Abstract - Not related to the concrete properties of an object; pertaining to ideas, concepts, or qualities, as opposed to physical attributes.
Aesthetic - Pertaining to the value of art for its own sake or for form.
Allegory - Narrative form in which characters and actions have meanings outside themselves; characters are usually personifications of abstract qualities.
Alliteration - The repetition of initial consonant sounds or any vowel sounds within a formal grouping, such as a poetic line or stanza, or in close proximity in prose.
Allusion - A figure of speech that makes brief, even casual reference to a historical or literary figure, event, or object to create a resonance in the reader or to apply a symbolic meaning to the character or object of which the allusion consists. For example, in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, the surname of the protagonist, George Milton, is an allusion to John Milton, author of Paradise Lost, since, by the end of the novel, George has lost the dream of having a little ranch of his own to share with his friend Lennie.
Ambiguity - Use of language in which multiple meanings are possible. Ambiguity can be unintentional through an insufficient focus on the part of the writer; in good writing, ambiguity is frequently intentional in the form of multiple connotative meanings or situations in which either the connotative or the denotative meaning can be valid in a reading.
Anachronism - Use of historically inaccurate details in a text; for example, depicting a 19th-century character using a computer. Some authors employ anachronisms for humorous effects, and some genres, such as science fiction or fantasy, make extensive use of anachronisms.
Anadiplosis - Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the next clause. For example, "The crime was common, common be the pain." (Alexander Pope)
Analogy - Comparison of two things that are alike in some respects. Metaphors and similes are both types of analogy
Anaphora - regular repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses. For example, "We shall fight in the trenches. We shall fight on the oceans. We shall fight in the sky."
Anecdote - A brief story or tale told by a character in a piece of literature
Antagonist - Character or force in a literary work that opposes the main character, or protagonist.
Antihero - The protagonist of a literary work who does not embody the traditional qualities of a hero (e.g., honor, bravery, kindness, intelligence); for example, the protagonists created by Byron in Don Juan and Childe Harold, and the characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
Antithesis—The juxtaposition of sharply contrasting ideas in balanced or parallel words or phrases.
Aphorism - A concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a commonly held belief. The writing of Benjamin Franklin contain many aphorisms, such as "Early to bed and early to rise/Make a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
Apostrophe - A figure of speech in which a person, thing, or abstract quality is addressed as if present; for example, the invocation to the muses is usually found in epic poetry.
Appeals to: authority, emotion, logic - Rhetorical arguments in which the speaker: either claim to be an expert or relies on information provided by experts (appeal to authority), attempts to
affect the listener's personal feelings (appeal to emotion), or attempts to persuade the listener through the use of deductive reasoning (appeal to logic).
Assonance - The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in successive or proximate words.
Asyndeton - The practice of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. In a list, it gives a more extemporaneous effect and suggests the list may be incomplete. For example, "He was brave, fearless, afraid of nothing."
Audience - The person(s) reached by a piece of writing.
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