• Allegory (short definition)

• Introduction to Medieval Allegory

• Definition of Allegory (with link to allegory exercise)

• Reflections on Allegory (several definitions and discussions of allegory)

• Critical Concepts: Allusion

• Allusion

• Echoing Vowels--Assonance

• Ballad (folk and literary ballad definitions from The Columbia Encyclopedia on Bartleby)

• Ballad (description of the folk and literary ballad)

• Ballad

• Character (brief descriptions)

• Character and Characterization

Static Characters

Developing Characters

Flat Characters

Round Characters

• Conflict (external, internal)

• Models of Conflict in Literature (parody examples of various conflict types)

• Connotation/Denotation (study guide with examples and exercises)
• Connotation (with comparison chart and sentence examples)
• Words and Meaning
• Definition of Denotation and Connotation (with exercise and application to Bishop's poem "The Fish"
• Semiotics for Beginners: Denotation, Connotation, and Myth
• "On Connotation" by Stephen Burt (blog entry)
• The Language of Advertising: Denotation and Connotation

• Denotation vs. Connotation

• Escape v. Escapist Literature (notice that we are using escape literature in the escapist meaning according to the definition presented here)

• Explicit Imagery

• Implicit Images

• Imagery

• Irony (classical rhetoric)

• Irony (verbal irony, dramatic irony, irony of situation)

• Irony (dramatic, structural, verbal)

• Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Irony

• Literary Devices: Irony (verbal, dramatic, situational)

• Situational Irony

• Metaphor
• What is a metaphor?
• Analyzing a Metaphor (with illustrative chart and examples)
• Metaphor (classical rhetoric)
• Metaphor (general ideas, tenor, vehicle, ground)
• What is a metaphor? (linguistic)
• Metaphor and Simile (by Tim Love; examples and discussion)
• Jaron's World: The Meaning of Metaphor ("A new theory may illuminate the nature of meaning"; cognitive angle on metaphor)

• Traditional Accentual-Syllabic Meters (examples)

• Metonymy (classical rhetoric)
• What is metonymy?
• Metonymy (definition and some examples)
• Metonymy (two types of metonymy, explanation with link to databank of metonymy examples)
• Semiotics for Beginners: Rhetorical Tropes by Daniel Chandler
• Metonymy (discussion)
• Metonymy (semiotics)

• Onomatopoeia

• Paradox (short definition and example)
• Paradox
• Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Literary Paradox

• Personification (example poem, exercises)

• What is plot? (discussion of plot from a science fiction writer)

• Types of Point of View

• Points of View (first, second, third person narrators)

• What's the best point of view for fiction? (user discussion in forum)

• Refrain: Poetic Repetition

• Rhyme (short definitions and examples of different kinds of rhymes)

• Rhyme (intro, simple rhyming, not-quite-rhymes, rather-more-than-rhymes, special kinds of rhyme, locations for rhyme)

• Scansion

• "A Look at Scansion Methods" by Caleb Murdock

• Setting (short explanation, what setting tells us)

• Short Story Elements (brief descriptions of setting, plot, conflict, character, point of view, theme)

• Stanzas and Fixed Forms (explanation and examples; see also Stanza Tutorial)

• Stanza

• Ballad Stanza

• Suspense (brief general definition)

• Suspense as an element in plot

• Definition of Symbol (with links to an exercise and studies of two poems)

• What is a synecdoche?
• Synecdoche (classical rhetoric)
• Synecdoche (short definition and examples)

• Synesthesia

• What exactly is this elusive thing called theme? (downloadable pdf file; brief definition and list of common themes in American literature)

• Subject v. Theme (very brief description, list of common themes in English literature)

• Establishing Tone

• Abrams, M. H.  A Glossary of Literary Terms.  8th ed.  Boston: Heinle and Heinle, 2005. (Arts)

• Baldick, Chris.  The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms.  New York: Oxford UP, 2004. (Arts ref PN41 B177C)

• Cuddon, J. A.  A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory.  4th ed.  Rev. C. E. Preston.  Oxford: Blackwell, 1998. (at CL ref)

• Drury, John.  The Poetry Dictionary.  2nd ed.  Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 2005.

• Lanham, Richard A.  A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms.  2nd ed.  Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.

• Murfin, Ross, and Suryia M. Ray.  The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms.  Boston: Bedford, 2006. (library has 2nd ed.; CL ref PN44.5 M975B, Arts PN44.5 M975B)

• The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Eds. Alex Preminger, Terry V. F. Brogan, and Frank J. Warnke. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1993.

• Packard, William.  The Poet's Dictionary: A Handbook of Prosody and Poetic Devices.  New York: Harper and Row, 1994. (CL ref has 1989 edition)

• An Illustrated Glossary of Rhetorical Terms (plenty of examples, audio of pronunciation) 

• Glossary of Literary Terms (good coverage of terms, separate pages for A-E, F-K, L-O, P-S, T-Z)

• Glossary of Literary Terms (with pronunciation of terms and some examples)

• Useful Terms for Rhetorical Analysis

• A Glossary of Rhetorical Terms with Examples

• Glossary of Terms

• Literary Terms

• Literary Terms (major literary terms, poetic feet, minor literary terms; extensive coverage but very short definitions)

• A. P. Rhetorical Terms (pdf file of terms, descriptions and literary examples from Mrs. Dianne James of Steele High School, Cibolo, Texas)

• Glossary 123

• Literary Terms for English 150W (very short descriptions for quick reference)

• Literary Vocabulary (very extensive list, illustrative examples, works cited; includes terms related to classical and medieval literature, the history of the English language, and science fiction narratives)

• On-line Guides (list of annotated links)

• Poetry Definitions (A to Z)

• Poetry Forms (54 "forms" with examples)

• Literary Terms

• Literary and Speech Terms

• Elements of Poetry (voice, imagery, figurative language, symbolism, sound, rhythm)

• Glossary of Poetic Terms

• Glossary of Fiction Terms