Entertainment / Literature Glossary

Anacreontics: Poetry or song-verse modeled on the poetry of the Greek poet Anacreon--i.e., carpe diem poetry praising hedonistic pleasures of wine, women, and song, written in trochaic tetrameter. Here is . . . View Full Definition

Anacrusis: The addition of an extra unstressed syllable or two at the start of a line of verse--but these additions are not considered part of the regular metrical count. Deutsch points out an example . . . View Full Definition

Anadiplosis: (Greek 'doubling') Repeating the last word of a clause at the beginning of the next clause. As Nietzsche said, 'Talent is an adornment, an adornment is also a concealment.' Ann Landers once . . . View Full Definition

Anagnorisis: (Greek for 'recognition'): A term used by Aristotle in the Poetics to describe the moment of tragic recognition in which the protagonist realizes some important fact or insight, especially a . . . View Full Definition

Anagogical: In fourfold interpretation, the anagogical reading is the fourth type of interpretation in which one reads a religious writing in an eschatological manner, i.e., the interpreter sees the pas . . . View Full Definition

Anagram: (Greekwriting back or anew): When the letters or syllables in a name, word or phrase are shuffled together or jumbled to form a new word. For instance, in Tanith Lee's short story, 'Bite-Me- . . . View Full Definition

Analogue: (also spelled analog) A story that contains similar characters, situations, settings, or verbal echoes to those found in a different story. Sometimes analogues reveal that one version was ad . . . View Full Definition

Analytic: A language is analytic if it requires a certain word order to make grammatical sense--often this requires extensive use of prepositions and auxiliary verbs. For instance, take the sentence, . . . View Full Definition

Analytical Comparison: Comparison using more and most instead of -er and -est.

Analyzed Rhyme: Another term for inexact rhyme. See below.

Anapest: A foot or unit of poetry consisting of two light syllables followed by a single stressed syllable. Some words and phrases in English that constitute anapests include the following examples: . . . View Full Definition

Anaphora: (Greek, 'carried again,' also called epanaphora) The intentional repetition of beginning clauses in order to create an artistic effect. For instance, Churchill declared, 'We shall not flag o . . . View Full Definition

Anapodoton: Deliberately creating a sentence fragment by the omission of a clause: If only you came with me! If only students knew what anapodoton was! Good writers never use sentence fragments? Ah, but . . . View Full Definition

Anaptyxis: In linguistics, anaptyxis is the appearance of an intrusive vowel sound between two consonants when that vowel is unexpected historically or when it shouldn't be there according to the norma . . . View Full Definition

Anastrophe: Inverted order of words or events as a rhetorical scheme. Anastrophe is specifically a type of hyperbaton in which the adjective appears after the noun when we expect to find the adjective b . . . View Full Definition

Anatolian: A branch of Indo-European languages spoken in Asia Minor, including Hittite.

Anchoress: A female anchorite. These women were eremites or hermits in the medieval period who would request permission from the local pastor to be walled up alive in a small cell attached to the side . . . View Full Definition

Anchorhold: In medieval times, an enclosure in the wall of a church where an anchorite or anchoress would be sealed up alive as a gesture of faith.

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