Allegory in which the barnyard animals who overthrow the farmer and take over the farm represent the Russian Revolution and its aftermath. Alliteration

Antihero/Antiheroine
A protagonist (main character of a story) who lacks heroic qualities such as integrity, courage, and morality.
In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, protagonist Holden Caulfield serves as an antihero, narrating his misguided and unsuccessful attempts to make meaningful personal connections in a society he largely despises. 
 
Antithesis
A rhetorical technique that uses parallel grammatical structure to contrast two opposing ideas.
Many ancient proverbs use antithesis to promote one idea over another. Notice how the parallel sentence structure in the following proverb sets up a clear contrast between two ideas, leaving no doubt about which is better: 
“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”
 
Aphorism
A brief, memorable statement that captures a broad, universal truth or idea.
Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack contains many well-known aphorisms. Two of the most famous are:
 “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” 
“God helps them that help themselves.”
 
Apostrophe
A rhetorical device in which a speaker addresses either an inanimate object or a person who is absent or dead.
In the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet uses apostrophe when she asks, “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art though Romeo?” (2.2.33). Although Romeo is hiding below in the garden, Juliet does not know that anyone is listening. Later in the play, Juliet uses apostrophe again when she speaks to Romeo’s dagger: “O happy dagger, / This is thy sheathe!” (5.3.183–184).
 
Archetype
A literary element that is common in stories from many different cultures and times and has similar, universally recognizable attributes. Archetypes include common character types (e.g., heroes, villains, tricksters), symbols (fire, water, light, darkness), themes, plotlines, or other elements.
The hero archetype appears in stories from nearly every culture in human history. Archetypal heroes face certain universal challenges, such as unusual circumstances of birth, a traumatic event that initiates a dangerous quest, and a great trial that tests the hero’s character and results in a sort of rebirth.
 
Assonance
Repetition of similar vowel sounds within words and phrases, commonly used for a lyrical effect in poetry and other literary forms.
Emily Dickinson frequently used assonance in her poetry, as in the opening lines of her poem “Because I could not stop for Death”:
Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –
Blank Verse
Poetry or prose that does not rhyme but has a consistent meter, usually iambic pentameter.
In Shakespeare’s plays, high-born characters usually speak in blank verse, or unrhymed iambic pentameter. Each line consists of ten syllables, which alternate between unstressed and stressed (in bold). 
But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
A