of the five senses. Poetic expression of per-
sonal emotion figured strongly in the move-
ment, typically by means of a private set of
symbols uniquely identifiable with the indi-
vidual poet. The principal aim of the Sym-
bolists was to express in words the highly
complex feelings that grew out of everyday
contact with the world. In a broader sense,
the term ‘‘symbolism’’ refers to the use of
one object to represent another.Symbolist:SeeSymbolism
Symbolist Movement:SeeSymbolism
Sympathetic Fallacy:SeeAffective Fallacy
T
Tanka:A form of Japanese poetry similar to
haiku.Atankais five lines long, with the
lines containing five, seven, five, seven, and
seven syllables respectively.
Terza Rima:A three-line stanza form in poetry
in which the rhymes are made on the last
word of each line in the following manner:
the first and third lines of the first stanza,
then the second line of the first stanza and
the first and third lines of the second stanza,
and so on with the middle line of any stanza
rhyming with the first and third lines of the
following stanza.
Tetrameter:SeeMeter
Textual Criticism:A branch of literary criticism
that seeks to establish the authoritative text
of a literary work. Textual critics typically
compare all known manuscripts or printings
of a single work in order to assess the mean-
ings of differences and revisions. This pro-
cedure allows them to arrive at a definitive
version that (supposedly) corresponds to the
author’s original intention.
Theme:The main point of a work of literature.
The term is used interchangeably with
thesis.
Thesis:A thesis is both an essay and the point
argued in the essay. Thesis novels and thesis
plays share the quality of containing a thesis
which is supported through the action of the
story.
Third Person:SeePoint of View
Tone:The author’s attitude toward his or her
audience may be deduced from the tone of
the work. A formal tone may create distance
or convey politeness, while an informal tone
may encourage a friendly, intimate, or intru-
sive feeling in the reader. The author’s atti-
tude toward his or her subject matter may
also be deduced from the tone of the words
he or she uses in discussing it.
Tragedy:A drama in prose or poetry about a
noble, courageous hero of excellent charac-
ter who, because of some tragic character
flaw orhamartia, brings ruin upon him- or
herself. Tragedy treats its subjects in a dig-
nified and serious manner, using poetic lan-
guage to help evoke pity and fear and bring
about catharsis, a purging of these emo-
tions. The tragic form was practiced exten-
sively by the ancient Greeks. In the Middle
Ages, when classical works were virtually
unknown, tragedy came to denote any
works about the fall of persons from exalted
to low conditions due to any reason: fate,
vice, weakness, etc. According to the classi-
cal definition of tragedy, such works present
the ‘‘pathetic’’—that which evokes pity—
rather than the tragic. The classical form of
tragedy was revived in the sixteenth century;
it flourished especially on the Elizabethan
stage. In modern times, dramatists have
attempted to adapt the form to the needs
of modern society by drawing their heroes
from the ranks of ordinary men and women
and defining the nobility of these heroes in
terms of spirit rather than exalted social
standing.
Tragic Flaw:In a tragedy, the quality within the
hero or heroine which leads to his or her
downfall.
Transcendentalism:An American philosophical
and religious movement, based in New Eng-
land from around 1835 until the Civil War.
Transcendentalism was a form of American
romanticism that had its roots abroad in the
works of Thomas Carlyle, Samuel Coler-
idge, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
The Transcendentalists stressed the impor-
tance of intuition and subjective experience
in communication with God. They rejected
religious dogma and texts in favor of mysti-
cism and scientific naturalism. They pur-
sued truths that lie beyond the ‘‘colorless’’
realms perceived by reason and the senses
and were active social reformers in public
education, women’s rights, and the aboli-
tion of slavery.Glossary of Literary Terms