Literary Devices & Terms Vocabulary

a coming-of-age novel

“The Catcher in the Rye is a classic bildungsroman.”

Origin: German Bildung `education` + Roman `novel`

the final resolution of a plot

“The denouement revealed the killer's identity.”

Origin: French dénouer `to untie`, from Latin nodare `to knot`

a recurring theme or image

“Water serves as a leitmotif throughout her poetry.”

Origin: German Leitmotiv `leading motif`

an artist's greatest work

“The symphony was considered his magnum opus.”

Origin: Latin `great work`

the arrangement of scenery and stage properties

“The film's mise en scène evoked 1920s Paris.”

Origin: French `putting on stage`

a work imitating the style of another artist

“The novel was a pastiche of Victorian detective fiction.”

Origin: Italian pasticcio `pie, hodgepodge`

relating to a roguish hero's episodic adventures

“The picaresque novel followed a charming con artist.”

Origin: Spanish pícaro `rogue`

a series of novels chronicling a family or society

“Proust's work is the ultimate roman-fleuve.”

Origin: French `river novel`, flowing continuously

turmoil and emotional intensity

“The memoir captured the Sturm und Drang of adolescence.”

Origin: German `storm and stress`, from an 18th-century literary movement

the appearance of being true or real

“The novel's verisimilitude made readers believe it was autobiography.”

Origin: Latin verisimilitudo, from verus `true` + similis `similar`