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Literature Glossary

Don’t be an oxymoron. Know your literary terms.

Over 200 literary terms, Shmooped to perfection.

Monograph

Definition:

Salt. Stiffs. Seabiscuit.

Monographers dig deep. That's because a monograph, sometimes called a treatise, is a nonfiction book that goes way in-depth about a single subject.

Usually, a monograph is written by an author looking to answer some sort of central question or probe deep into their subject's history. They can also be a means for professors to shimmy their way up the academic ranks. Think about it: What university wouldn't want to have the world's foremost authority on unicorns as part of their distinguished faculty?

Tags: General, Genre