English 2201

Suspense

A build up that makes you want to keep reading

Simile

A comparison using the words like or as

Complication

An intensification of the conflict in a story o

Epiphany

Epiphany is the point in a work of literature where a character has a sudden insight or realization that changes his or her understanding. Epiphany was both employed and made popular as a literary term by James Joyce, and explained at length in his autobiographical novel, Stephen Hero.

Figurative Language

Figurative language is language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation. When a writer uses literal language, he or she is simply stating the facts as they are.

Cacophony

Harsh sounding words

Diction

Word choice

Foreshadowing

be a warning or indication of (a future event).

Mood

mood is a literary element that evokes certain feelings or vibes in readers through words and descriptions. Usually, mood is referred to as the atmosphere of a literary piece, as it creates an emotional situation that surrounds the readers.

Narrator

person who narrates something, especially a character who recounts the events of a novel or narrative poem.

Satire

the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

Symbolism

the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.

Sarcasm

A phrase that is not meant to be be interpreted seriously

Parody

A remake usually making fun

Thematic statement

A statement that tells what your story will be about

Thematic topic

At the beginning of every paragraph you have a thematic topic which tells what is in the paragraph

Anecdote

a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident

Proverb

a short pithy saying in general use, stating a general truth or piece of advice.

Parable

a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels.

Paradox

a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.

Allegory

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

Allusion

an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

Connotation

an implied meaning that is associated with a word in addition to its literal meaning. This association can be cultural or emotional.

Atmosphere

atmosphere refers to the feeling, emotion, or mood a writer conveys to a reader through the description of setting and objects.

Denotation

Denotation is generally defined as literal or dictionary meanings of a word in contrast to its connotative or associated meanings. Let us try to understand this term with the help of an example.

Literal Meaning

Dictionary definition

Flash fiction

Flash fiction is a style of fictional literature of extreme brevity. There is no widely accepted definition of the length of the category. Some self-described markets for flash fiction impose caps as low as fifty three words, while others consider stories as long as a thousand words to be flash fiction.

Flashback

Flashbacks are interruptions that writers do to insert past events in order to provide background or context to the current events of a narrative.

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Climax

he most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or apex.

Verbal irony

irony in which a person says or writes one thing and means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning. Contemporary definitions for verbal irony Expand.

Situational irony

irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected.

Personification

Give a non human human like characteristics

Fable

is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized (given human qualities, such as verbal communication) and that illustrates or leads to an interpretation of a moral lesson

Assonance

is the repetition of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences, and together with alliteration and consonance serves as one of the building blocks of verse.

Foil

it means that that character serves to highlight one or more attributes of another character, often the protagonist, by providing a contrast. In the Harry Potter series, Draco Malfoy is a foil to Harry Potter.

Motif

recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative (or literary) aspects such as theme or mood.

Dramatic irony

the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

Juxtaposition

the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

Onomatopoeia

the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g., cuckoo, sizzle ).

Alliteration

the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

Imagery

visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work.

Stereotype

widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.

Analogy

a comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarif

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

Oxymoron

a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction (e.g., faith unfaithful kept him falsely true ).

Memoir

a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources.

Pun

a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings.

Lyrics

a lyric poem or verse. a lyric poem or vers a lyric poe a lyric poem or

Antagonist

a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary.

Apostrophe

a punctuation mark ' ( ' ) used to indicate either possession (e.g., Harry's book ; boys' coats ) or the omission of letters or numbers (e.g., can't ; he's ; class of '99 ).

Consonance

Consonance is a poetic device characterized by the repetition of the same consonant two or more times in short succession, as in "pitter patter" or in "all mammals named Sam are clammy". Consonance should not be confused with assonance, which is the repetition of vowel sounds.

Stanza

Like a paragraph in a poem

Monologue

Speech

Refrain

Or chorus is repeated throughout a song or poem

Character / Characterization

Characterization Definition. Characterization is a literary device that is used step by step in literature to highlight and explain the details about a character in a story.

Conflict

In literature, a conflict is a literary element that involves a struggle between two opposing forces usually a protagonist and an antagonist.

Protagonist

Main character

Euphony

Nice sounding words

Myth

Not true

Speaker

The one who is reading the piece of literature

Purpose

The reason for something

Extended metaphor

The term extended metaphor refers to a comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem. It is often comprised of more than one sentence and sometimes consists of a full paragraph.

Setting

The time and place a piece of literature takes place

Eulogy

This you read at a funeral

Genre

Type of writing ( category )