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Assonance  A sound structure employing a similarity among vowels but not consonants.
Connotation  Use of language to suggest ideas and/or emotional coloration in addition to the explicit or denoted meaning. "Brothers and sisters" denotes relatives, but the words may also connote people united in a common effort or struggle, as in the expressions "Brotherhood of Teamsters" or "Sisterhood Is Powerful." See denotation.
Denotation  The direct, explicit meaning or reference of a word or words. See connotation.
Diction  In literature, drama, and film, the choice of words with special care for their expressiveness.
Epic  A lengthy narrative poem, usually episodic, with heroic action and great cultural scope.
Episodic narrative  A story composed of separate incidents (or episodes) tied loosely together. See organic narrative.
Iambic pentameter  Type of poetic meter. An iamb is a metrical unit, or foot, of two syllables; the first unaccented and the second accented. Pentameter is a five-foot line. See sonnet.
Imagery  Use of language to represent objects and events with strong appeal to the senses, especially the visual.
Lyric  A poem, usually brief and personal, with an emphasis on feelings or states of mind as part of the subject matter. Lyric songs use lyric poems.
Metaphor  An implied comparison between different things. See simile.
Narrative  A story told to an audience.
Objective correlative  An image that is similar to a subjective awareness.
Protagonist  The chief character in drama and literature.
Symbol  Something perceptible that stands for something more abstract.
Theme  In music, a melody or motive of considerable importance because of later repetition or development. In other arts, a theme is a main idea or general topic.







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