A melodrama is a play which contains the characters that show stronger emotions than real people do. This kind of drama has a musical accompaniment to intensify the effects of certain scenes. Therefore, melodrama is an exaggerated drama as it ...

Point of view is the narrator’s position in relation to the story being told. It refers to the angle an author uses to tell the reader about the happenings in a literary text. It is also the method the author ...

The word “irony” comes from a Greek comic character Eiron, a clever underdog who by his wit repeatedly triumphs over the boastful character Alazon. Eiron was weaker and used his wit to overcome a stronger character. This word, therefore, means ...

Setting refers to the place, time and social environment in which a novel, novella, or short story is represented as happening. It is the historical period, geographical place and social-cultural context in which the events of a story occur. Setting ...

Anaphora is a figure of speech in which words repeat at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences. It is a literary device that consists of repeating a sequence of words at the beginning of neighbouring clauses. This deliberate ...

It is a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to refer to the whole thing or the whole thing is used to refer to the part of that thing. This means that the part of ...

Repetition is the repeating of a word, a phrase, sentence or idea within a story. It is used to add more emphasis to an idea and make it clearer and more memorable. Due to this definition, repetition is a common ...

Flashforward (or prolepsis), is a literary device which reveals the events that will occur in the future. This means that it is an insertion of a later event into the chronological structure of a story. It is also a sudden ...

> It is a short story that features animals and conveys a specific moral lesson. > It is a short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral. > It is a short tale to teach a moral lesson, ...

In composition, the term purpose refers to a person’s reason for writing, such as to inform, entertain, explain, educate or persuade. In literature, purpose refers to the reasons/motives that make the author write a fictional work. It is the objective ...

It is a long work of narrative fiction normally in prose, and typically published as a book. The novel is also a type of prose; which is a long narrative that describes fictional characters and events in form of a ...

Foreshadowing is a technique in which a writer gives an advance hint or clue of what is to come later in the story. It often appears at the beginning of the story or chapter and helps the reader develop expectations ...

Literary critics divide prose into fiction and non-fiction. Fiction refers to literature which is created out of imagination. In a fictional work; the places do not necessarily exist in the real life as they are imagined or originate in the ...

It is a comparison between two unlike things by using the words ‘like’, ‘as’ or ‘than’. It is a figure of speech which uses the words ‘like’, ‘as’, ‘than,’ or ‘as if’ to show the resemblance between two things which ...

A tragicomedy is a drama that combines the elements of a tragedy and a comedy.  It can be a tragedy with a happy ending or a tragedy with enough comic elements.  This kind of drama may use humour while addressing ...

An aphorism is a short witty saying which expresses a general truth or comment in a terse manner. It is a brief saying or phrase that expresses an opinion or makes a statement of wisdom. Aphorism can also be defined ...

Allegory is a representation of abstract ideas and principles by using characters, figures and events. It describes situations, events or express abstract ideas in terms of material, objects, persons, and actions. An allegory is a narrative form in which the ...

The flashback (analepsis) occurs when the writer breaks away from the current action of a story to recount events that happened earlier. It is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point. It is ...

Poetry is derived from the Greek “poiesis”, which means “making”. It is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, the understandable meaning. It is ...

Oxymoron is derived from the Greek oksús which means “sharp, keen, pointed” and mōros which means “dull, stupid, foolish“. Once those meanings are put together, they can be “sharp-dull”, “keenly stupid”, or “pointedly foolish”. Oxymoron is then a figure of speech in which two words or phrases with opposing ...

The term paradox is from Middle French paradoxe. It also comes from the Greek word paradoxon which means “contrary to expectations, existing belief, or perceived opinion”, and directly from Latin paradoxum “paradox, statement seemingly absurd yet really true”. Paradox is therefore, a phrase/statement that appears ...

An allusion is a figure of speech that is a reference to a well-known person, place, thing, idea or event. Each of these concepts can be of historical, cultural, literary, religious or political significance. The referred thing can be real ...

It is an account (story) of a person’s life written by someone else. A biography/bio is simply an account or detailed description about a person’s life. It involves more than just the basic facts like as childhood, education, career, relationships, ...

Audience is the number of people or particular group of people who watch, read or listen to the same thing. This could be the group of people who have gathered to watch or listen to something (a play, a concert, ...