Terminology linked to prose

Allegory A story which seeks to demonstrate philosophical or religious beliefs. Each element in the story stands for an aspect of the belief that the story is seeking to explain. There could, for instance, be allegorical figures representing Truth, Goodness or Virtue. In Bunyan'sPilgrim's Progress, the central figure, Christian, is the Christian soul who sets out from the City of Destruction (man's fallen state) as a pilgrim travelling towards the Heavenly City (the eternal home of the redeemed). 
Some works are very near to being allegory. The novels of William Golding have many allegorical elements. In the Lord of the Flies Simon is a Christ-like figure who is killed because the boys do not want to listen to the good news that he brings.

Alliteration The repetition of the same consonant sound. Alliteration is usually both pleasing and memorable; pleasing because readers enjoy the pattern of sounds, and memorable because repeated sounds impress themselves upon the mind. There is no point in just mentioning that alliteration occurs, unless you can go on to discuss its effect. To help you describe the effect of alliteration you can ask whether or not it produces a distinctive tone, and whether or not it is regularly spaced. The former effect is the more important, because alliteration, whether or not it is regularly spaced, is always capable of contributing to the tone of a poem. For instance, the alliteration of the 'f' sound is regular in one line from Owen's 'Exposure', - 'With sidelong flowing flakes that flock, pause, and renew' - and irregular in another - 'Pale flakes with fingering stealth come feeling for our faces' - yet both create a furtive tone. The flakes may seem delicate but they are sinister in the way they bring a deathly cold to the exposed soldiers. (See also Assonance and Consonance.)

Allusion A reference to another book, event, person or place. The allusion is usually implied or hinted, so the reader is given the pleasure of seeing it and understanding the effect it creates. Sometimes the effect is to make what is being said more significant, more ambiguous or more amusing. In Pope's The Rape of the Lock, Belinda is shown to have bright and sparkling eyes:

Bright as the sun, her eyes the gazer strike, 
And, like the sun, they shine on all alike.

It is a radiant picture but one qualified by the allusion to St Matthew's Gospel, where Jesus says that God sends the sun to shine on everybody. The presence of that allusion suggests that those fascinated by Belinda, and maybe Belinda herself, have a distorted sense of values in that they confuse the human with the divine.

Ambiguity The capacity of a word or words to mean two or more different things. In poetry this capacity is valued, because the meanings of poems are thereby enriched. When discussing ambiguity, you should show that the same words could have different meanings. For instance, in Blake's 'London' there are the lines: 

How the Chimney-sweeper's cry 
Every blackening Church appalls ... 

'Blackening' is ambiguous. Does it meant the soot from chimneys has blackened the Church, or is the Church actively blackening society? You will also probably need to discuss the tone of the poem, because a poet often makes it clear that a poem is deliberately ambiguous.

Caricature The deliberate distortion or exaggeration of a character's features or manners in order to ridicule or amuse. The reaction of reader or audience is often affectionate amusement. Sometimes the term is used against an author when it is suggested that his or her characters are near to caricature. But this criticism can only be used if the author aimed at creating a fuller character and failed.

Character and Characterisation Character is the name we give to the figures we encounter in narratives; characterisation is the way in which the character has been created.

Denotations and Connotations    The denotations of a word are its standard range of meanings, the connotations its additional meanings that emerge through association, suggestion, and emotional undertones. Writers, particularly poets, often exploit a word's connotations, so you should look to see if their words work in this way. For instance, the denotations of the word 'flat' are a smooth, unbroken surface; its connotations are lifeless, dull and uninteresting.

Denouement    A term that may be used of both novels and plays when talking about the way the tangled elements of a plot are untied. Denouements are often linked to discoveries, because it's often in the light of a discovery that a plot can be wound up. Because plots are more important in comic rather than tragic works, their denouements are more complex and, often, more intriguing. The unveiling of Hero in Much Ado About Nothing (a discovery) leads to the hoped for denouement - the publicly declared love of Beatrice and Benedick. (See alsoDiscovery, Resolution and Reversal.)

Discovery     The moment, usually towards the close of a plot, when something is disclosed which alters the situation and allows the plot to be resolved. In Jane Eyre, for instance, her discovery that Rochester's wife is dead enables the plot to end with the marriage that both Jane and the reader desire. In Twelfth Night the discovery that makes possible the winding up of the plot is the public realisation that Sebastian and Viola are twins. (See also Resolutionand Reversal.)

Empathy/Sympathy       Empathy is the imaginative act in which we put ourselves in somebody else's place; sympathy is the feelings we have (usually of understanding pity) for someone's plight. Literature need not demand either of these responses from a reader; quite often it's differences and distance rather than similarity and closeness that characterises our reactions to the characters in literary works. (It's hard trying to imagine what it must feel like being Cleopatra or Macbeth.) 
When we are asked to respond, the feeling that is demanded is usually sympathy (we might pity the terrible misunderstanding of Othello) but sometimes characters invite us to see their plight as ours. There are elements of this in Hamlet when he speaks in plurals rather than in singulars: 'Thus conscience does make cowards of us all'. By speaking of 'us' rather than 'me', Hamlet invites us to see his state as ours and so empathise.

Epigram    Either a brief, usually witty, statement or a short poem which makes a simple but often dramatic or humorous point. You will probably use the first meaning more than the second. Often it is useful to call a deft line or remark epigrammatic. By that you are saying it is punchy and memorable. T. S. Eliot's 'Whispers of Immortality' has a grimly epigrammatic thrust:

Webster was much possessed by death 
And saw the skull beneath the skin; 
And breastless creatures underground 
Leaned backward with a lipless grin.

Epiphany      James Joyce used this word to indicate those moments of illumination that often come to characters, particularly those in short stories, at the climax of the plot. An epiphany can be something seen or understand or something familiar which, for the first time, is seen for what it is. It's useful when writing about those moments of insight that come to Katherine Mansfield's characters, often at the very end of the story. (See also Discovery).

Expectation    The effect of being led to think that something is going to happen. Short stories, novels and plays all build up expectations in readers and audiences. Expectations are built upon what is known about events and characters, and also on what the characters themselves expect to happen. Whenever you write about expectation, you should stress that it is the author, or playwright, who is responsible for creating it. (See also Surprise andRelief.)

Farce   A branch of comedy in which the characters are reduced to stock figures, and the action is often frantic and even violent. Thus, in farce characters can be beaten or humiliated and the audience reacts with laughter, because it has not been invited to see the characters as having any sort of distinctive personality. Elements of farce creep into some plays. 
For instance, the middle scenes of Dr Faustus can be said to be farce, and the innumerable beatings of servants in Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors introduce farce into a carefully constructed comic plot. (See also Tragedy and Comedy.)

Focus     A useful term to deploy when talking about how an author is presenting some- thing. For instance, one of the ways in which Wuthering Heights works is through the difference in focus between the steady Nelly who narrates events with a broad, though not necessarily deep, understanding and Cathy and Heathcliff who are almost obsessive in their preoccupations with their own feelings.

Foregrounding      A term that may be used when discussing the interest an author takes in a character or issue. To foreground is to single out for special interest or treatment. For instance, Lawrence usually foregrounds the intense and fluctuating inner lives of his characters. Sometimes it's useful when you are trying to bring out what does or does not interest an author: for instance, Wilkie Collins pays very little attention to his characters' states of minds but foregrounds their strenuous attempts to understand and outwit each other.

Foreshadowing         A term used when an author gives a hint or clue to events that will happen later in a text. Foreshadowing can take many forms, but includes symbolism, parallel events & characters and intertextual or subtextual references.

Frame       You have to be careful when using this term because in Theatre Studies it has a quite specific meaning, which is concerned with the perspectives an audience is given when viewing a set of events. In English the term is broader and simpler. It is used of any action that provides a context for a subsequent action. Its most popular use is in drama when there is a play within a play, as in the Induction of The Taming of the Shrew; or in novels where one narrative leads to another, as in the incidents at the start of Heart of Darkness which provide the frame for Marlowe's narrative.

Genre      A word taken from the French which means a literary type or kind. Comedy, tragedy and satire are genres, but nowadays it is also common to speak of poetry and the novel as genres, too.

Image and Imagery   Any figurative or descriptive language that appeals to one of the five senses is called an image. Images could also be metaphors, similes, symbols and personification, as well as examples of non-figurative description. Images are impressive because they make ideas concrete. They also create atmosphere and can be used to establish a pattern within a poem. It is sometimes helpful to show how an image works in some detail. For instance, in Macbeth Macduff tries to put into words the horror of finding that Duncan, King of Scotland, has been murdered. He uses a very complex imagery to do this:

Confusion now hath made his masterpiece! 
Most sacrilegious Murther hath broke ope 
The Lord's anointed Temple, and stole thence 
The life o' th' building!

The death of Duncan is first seen in the image of 'Confusion' as an artist or craftsman, making his 'masterpiece'. Then 'Murther' (murder) is seen as a thief breaking into a religious building. (See also Abstract and concrete, Metaphor and simile, Personification and Symbol.)

Intrusion     A term usually used when discussing the way in which a narrator enters his or her own narration, usually for the purpose of commenting upon the events. George Eliot frequently does this in her novels. The effect is sometimes called narratorial intrusion.

Irony     The effect produced when a reader sees that there is a gap between the words that are being said and the real significance of those words. There are different kinds of gaps. The gap between words and truth occurs when something the reader knows to be mistaken is said. A second type of gap, or discrepancy, is between the words and meaning. This occurs when the reader sees that the real significance of what is being said is very different from what the speaker supposes. The gap can lie between intention and result. A speaker can intend something but the reader will see that the result will not be what is expected. This is also called dramatic irony. There is also the irony of one character interpreting the world one way, whilst the reader is led to see that this is false. In all cases of irony, someone is put at a disadvantage because others, usually the author and reader, can see more clearly than he or she can. 
When you write about irony, you should make clear who is placed in a position of advantage and who is at a disadvantage. You should also remember that irony can produce different emotional effects. It can be bitter, comic, serious, tragic, sad, and so on. In your writing you should try to bring over how irony can make the reader or audience change attitudes to a character. For instance, you may be horrified by the callous inhumanity of Lady Macbeth, who believes that, after the murder of Duncan, 'A little water clears us of this deed'. When, however, she walks in her sleep and is seen to be perpetually washing her hands, you may see the terrible irony that 'a little water' can't clear her of guilt. When you see the irony, your horror may turn to pity.

Mental Landscape  The effect created when a landscape is portrayed in terms of the feel- ings of the author or character, who views it. The outer world thus reflects the inner world of thoughts and feelings. The effect is particularly prominent in late eighteenth-century and much of nineteenth-century literature. Mental landscapes are often strangely impressive. In Wordsworth's The Prelude there is a passage in which the poet descends from the Alps through a deep ravine; the vast and sublime landscape echoes the workings of his own imagination. Sometimes a mental landscape works by using words appropriate to both the external scene and the state of mind. In Tennyson's 'Locksley Hall' the protagonist speaks of the 'dreary, dreary moorland'; the word 'dreary' applies to what he can see and how he feels.

Metaphor and Simile The comparison of one thing in terms of another; in metaphor there is an implicit identity, whereas in simile the comparison is introduced by the words 'like' or 'as'. Metaphors are thus more compressed and economical than similes, though similes are closer to ordinary speech, and there is a distinct pleasure in following through the comparison from the object being presented to that in terms of which it is presented. If you wish to distinguish one from the other, the terms 'tenor' (the object presented) and 'vehicle' (that in terms of which it is presented) can be useful. Thus, in the metaphor for a church from Larkin's 'Church Going' - 'this special shell' - church is the tenor and shell the vehicle, or in Larkin's simile from 'Ambulances' - 'Closed like confessionals' - the tenor is ambulances and the vehicle confessionals.

Multiple Narration    A story that is told by more than one narrator. Sometimes, as inWuthering Heights, interesting problems of reliability and perspective are raised when the events are seen from several viewpoints. The reader must be alert to what each narrator knows and aware of the different ways in which they present, interpret and judge what is going on. (See also Narrator, Primary narrator and Reliability.)

Narrative    A set of events that are related by an author to a reader or listener. Sometimes the term is used to cover the nature of fiction itself - what it is for a story to be told - and, by extension, it's also used of the kind of problems readers encounter in narratives. In these latter senses the emphasis is always on how the narrative is made.

Narrator     The narrator is one who tells a story. The narrator can, but need not, be the novelist. Narrators can tell their stories, or narratives, in the first or the third person. If the story is told in the first person, there is only access to the mind of the narrator. If, however, the story is narrated in the third person, it is possible to see into the minds of all the characters. When an author knows everything that goes on in characters' minds, he or she is called an omniscient (all-knowing) narrator. (See also Primary narrator and Retrospective narrator.)

Onomatopoeia The effect that is created when the sounds of words mime or resemble the sounds of the object being described. Individual words such as 'crash' or 'buzz' are onomatopoeic, but the term is more generally used of an effect created by a number of words. Onomatopoeia is usually worth discussing when it creates atmosphere. In Keats's 'Ode to a Nightingale' one stanza closes with this line: 'The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves.' The onomatopoeic 'murmurous' combines with the long vowels and the alliteration on 'm' and 's' to produce an atmosphere of languid ease.

Overtones and Undertones   The associations of a word or words. Overtones are the clear and obvious associations, while undertones are those meanings which are hinted and implied. However, the two words are often used interchangeably to refer to words' wider meanings and emotional colouring. It is often very useful to point out the overtones and undertones of a word. You can do this by pointing to the number of ways in which a word is used in ordinary speech.

Pathetic Fallacy   The way in which a writer gives human feelings to an object that could not possibly have them. The effect it creates is very close to personification. Its origin is probably in the very common practice people have of transferring their own feelings about something to the thing itself. Therefore, pathetic fallacy is often an indication of what the writer or character is feeling. In Tennyson's 'Ulysses' the sea 'Moans round with many voices'. The word 'moans' indicates the state of mind of the protagonist. (See also Mental landscapeand Personification.)

Pathos    The arousing of tenderness, pity or sorrow in a reader or an audience by the presentation of a sad or moving scene. The pity of reader or audience is often due to the helplessness of the characters. Thus, the distraught Ophelia's speech about the sad decline of Hamlet at the end of Act III, Scene 1 is full of pathos. When writing about pathos, you should strike a balance between showing how the emotions are aroused and recording what you feel about the scene.

Persona    A specially created voice or self in a poem, novel or short story. In most cases a persona speaks in the first person singular, though in some cases, particularly poems, this need not be so. Personas give works unity by showing the reader that everything in the work is the expression of a particular viewpoint. Because of this, it is wise to discuss personas in terms of tone and attitude. You should remember that a persona is not to be identified with the writer, and that a writer can adopt as many personas as he or she chooses.

Personification    The effect created when a non-human object or quality is written about as if it were a human being. Keats personifies the Grecian urn when he calls it a 'still unravished bride of quietness', and Gray personifies wealth and beauty when he writes of 'all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave'. You should always try to characterise the effect of personification. Often, it makes the object seem close to both author and reader, and, in some cases, it can make the object or quality personified seem more lively and engaging. (See also mental landscape and Pathetic fallacy.)

Plot    The pattern of events that constitutes the main business of a narrative. Because plot is a literary idea, it's best to define it as the order of events as they are known to the reader. It's often helpful to look at the problem or situation out of which the plot grows and think about the various ways in which plots can be constructed.

Primary Narrator    In multiple narrations the primary narrator is the first that the reader meets. Subsequent narrators may be called secondary, tertiary and so on, though usually there's no need. The point about the primary narrator is that even if the role is a minor one, as in Lockwood in Wuthering Heights, the term is still the one to use. (See also Multiple narration).

Protagonist    Originally the hero in a Greek play, but now it is also used to mean the speaker in a narrative poem or dramatic monologue. The protagonist is usually a specially created voice. The poet can thus explore a realm of experience different from his or her own. When writing about the protagonist of a poem, you should make sure that you don't confuse him or her with the author of the poem.

Reliability     The extent to which what a narrator says can be trusted. In much fiction the issue doesn't arise but when it does, as in for instance Lockwood's and Nelly's narratives in Wuthering Heights, it raises interesting questions of perspective, contrary judgements and the extent to which the reader endorses what the narrator is saying. (See also Multiple narration, View and viewpoint.)

Resolution       A term for the ways in which a plot is sorted out, usually at the close of a book. Resolution usually has two aspects - a human one and a formal one. Audiences and readers want to know how the lives of characters work out, so they take an interest in whether or not the plans and hopes of the characters are fulfilled. The formal aspect is not detached from this interest. Characters form groups and are often very similar or interestingly different from each other. Such grouping prompts a desire in the reader for a balance, or at least a discernible pattern, in the working out of their respective lives. A simple case of this is the desire to see the good rewarded and the bad punished. 
The close of Shakespeare's plays are an interesting balance of the human and formal interests; audiences want to see the lovers married off and they enjoy the way in which the pairings are carefully contrasted with each other. The marriages at the close of As You Like Itform a set of interesting contrasts as well as engaging our sympathies to varying degrees. The term can also be used of poetry, to describe the way in which the passage of feelings in a poem or an argument are brought to a satisfying close.

Retrospective Narration   A form of narrative (usually in the first person) that makes use of the past, often to allow the narrator to reflect on what has happened and to discern the differences between past and present. In Great Expectations Pip the narrator often allows himself to think about the mistakes of his youth and, without giving away what has happened to him, indicate how different he is from the former self about which he writes. What is interesting about Great Expectations and several other retrospective nar- rations is their inconsistency. For much of Jane Eyre there is no retrospective distance between narrator and the young Jane, only occasionally does she slip in a remark about how difficult she must have been as a child. Some retrospective narrations deliberately avoid exploiting the distance between the older narrator and the younger narrated self. In Huckleberry Finn the narrating Huck is as naive and prejudiced as the self whom he presents. (See the entries on Narration.)

Satire     The art of exposing folly or wickedness by mocking it. Sometimes a whole work is called a satire, but more often it is thought of as a quality or function of an author's writing. For instance, Dickens satirises the civil service in Little Dorrit by creating the Circumlocution Office - a massive department whose aim is to prevent anybody from doing anything. You should remember that satire is a moral art. That is to say, it does not merely poke fun at something but ridicules it in the name of important values.

Setting    The context in which the events in a literary work take place. Settings are often significant because they reflect in a number of ways the characters and events. The nature of characters, the moods of characters, the plight of characters and the significance of what is going on are often evident in the locations and surroundings. The abrasively new buildings of Alec D'Urberville's home indicate his nouveau riche status; the wild and threatening marshes of Great Expectations echo the guilt of young Pip; the lonely moors of Jane Eyre reflect her abandonment, and the hollow in which Sergeant Troy demon- strates his sword play to Bathsheba evokes the sexual potential of their relationship.

Subjective and Objective   A thought is subjective when it is concerned with the personal reaction of somebody, and objective when it ignores what the individual feels about something but concentrates on the object itself. Writing about literature should always be a blend of both. You should write about the words of a poem, novel or play, and about your subjective reactions to these.

Subversion   A popular word for any way in which the language of a book allows the reader to see the events critically and thereby make judgements about the characters. One of the teasing aspects of The Great Gatsby is the way in which Nick's enthusiasm for some aspects of Gatsby's life subverts him in the eye of the reader and makes him a narrator whom we think carefully about when it comes to the issue of trust.

Syntax   The construction of sentences; that is, the order of words and their relation with each other. As the construction of a sentence controls the meaning and emotional impact of what is being said, it is always wise, particularly when thinking about poetry or verse drama, to study syntax. It is important to see whether the sentences are long or short, whether they have many or few clauses, and whether, as is usual in English, the subject comes before the object, or the other way round. Theme    The subject, concerns, issues and preoccupations of a poem, novel or play. The word is usually spoken of as meaning the significance of events rather than the events themselves.

Symbol      An object that stands for, points to and shares in a significant reality over and beyond it. Blake's 'The Tyger' stands for and points to creative energy but it is also an instance of that creative energy. Some symbols are traditional, while other symbols are specially created by authors. 
You can learn about traditional symbols, but need to be alert to the resonances of words and their context to recognise ones that are newly made by a poet or novelist. For instance, when you read Shelley's 'Ode to the West Wind', it is important to know that the wind is a symbol for inspiration. When, however, you read Ted Hughes's 'Hawk Roosting' you should try to see that the way the hawk is presented makes it a symbol of the terrible destructiveness that Hughes believes is at the heart of nature.

Theme    The subject, concerns, issues and preoccupations of a poem, novel or play. The word is usually spoken of as meaning the significance of events rather than the events themselves.

Tone    The emotional and intellectual attitude, manner, or poise of a piece of writing. A useful way of assessing the tone of a work is by asking how the author is speaking to you - the reader. In ordinary conversation you would pick up the tone from the way the words were delivered; when you are dealing with words on the page, you should allow their diction, rhythm and sounds to do this for you. Because tone is emotional, you must always try to characterise it. Thus, you may say the tone of a work is intimate, sly, innocent, hectoring, aggressive or fierce. You should remember that all literary works have a tone, and though it is sometimes difficult to detect, you can always try to discuss it.

View, Viewpoint   How an author regards and thereby invites the reader to regard the events of a narrative. The interesting questions to ask are the closeness of the author to the characters and events, the moral light in which they are regarded and any changes that occur in the author's perspective. Charlotte Brontë is very close to Jane Eyre but distant from most of the other characters; George Eliot views everything as a matter of moral concern but is always deeply understanding of human failure, and Dickens shifts the perspective in Great Expectations so that we are sometimes invited to look at things morally and at other times only as the material for comedy.