Lit Terms 31-56

31. Dialect: the language of a particular district, class or group of persons; the sounds, grammar, and diction employed by people distinguished from others


32. Dialectics: formal debates usually over the nature of truth


33. Dichotomy: split or break between two opposing things


34. Diction: the style of speaking or writing as reflected in the choice and use of words

35. Didactic: having to do with the transmission of information; education

36. Dogmatic: rigid in beliefs and principles

37. Elegy: a mournful, melancholy poem, especially a funeral song or lament for the dead, sometimes contains general reflections on death, often with a rural or pastoral setting

38. Epic: a long narrative poem unified by a hero who reflects the customs, mores, and aspirations of his nation of race as he makes his way through legendary and historic exploits, usually over a long period of time (definition bordering on circumlocution)

39. Epigram: witty aphorism

40. Epitaph: any brief inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone; a short formal poem of commemoration often a credo written by the person who wishes it to be on his tombstone

41. Epithet: a short, descriptive name or phrase that may insult someone’s character, characteristics

42. Euphemism: the use of an indirect, mild or vague word or expression for one thought to be coarse, offensive, or blunt

43. Evocative (evocation): a calling forth of memories and sensations; the suggestion or production through artistry and imagination of a sense of reality

44. Exposition: beginning of a story that sets forth facts, ideas, and/or characters, in a detailed explanation

45. Expressionism: movement in art, literature, and music consisting of unrealisticrepresentation of an inner idea or feeling(s).

46. Fable: a short, simple story, usually with animals as characters, designed to teach a moral truth

47. Fallacy: from Latin word “to deceive”, a false or misleading notion, belief, or argument; any kind of erroneous reasoning that makes arguments unsound

48. Falling Action: part of the narrative or drama after the climax

49. Farce: a boisterous comedy involving ludicrous action and dialogue

50. Figurative Language: apt and imaginative language characterized by figures of speech (such as metaphor and simile)

51. Flashback: a narrative device that flashes back to prior events

52. Foil: a person or thing that, by contrast, makes another seem better or more prominent

53. Folk Tale: story passed on by word of mouth

54. Foreshadowing: in fiction and drama, a device to prepare the reader for the outcome of the action; “planning” to make the outcome convincing, though not to give it away

55. Free Verse: verse without conventional metrical pattern, with irregular pattern or no rhyme

56. Genre: a category or class of artistic endeavor having a particular form, technique, or content