Cacophony

A combination of harsh, unpleasant sounds, which create an aggregate effect.

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Caricature

A description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others for comic reasons.

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Case Study

A detailed analysis of an individual, group, or event

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Catastrophe

One name for the concluding action of a tragedy; a disaster of huge proportions.

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Cause and Effect

Two events are related when one event brings about or causes the other. The event that happens first is the cause; the one that follows is the effect.

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Character

A person who is responsible for the thoughts and actions within a story, poem, or other literature.

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Characterization

A method of presenting the special qualities or features of a character.

Character Foil

A character that contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) and so highlights various facets of the main character's personality.

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Chorus

A group of people who serve mainly as commentators on the characters and events. Add to the audience's understanding of the play by expressing traditionally moral, religious, and social attitudes.

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Chronological Order

The order in which events happen in time.

Cliché

An over-used, time-worn expression or idea.

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Climactic Order

To save the most important to last.

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Climax

Turning point, point of maximum interest, and highest tension in the plot of a story, play, or film. Usually occurs towards the end of story after the reader has understood the conflict and become emotionally involved with the characters

Colloquialism

A word or phrase used in an easy informal style of writing or speaking.

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Colloquial Language

Informal language; language that is "conversational".

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Comedy

A ludicrous and amusing event or series of events in a work of literature.

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Comedic Relief

The inclusion of a humorous character or scene in an otherwise serious work of literature.

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Compare and Contrast

To note the similarities and differences between two things.

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Comparison

The process of identifying similarities.

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Conflict

The tension or problem of a story; a struggle between opposing forces. (man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. himself)

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Connotation

The cluster of implications that words or phrases may carry with them, as distinguished from their denotative, or exact, meanings.

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Consonance

A special type of alliteration in which the repeated pattern of consonants are marked by changes in the intervening vowels.

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Contrast

Showing differences between or among things.

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Couplet

A pair of rhymed lines that form a stanza

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Denotation

The specific, exact meaning of a word, independent of its emotional coloration or associations.[image]

Denouement

The outcome of a series of events, the resolution that occurs after the climax of a work of literature.

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Descriptive Essay

An essay that describes a person, place, or object.

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Dialect

Language from a particular place, era, or social class.[image]

Dialogue

Lines spoken between characters of a work of literature.

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Diary

An informal record of a person's private life.[image]

Diction

The choice of words and word order in a work of literature

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Didactic

Writing used to teach or convince the reader of a particular point.

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Dilemma

A problem that creates conflict within or between characters.

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Direct Presentation

When the writer tells readers what kind of personality the character possesses rather than allowing the character to show his or her personality and allow readers to draw their own conclusions.[image]

Dissonance

The deliberate use of syllables or words that sounds harsh together.

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Drama

Writing presented in the form of a pantomime, play, or dialogue in front of an audience.[image]

Dramatic Irony

A situation in a narrative or drama where the audience knows more than the character.

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Dramatic Monologue

When a single character addresses a silent audience at a critical moment and reveals something about himself or herself.

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Dramatic Form

Various literary forms that are related and include dramatic material.

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Dynamic Character

A character that develops and changes in a work of literature.[image]