Glossary of Literary Terms
A
Abstract:Used as a noun, the term refers to a
short summary or outline of a longer work.
As an adjective applied to writing or literary
works, abstract refers to words or phrases
that name things not knowable through the
five senses.
Accent:Theemphasisorstressplacedonasyllable
in poetry. Traditional poetry commonly uses
patterns of accented and unaccented syllables
(known as feet) that create distinct rhythms.
Much modern poetry uses less formal
arrangements that create a sense of freedom
and spontaneity.
Aestheticism:A literary and artistic movement of
the nineteenth century. Followers of the
movement believed that art should not be
mixed with social, political, or moral teaching.
The statement ‘‘art for art’s sake’’ is a good
summary of aestheticism. The movement had
its roots in France, but it gained widespread
importance in England in the last half of the
nineteenth century, where it helped change
the Victorian practice of including moral les-
sons in literature.
Affective Fallacy:An error in judging the merits
or faults of a work of literature. The ‘‘error’’
results from stressing the importance of the
work’s effect upon the reader—that is, how it
makes a reader ‘‘feel’’ emotionally, what it
does as a literary work—instead of stressing
its inner qualities as a created object, or what
it ‘‘is.’’
Age of Johnson:The period in English literature
between 1750 and 1798, named after the
most prominent literary figure of the age,
Samuel Johnson. Works written during this
time are noted for their emphasis on ‘‘sensi-
bility,’’ or emotional quality. These works
formed a transition between the rational
works of the Age of Reason, or Neoclassical
period, and the emphasis on individual feel-
ings and responses of the Romantic period.
Age of Reason:SeeNeoclassicismAge of Sensibility:SeeAge of Johnson
Agrarians:A group of Southern American writers
of the 1930s and 1940s who fostered an eco-
nomic and cultural program for the South
based on agriculture, in opposition to the
industrial society of the North. The term can
refer to any group that promotes the value of
farm life and agricultural society.
Alexandrine Meter:SeeMeter
Allegory:A narrative technique in which charac-
ters representing things or abstract ideas are
used to convey a message or teach a lesson.
Allegory is typically used to teach moral,
ethical, or religious lessons but is sometimes
used for satiric or political purposes.337