Literary Terms (English) Part 1

Analogy

Comparison between two things; looking for similarities

Flat Character

a character seen in only one way; only one side of the personality is revealed

Round Character

a character who shows many different traits, faults as well as virtues

Genre

a division or type of literature; there are three major genres: prose, poetry, drama

Pun

a play on words "My heart is too sore to soar with the others." "My soles are so worn that my soul stands still."

Motif

a recurrent image, action, sound, symbol, etc. that has a symbolic significance and contributes toward the development of the theme; a recurring image, word, object, or situation that appears in various works or throughout the same work.

Achetype

a recurring and familiar pattern in literature (i.e. good vs. bad, underdog, damsel in distress, a quest for something, flawed protagonist, etc.)

Paradox

a statement that seems to be contradictory but actually presents a truth. "War is peace" "Freedom is slavery" "Ignorance is strength" "My only love sprung from my only hate"

Personification

a type of figurative language in which a non-human subject is given human characteristics. The trees danced with their arms. Dawn's fingers stretched out.

point of view (3rd person omniscient)

all-knowing third person narrator who can tell readers what any character thinks or feels

Hyperbole

an extreme exaggeration; "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!"

Cliché

an overused word or phrase

Falling Action

events that lead to the resolution

Climax

highest point of interest or suspense; the turning point at which the conflict begins to be resolved; the "ah ha" moment

Internal

involves a character in conflict with him or herself (emotions/decisions)

indirect characterization

it is up to the reader to draw conclusions about the character based on indirect information such as dialogue, action, thoughts or other characters

Irony

literature technique that involves the differences between appearance and reality, expectation and result, or meaning and intention

Protagonist

the main character in a literary work

Prose

the ordinary form of written language that occurs in two forms: fiction and non-fiction

Plot

the sequence of events in a literary work, including the following: - Exposition: introduces the setting, the characters and the basic situation - Narrative Hook: hooks the reader's attention and sets the story's action into motion - Rising Action- all events leading up to the climax

Setting

the time and place of the story's action

Tone

the writer's attitude toward his/her audience and subject; it can be described as formal, informal, serious, playful, bitter, or ironic

Dramatic Irony

there is a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader or audience knows to be true. The audience knows something that the character does not. (The reader knows that Juliet is alive; Romeo believes she is dead)

Literal Language

uses words in their ordinary senses

Point of View (3rd Limited)

when a voice outside the story tells the story, but only through one character's eyes

Verbal Irony

words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant/sarcasm. In "The Cask of Amontillado" Montresor says to Fortunato, "I drink to your long life."

Imagery

words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses (describes the way things look, smell, taste, feel, and sound)

Motivation

The driving force behind a character's actions (Achilles' motivation to return is Patroclus' death)

External

a character struggles against an outside force (nature, technology, person, etc.)

Dynamic character:

a character who develops or changes through the course of the story.

Static character

a character who does not change

Dramatic Foil

a character who is contrasted with another character (imagine Della from "The Gift of the Magi" and Mme. Forestier from the "Necklace" meeting)

Dialogue

a conversation between two characters

Simile

a figure of speech in which like or as is used to make a comparison of two basically unlike ideas; she runs like a cheetah.

Metaphor

a figure of speech which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else. His heart is a raging fire.

Allusion

a reference to a well-known person, place, event, and literary work

Flashback

a section of a literary work that interrupts the sequence of events to relate an event from an earlier time

Parable

a short story used to teach a moral

Anecdote

a short summary of an event; short stories that illustrate a greater point

Narrator

a speaker or character who tells a story

Drama

a story written to be performed by actors; the script of a drama is made up of dialogue, which is the words the actors say, and stage directions, which are comments on how and where action happens

Conflict

a struggle between two opposing forces

Understatement

a type of verbal irony in which something is purposely represented as being far less important than it actually is

Situational Iron

an event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of the characters, the reader, or the audience. (The bride leaves the wedding with a groomsman; a lady dies at her birthday party)

Idiom

an expression that is peculiar to itself either grammatically or in having a meaning that cannot be derived from its parts. If we play our cards right or I don't want to kick the bucket this year!

Denouement

any events that occur after the resolution

Theme

central message or insight of life revealed

Suspense

feeling of curiosity or uncertainty about the outcome of events in a literary work

Dialect

form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group; the way we speak ("y'all, ain't")

Symobol/symbolism

literary device where something stands for or represents something else

Satire

mockery of a view, group, or humanity, usually with the aim of inspiring change

Fable

short tale with a moral, which often includes unusual or even supernatural events (Many fables give human qualities to animal characters)

Allegory

symbolic story structured with at least two levels of meaning

Mood

the atmosphere or feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage; the way the reader feels while reading the text.

direct characterization

the author directly states the character's traits

Antagonist

the person or force that opposes or competes against the protagonist

Oxymoron

two words used together that contradict one another. Jumbo Shrimp, loving hate, heavy lightness

Point of view (1st)

when a character in the story tells the story

Dirction/word Choice

word choice including denotation (literal meanings) and connotation (an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal meaning). The choice of words an author chooses to use.