Allegory (short definition)

Introduction to Medieval Allegory

Definition of Allegory (with link to allegory exercise)

Reflections on Allegory (several definitions and discussions of allegory)

Critical Concepts: Allusion

Allusion

Ballad (folk and literary ballad definitions from The Columbia Encyclopedia on Bartleby)

Ballad (description of the folk and literary ballad)

Ballad

Character (brief descriptions)

Character and Characterization

Static Characters

Developing Characters

Flat Characters

Round Characters

Conflict (external, internal)

Models of Conflict in Literature (parody examples of various conflict types)

Escape v. Escapist Literature (notice that we are using escape literature in the escapist meaning according to the definition presented here)

Explicit Imagery

Implicit Images

Imagery

Irony (classical rhetoric)

Irony (verbal irony, dramatic irony, irony of situation)

Irony (dramatic, structural, verbal)

Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Irony

Literary Devices: Irony (verbal, dramatic, situational)

Situational Irony

Traditional Accentual-Syllabic Meters (examples)

Story and Plot

What is plot? (discussion of plot from a science fiction writer)

Types of Point of View

Points of View (first, second, third person narrators)

What's the best point of view for fiction? (user discussion in forum)

Rhyme (short definitions and examples of different kinds of rhymes)

Rhyme (intro, simple rhyming, not-quite-rhymes, rather-more-than-rhymes, special kinds of rhyme, locations for rhyme)

Scansion

"A Look at Scansion Methods" by Caleb Murdock

Setting (short explanation, what setting tells us)

Short Story Elements (brief descriptions of setting, plot, conflict, character, point of view, theme)

Stanzas and Fixed Forms (explanation and examples; see also Stanza Tutorial)

Stanza

Ballad Stanza

Suspense (brief general definition)

Suspense as an element in plot

Definition of Symbol (with links to an exercise and studies of two poems)

What exactly is this elusive thing called theme? (downloadable pdf file; brief definition and list of common themes in American literature)

Subject v. Theme (very brief description, list of common themes in English literature)

Abrams, M. H.  A Glossary of Literary Terms.  9th ed.  Boston: Wadsworth, 2009.

Baldick, Chris.  The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms.  New York: Oxford UP, 2004. (Arts ref PN41 B177C)

Cuddon, J. A.  A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory.  4th ed.  Rev. C. E. Preston.  Oxford: Blackwell, 1998. (at CL ref)

Drury, John.  The Poetry Dictionary.  2nd ed.  Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 2005.

Lanham, Richard A.  A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms.  2nd ed.  Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.

Murfin, Ross, and Suryia M. Ray.  The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms.  Boston: Bedford, 2006. (library has 2nd ed.; CL ref PN44.5 M975B, Arts PN44.5 M975B)

The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Eds. Alex Preminger, Terry V. F. Brogan, and Frank J. Warnke. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1993.

Packard, William.  The Poet's Dictionary: A Handbook of Prosody and Poetic Devices.  New York: Harper and Row, 1994. (CL ref has 1989 edition)

An Illustrated Glossary of Rhetorical Terms (plenty of examples, audio of pronunciation) 

Glossary of Literary Terms (good coverage of terms, separate pages for A-E, F-K, L-O, P-S, T-Z)

Glossary of Literary Terms (with pronunciation of terms and some examples)

Useful Terms for Rhetorical Analysis

A Glossary of Rhetorical Terms with Examples

Glossary of Terms

Literary Terms

Literary Terms (major literary terms, poetic feet, minor literary terms; extensive coverage but very short definitions)

A. P. Rhetorical Terms (pdf file of terms, descriptions and literary examples from Mrs. Dianne James of Steele High School, Cibolo, Texas)

Glossary 123

Glossary of Terms

Literary Terms for English 150W (very short descriptions for quick reference)

Literary Vocabulary (very extensive list, illustrative examples, works cited; includes terms related to classical and medieval literature, the history of the English language, and science fiction narratives)

On-line Guides (list of annotated links)

Poetry Definitions (A to Z)

Poetry Forms (54 "forms" with examples)

Literary Terms

Literary and Speech Terms

Elements of Poetry (voice, imagery, figurative language, symbolism, sound, rhythm)

Glossary of Poetic Terms

Glossary of Fiction Terms

An Outline of American Literature: Glossary

Literary Dictionary (student work, with examples)