English 9 Honors Lit Terms
Unity
A certain literary work is about one central topic and never strays from that topic
Foil
A character who contrasts with another character, in order to highlight certain qualities of one or both of those characters
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a story. The protagonist is at the center of the story, makes the key decisions, and experiences the consequences of those decisions. The protagonist is the primary agent propelling the story forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles
Unreliable Narrator
An unreliable narrator is a character whose telling of the story is not completely accurate or credible due to problems with the character's mental state or maturity.
Theme
Central idea of a work of literature and is the idea that the writer wishes to reveal about the subject
Analogy
Comparison made between two things to show how they are alike in some respects
Irony
Contrast between expectation and reality--between what is said and what is really meant, between what is expected to happen and what really does happen, or between what appears to be true and what is really true
Idiom
Expression peculiar to a particular language that means something different from the literal meaning of each word
Conceit
Extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs a poetic passage or entire poem
Oxymoron
Figure of speech in which two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect
Metaphor
Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, in which one thing becomes another thing without the use of the word like, as, than, or resembles
Simile
Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, using a word such as like, as, resembles, or than
Hyperbole
Figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion or to create a comic effect
Meter
Generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry
Stanza
Group of consecutive lines in a poem that form a single unit (like a sentence in prose)
Literal Meaning
Has a meaning of exactly what it says
Personification
Kind of metaphor in which a nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as it were human
Imagery
Language that appeals to the senses. use of vivid and descriptive language to add depth to their work
Juxtaposition
Literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts
Fiction
Literary work with imaginary characters or events
Coherence
Logical or complete, has meaning
First Person POV
Main character, uses I, audience only knows what the main character knows
Denotative
Meaning. Literal meaning of a word, a "dictionary definition"
Rhythm
Musical quality in language produced by repetition
Allegory
Narrative in which characters and settings stand for abstract ideas or moral qualities
Third Person Omniscient POV
Narrator, who does not play a part in the story, knows everything that will happen to the characters, "all-knowing"
Third Person Limited POV
Narrator, who plays no part in the story, zooms in on the thoughts and feelings of one character
Antagonist
Opponent to the main character in fiction or drama who typically causes/is involved in a conflict.
Rhyme Scheme
Pattern of end rhymes on a poem. referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other.
Symbol
Person, place, thing, or event that stands for itself and for something beyond itself as well
Pun
Play on the multiple meanings of a word or on two words that sound alike but have different meanings
Free Verse
Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme
Blank Verse
Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter
Characterization
Process of revealing the personality of a character in a story
Rhetorical Question
Question that is asked without an expected answer
Motif
Recurring symbol which takes on a figurative meaning
Allusion
Reference to a statement, a person, a place, or an event from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, science, or pop culture
Rhyme
Repetition of accented vowel sounds, and all sounds following them, in words that are close together in a poem
Assonance
Repetition of similar vowel sounds that are followed by different consonant sounds, especially in words that are close together in a poem
Alliteration
Repetition of the same or very similar consonant sounds usually at the beginnings of words that are close together in a piece of literature
Consonance
Repetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase that appear within the word (not at the beginning--that would be alliteration)
Syntax
Sequence in which words are put together to form sentences
Plot
Series of related events that make up a story or drama
Paradox
Statement or situation that seems to be a contradiction but reveals a truth
Mood
Story's atmosphere or the feeling it evokes
Connotative Meaning
The meanings, associations, or emotions that have come to be attached to some words, in addition to their literal dictionary definitions, or denotations
Style
The particular way in which a writer uses language. Ex. formal, childish. is the way in which an author writes and/or tells a story. It's what sets one author apart from another and creates the "voice" that audiences hear when they read.
Setting
Time and place of a story or play
Poetry
Type of rhythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery to appeal to the reader's emotions and imagination
Satire
Type of writing that ridicules something--a person, a group of people, humanity at large, an attitude or failing, a social institution--in order to reveal a weakness
Foot
Unit of division of a line of poetry containing one strong beat and one or two weaker ones. most basic unit of a poem's meter. A foot is a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables.
Onomatopoeia
Use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning
Point of View
Vantage point from which a writer tells a story
Line
Verse of poetry that divides a poem
Anecdote
Very, very brief story, usually told to make a point
Narrator
Voice telling a story. Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story, to deliver information to the audience, particularly about the plot.
Speaker
Voice that is talking to us in a poem
Figure of Speech
Word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of another and is not meant to be understood on a literal level. Hyperbole/Idiom are examples of this
Parody
Work created to imitate, make fun of, or comment on an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of satiric or ironic imitation
Diction
Writer's or speaker's choice of words. Simply put: Word Choice
Voice
Writer's or speaker's distinctive use of language in a text
Nonfiction
Writing that deals with real people, things, events, and places
Reliable Narrator
a quality of some fictional narratives whose word the reader can trust