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Literature Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [terminology]

Questions pertaining to terms used in the study of literature, including the names of the genres, tropes, terms used for analysis, and so forth.

Note that there are many phenomena for which there is no term. As Ronald Langacker said,

I can think of a unicorn with daisies growing out of its nostrils, but I don't need a name for it.

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What's it called when a short quote appears at the beginning of a chapter?

I've read several novels (Cornelia Funke's Inkheart trilogy springs to mind, for example) in which each chapter is associated with a quote from some other piece of literature, which is usually somehow relevant to the events of the chapter. The same…
Rand al'Thor
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What is the difference between a Novelette, Novella and Novel?

What are the main differences between a novelette, a novella, and a novel? As they sound fairly similar.
kenorb
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What makes something a literary or poetic movement?

I have recently been reading about the various poetic and literary movements that occurred prior to the 21st century, and one thing that I don't understand is how they become a movement. Most of them have a single book, which significantly inspired…
Benjamin
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What are chapter summary phrases called?

Is there a name for the literary technique of opening a chapter with a series of summary phrases? An example from Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome: Chapter II Plans discussed.—Pleasures of “camping-out,” on fine nights.—Ditto, wet…
Brian Koser
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Where does the word "diegesis" come from, and to what elements of a story, specifically, does it refer?

I've noticed that the word "diegesis" is an important term when discussing literature and literary value. Where does it come from, and what does it mean?
user80
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Does literary theory have a technical term for a writer publishing the first version of one of their works in a foreign language?

Does literary theory know a technical term for the following: An accomplished writer intentionally publishes the first version of one of their texts in a language which they neither know (well), nor usually publish in, nor is a language usually…
guest
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What is the term for a novel that has no chapters or paragraphs?

What is the literary term for a novel that does not have any dividing sections such as chapters or paragraphs? There may still be punctuation. I am thinking of something like Will Self's Phone.
afilmforthefuture
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What is pp in books?

I have a bibliographical reference: [Author] [book name]-5th ed.,pp.3-6,ch.3. What does the "pp" stand for? I don't recognize this abbreviation.
ILoveIL
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Term for a story that is a perfect loop

Is there a noun for or an adjective that describes stories that can be read from beginning-to-end repeatedly? That is, the beginning of the story is a seamless continuation from its ending. You could copy paste the story infinitely many times in a…
minseong
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Terminology for a novel about writing a novel

Is there a specific term for a novel (or poem, or any other artwork) whose content is concerned with writing or creating a similar art? Some examples of the kind of novels I'm thinking of: Proust's In Search of Lost Time (a novel that ends up being…
dfertrsfd
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Is there any technical term for a type of reading that focuses on minor characters in a literary work?

Is there any technical term for a type of reading that focuses on minor characters in a literary work? For example, a type of reading that focuses on the character of Polonius in William Shakespeare's Hamlet or on the character of Jordan Baker from…
BeatsMe
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Do authors ever think about the literary devices going into their work?

I'm a Judy Blume fan, and I found this article on TV Tropes. I noticed that they listed a lot of common themes and patterns. Are authors aware of the literary devices they use when they first write their stories, or is it usually done…
HeavenlyHarmony
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Terms for structural analysis of a non-linear narrative

I'm struggling to identify established terms for analyzing non-linear narratives. If the narrative chronology is the order in which events are narrated, what is the standard term for the "internal" chronology of the fiction itself? And to which of…
Søren Løvborg
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What's the term for multiple levels of reality in a fictional work?

An increasing number of books nowadays have different levels of reality, as it were, with characters on one level being creations of characters on another. Good examples of this are Sofies verden and Redshirts. What is the term for this? I know it…
In Hoc Signo
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What is a term for an (occasionally lengthy) passage set between chapters?

In The Forgetting*, there are passages from books (mostly the main character's diaries) set between the chapters. They generally serve to provide exposition about the world or backstory for the main character and her family. Closer to the end…
bobble
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