Advanced Vocabulary for TOEFL - Literature and Writing

(a book, play, text, etc.) made shorter than the original by omitting some details

(of a story, play, image, etc.) using characters or events in a symbolic sense that represent a concept, quality, etc.

shocking or sensational, especially in a gruesome or vulgar way

(of speech or writing) using a serious and elevated style that makes it tedious and complicated

a poem or other piece of writing in which certain letters of each line, usually the initial letters, spell out a word or phrase

an absurd or comically exaggerated replication of a literary or dramatic work

humorous and poorly written poetry

a song or poem expressing sadness, especially in the memory of a dead person or a bitter event in the past

a long poem in narrative form giving an account of the extraordinary deeds and adventures of a nation's heroes or legends

a Japanese poem with three unrhymed lines that have five, seven and five syllables each

a song, musical piece, poem, etc. that expresses the feeling of sorrow and sadness after a loss or death

a drawing, speech, or text aiming to criticize something or someone in a humorous manner

a lyric poem, written in varied or irregular metrical form, for a particular object, person, or concept

a piece of writing, music, etc. that imitates the style of someone else in a humorous way

any holy poem, song, or hymn, especially the ones in the Book of Psalms, used in Christian and Jewish worship

a verse of Italian origin that has 14 lines, usually in an iambic pentameter and a prescribed rhyme scheme

a person who writes pieces of poetry and stories

a series of lines in a poem, usually with recurring rhyme scheme and meter

any of the sections into which a long poem is divided

an elaborate or far-fetched poetic image or comparison between very dissimilar things, used in literature

the continuation of a line of poetry into another couplet or stanza without a break

bombastic or meaningless language

the systematic study of metrical structures and sounds in poetry

a section of additional material that is usually added at the end of a book

villainous character who strongly opposes another person or thing

a separate part at the end of a book that gives further information

a short promotional description of a book, motion picture, etc. published on the cover of a book or in an advertisement

marks and notes written in the margins of a book or document

a list of technical terms or jargons of a particular field or text, provided in alphabetical order with an explanation for each one

an error in a written or printed document

generally accepted rules or principles, especially those that are considered as fundamental in a field of art or philosophy

a subject, idea, or phrase that is repeatedly used in a literary work

an ancient book, written by hand, especially of scriptures, classics, etc.

the greatest literary or artistic piece that an author or artist has created

a work of fiction with an intermediate length, which could be considered a short novel

an apparent mistake or inconsistency in the narrative of a book, motion picture, etc.

the fact of having an excessive number of words that results in being tedious

to use satire in order to criticize or ridicule a system, person, etc.

a brief section added at the end of a literary work, providing closure, commentary, or resolution