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Terms for subject Literature (1061 entries)

intonation	The utilisation of pitch changes in spoken language.
invocation of the Muse	A call or request for inspiration from the nine Muses, usually at the beginning of works from the Greek or Roman tradition.
irony	Words or ideas which have an extra layer of meaning, distinctive to the literal one. There are several types of irony which include verbal irony. This is where the speaker or character says one thing, yet means another. Dramatic irony is where actions or words have an alternate meaning, which the speaker or other characters are oblivious to, yet the audience or reader are aware of the underlying meaning. Finally, situational irony is when the result of an action is the opposite of the desired or expected effect.
Jacobean Period	Refers to the period during the reign of King James I, between 1603-1625. Shakespeare wrote his later works in the Jacobean period.
Jane Austen	Born on 16 December 1775, Austen died on 18 July 1817. She was a renowned English novelist, who sharply commented on contemporary society. Her works include Mansfield Park and Emma.
jargon	Potentially confusing words and phrases used in an occupation, trade, or field of study. We might speak of medical jargon, sports jargon, pedagogic jargon etc
jig	A bawdy song and dance in Renaissance drama that was performed by a clown, or other actors, at the end of a play.
John Donne	Born in 1572 Donne was a metaphysical poet who wrote sonnets, love poems, satires, elegies and religious poetry. His writing is noted for its sensual style and vividness. He died in 1631.
John Keats	Born on 31 October 1795, Keats died on 23 February 1821. He was an English poet, and a significant figure of romanticism. Keats is renowned for a series of odes that use detailed and ornate diction.
John Milton	Born in 1608, John Milton was a renowned poet and author during the 17th century. His most notable work is the epic poem Paradise Lost.
John Steinbeck	American writer and winner of the Pulitzer Prize. He also won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. Many of Steinbeck’s novels deal with the lives of rural workers. One of his novels Of Mice and Men is one of the most frequently read books by secondary school students.
Joke Master	JM
Jonathan Swift	Born on 30 November 1667, Swift was an Irish satirist who wrote essays and pamphlets which were political. He is renowned for Gulliver's Travels and A Modest Proposal.
juvenilia	Writing produced by a writer in his/her youth.
juxtaposition	The assembly of two or more ideas, characters, actions, settings, phrases, or words side-by-side or in similar narrative moments for the purpose of comparison, contrast, rhetorical effect, suspense, or character development.
Karl Marx	Karl Heinrich Marx was born on the 5 May 1818. He was a philosopher and revolutionary who is renowned for his communist ideology. He believed that capitalism would, after a revolution, be replaced by a classless communist society. Alongside Engels, Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto in 1848. Marx died on 14 March 1883.
katharsis	An alternative, less known, spelling of catharsis.
kenning	A phrase used poetically instead of the regular word for a noun.
knight	In medieval Europe and England a knight was a military aristocrat who swore allegiance to a lord in exchange for control over land.
lai	Also spelt "lay", this is a brief narrative or lyrical poem that is meant to be sung.