World Literature Glossary

A literary device where characters and events represent abstract ideas or moral qualities, creating meaning on both literal and symbolic levels.

A novel genre tracing a protagonist's psychological and moral development from youth to adulthood.

The body of literary works considered most important and influential by scholars, critics, and educational institutions.

The political and economic domination of one nation over another, a central concern in postcolonial literary analysis.

An academic field studying literature across linguistic, cultural, and national boundaries.

A long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds, cultural origins, and foundational myths of a civilization.

A category of literary composition characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

A West African hereditary storyteller and oral historian who preserves community narratives through performance.

A traditional Japanese poetic form of three lines with a 5-7-5 syllable structure, typically capturing a moment in nature.

The relationship between texts where one work references, alludes to, or responds to another.

A literary mode incorporating supernatural elements into realistic narratives as though they were ordinary.

An early 20th-century literary movement characterized by experimentation with form, stream of consciousness, and fragmentation.

The perspective and style through which a story is told to the reader.

A literary movement by Francophone Black writers celebrating African identity and resisting colonial cultural assimilation.

An extended work of prose fiction, typically with complex characters, plot, and thematic depth.

The transmission of stories, myths, and cultural knowledge through spoken performance rather than written text.

A critical framework examining the cultural and political legacy of colonialism in literature and society.

Written language in its ordinary form without the metrical structure of verse.

A literary movement and approach that aims to represent everyday life and society accurately and without idealization.

A narrative technique presenting a character's continuous, unfiltered flow of thoughts and perceptions.

The use of objects, characters, or events to represent abstract ideas or concepts beyond their literal meaning.

The central idea or underlying message explored throughout a literary work.

The rendering of a literary text from one language to another, involving interpretive choices about meaning, style, and cultural context.

Writing arranged with metrical rhythm, often in lines and stanzas, as distinguished from prose.

Goethe's concept of world literature as a global exchange of literary works transcending national boundaries.