Literary Terms #2

 Circumlocution

noun an indirect way of expressing something; a style that involves indirect ways of expressing things

Classicism

noun a movement in literature and art during the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe that favored rationality and restraint and strict forms

Cliché

 noun a trite or obvious remark

Climax

noun the decisive moment in a novel or play; arrangement of clauses in ascending order of forcefulness; the highest point of anything conceived of as growing or developing or unfolding; the most severe stage of a disease; the moment of most intense pleasure in sexual intercourse; verb end, especially to reach a final or climactic stage

Colloquialism

noun a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech

Comedy

noun light and humorous drama with a happy ending; a comic incident or series of incidents

Conflict

noun an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals); an incompatibility of dates or events; opposition between two simultaneous but incompatible feelings; opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot); a state of opposition between persons or ideas or interests; a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war; a disagreement or argument about something important; verb go against, as of rules and laws; be in conflict
Connotation

 noun an idea that is implied or suggested; what you must know in order to determine the reference of an expression

Contrast

 noun the act of distinguishing by comparing differences; the range of optical density and tone on a photographic negative or print (or the extent to which adjacent areas on a television screen differ in brightness); the perceptual effect of the juxtaposition of very different colors; the opposition or dissimilarity of things that are compared; a conceptual separation or distinction; verb put in opposition to show or emphasize differences; to show differences when compared; be different

Denotation

noun the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to; the act of indicating or pointing out by name

Denouement

noun the final resolution of the main complication of a literary or dramatic work; the outcome of a complex sequence of events

Dialect

noun the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people

Dialectics

 noun a rationale for dialectical materialism based on change through the conflict of opposing forces

Dichotomy

 noun being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses

Diction

 noun the manner in which something is expressed in words; the articulation of speech regarded from the point of view of its intelligibility to the audience

Didactic

adj. instructive (especially excessively)

Dogmatic

 adj. characterized by assertion of unproved or unprovable principles; relating to or involving dogma; of or pertaining to or characteristic of a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative

Elegy

 noun a mournful poem; a lament for the dead

Epic

 adj. very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale); constituting or having to do with or suggestive of a literary epic; noun a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds

Epigram

noun a witty saying