This brief, friendly guide provides beginning readers of literature with a source for clear, concise definitions of 125 key literary terms—from allusion, epigram, and irony to paradox and personification to simile, tetrameter, and tone. Designed for ease of reference, the entries in Essential Literary Terms carefully define each term, provide examples from classic and contemporary literature, and reinforce understanding with critical-analysis exercises. For readers who want to take conversations about literature to a deeper level, Essential Literary Terms gives them the tools and vocabulary to grow beyond a superficial "I like it/ I don't" response and to begin to divine the art behind the work.