rooted in the ideas of Immanuel Kant, Baudelaire, Flaubert, Mallarmé and others, aestheticism believed that art was not meant to serve a moral or didactic purpose; art's value was its beauty. The ideas of aestheticism came to England through writers such as Walter Pater and later influenced writers such as Wilde and Swinburne who were connected with the Decadence movement. For major writers and works in this area, see the Literary History Chart.

Aesthetics The study of beauty in both nature and art. Aesthetics addresses philosophical questions about the nature of beauty, psychological questions about the effects of beauty and theoretical issues related to taste and perception of beauty.

Affective Fallacy A term first used by William K. Wimsatt and Monroe C. Beardsley for the practice of basing literary interpretation upon the psychological response of readers, or upon the effect a particular work has on readers. Wimsatt and Beardsley believed affective fallacy to be flawed and this is one of the major ideas within New Criticism. Reader Response criticism has also countered the notion of the affective fallacy. See also Intentional Fallacy.

Age of Johnson See Age of Sensibility.

Age of Sensibility A period of British literature spanning the years 1744-1785. 1789 and 1798 are alternate end dates. This period is sometimes referred to as the Age of Johnson because of Samuel Johnson's considerable influence upon literature. The characteristics of the Age of Johnson link this period with the end of the Neoclassical period, whereas the Age of Sensibility anticipates the Romantic period. In contrast to the Augustan era, the Age of Sensibility focused upon instinct, feeling, imagination, and sometimes the sublime. New cultural attitudes and new theories of literature emerged; the novel became an increasingly popular and prevalent form. For major writers and works in this area, see the Literary History Chart.

Age of Transcendentalism See Romantic period (American).

Allegory A narrative that possesses at least two levels of meaning and understanding. Allegory has two parallel levels: a literal level, where a surface level story is recounted, and a symbolic level, which addresses abstract ideas. Allegories are often considered extended metaphors: the surface level story helps to convey moral, religious, political, or philosophical ideas. There are two major kinds of allegory: historical and political allegories and allegories of ideas. Related to allegory are the parable and exemplum. Parables are very short, realistic narratives about people that are meant to teach a moral or a religious lesson. Often they are used to emphasize a narrator's lesson or point. Exemplums are used in sermons to illustrate and validate a particular theme or idea.

Alliteration The repetition of the same sounds in initial consonants or stressed syllables in a sequence of words.

Allusion An indirect reference in a literary text to a well-known person or place, or to an historical, political, or cultural event. The reference can also be to a literary, religious, or mythological text. Allusions are not usually identified, as it is assumed the reader will make the connection.

Ambiguity Ambiguity refers to the ways words or phrases can connote a range of meanings. Ambiguity points to the openness of language to different interpretations and understanding. Also called "plurisignation" or "multiple meanings."

American Renaissance See Romantic period (American).

Anapestic (anapest) See Meter.

Antagonist The most significant character or force that opposes the protagonist in a narrative.

Antebellum A term used to describe pre-Civil War American literature; the term is usually applied to pre-Civil War Southern American literature in particular.

Antithesis A rhetorical or philosophical contrast or opposition which is emphasized by parallelism.

Antithetical criticism See Anxiety of influence.

Anxiety of influence In The Anxiety of Influence (1973), and his other works, Harold Bloom argued that a poet must resist and confront the poetic tradition in order to find and assert his or her individual poetic voice. Bloom also describes how an Oedipal-type relationship arises between the poet and the poetic tradition. Emerging from Bloom's work is the concept of antithetical criticism. Bloom asserts that all poets' work is a rewriting of the poetic tradition and that rewriting involves the misreading of previous poets. The act of misreading, however, is a site of creativity and innovation. Bloom acknowledges that critics also misread and that their misreadings result in a range of interpretations which go beyond what the poet thought he or she was saying.

Apostrophe A figure of speech wherein a thing, place, abstract idea, dead or absent person is addressed directly as if present and capable of understanding and responding.

Archetypal criticism A type of literary criticism that focuses on particular archetypes, narrative patterns, themes, motifs, or characters that recur in a particular literary work or in literature in general.

Archetype According to Carl Jung, archetypes are characters, images, plot patterns, rituals, and settings that are shared by diverse cultures. Jung believed that archetypes are part of humanity's "collective unconscious" and that they appear in literature, myth, folklore, and rituals from a wide range of cultures. They also manifest themselves in the subconscious thoughts and dreams of people. Literary critic Northrop Frye argued that literary archetypes are recurrent images and symbols in literature. See Archetypal criticism.

Aside A short remark or speech spoken by a character to the audience or to another character. According to convention, it is assumed that the aside is not heard by the other characters. Asides tend to reveal insight into plot, character, or emotion.

Assonance The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in a sequence of words. Usually the repetition occurs in the stressed syllables and the vowel sound is followed by different consonant sounds. The effect of assonance is thought to be euphony.

Atmosphere The general feeling or emotion created in the reader at a given point in a literary work. Atmosphere (also called mood) is created by language, setting, imagery, sensory, and extra-sensory perceptions. It should not be confused with tone.

Augustan era A period of British literature beginning in 1700 and ending in 1745. Writers in this period linked themselves with writers in the age of the Roman Emperor Augustus. Augustan writers imitated the literary forms of Horace, Virgil, and Ovid and drew upon the perceived order, decorum, moderation, civility, and wit of these writers. For major writers and works in this area, see the Literary History Chart.

Avant-garde A term used since the late nineteenth century to suggest art or writing that challenges tradition, or that is innovative, experimental, revolutionary, or ahead of its time.