Literature Terms Fall Master List
fable
a brief story or poem, usually with animal characters, that teaches a lesson, or moral.
short story
a brief work of fiction
antagonist
a character or a force in conflict with the main character or protagonist.
journal
a daily, or periodic, account of events and the writer's thoughts and feelings about those events.
genre
a division or type of literature.
suspense
a feeling of anxious uncertainty about the outcome of events.
myth
a fictional tale that explains the actions of gods or heroes, or the origins of elements of nature.
foreshadowing
a hint or clue as to what might happen later in the story.
soliloquy
a long speech in a play or prose work, made by a character who is alone.
novel
a long work of fiction
euphemism
a more agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant
kinmanism
a rare breed of English teacher humor that is supposed to be funny but never IS!
scene
a section of uninterrupted action in the act of a drama
drama
a story written to be performed by actors.
legend
a widely told story about the past which may or may not be true.
symbol
anything that stands for or represents something else.
narrative
anything that tells a story
theme
central message or concern of a literary work
hero/heroine
character whose actions are inspiring or noble.
dialogue
conversation between characters.
denotation
dictionary definition of a word
inference
drawing conclusions about characters based on the evidence
idiom
expression that has meaning particular to a language or region. "making a face"
dialect
form of a language spoken by people in a particular region or group.
fantasy
highly imaginative writing that contains elements not found in real life.
stage directions
includes the setting, the lighting, the costumes, special effects, etc.
irony
literary techniques that involve surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions.
atmosphere
mood or feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage.
prose
ordinary form of written language (short stories, novels, essays, etc.
character
person or animal that takes part in the action of a literary work.
point of view
perspective from which a story is told
nonfiction
prose writing about real people, places, objects, or events. (essays, biographies, letters, reports, etc.)
fiction
prose writing that tells about imaginary characters and events.
historical fiction
real events, places, or people are incorporated into a fictional, or made-up, story.
motive
reason that explains a character's thoughts, feelings, actions, or speech.
allusion
reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art.
flashback
scene that interrupts the sequence of events to relate events that occurred in the past.
essay
short nonfiction work about a particular subject.
narrator
speaker or character who is telling the story
autobiography
story of the writer's life, told by the writer.
conflict
struggle between opposing forces.
characterization
the act of creating and developing a character.
exposition
the introduction, or part of a literary work that introduces the characters, setting, and basic situtation
oxymoron
the joining of seemingly contradictory terms (paid volunteer, act naturally, etc.)
moral
the lesson taught by a literary work
protagonist
the main character in a literary work
resolution
the outcome of the conflict in a plot
oral tradition
the passing of songs, stories, and poems from generation to generations by word of mouth.
plot
the sequence of events in a literary piece.
setting
the time and place of the action
climax
the turning point, the high point in the action in the plot, the moment of greatest tension.
biography
the writer tells the life story of someone else
repetition
using a word, phrase, or clause more than once. Using a word, phrase, or clause more than once
tall tale
usually involve characters with highly exaggerated abilities and qualities.
connotation
what a word brings to mind. Set of ideas associated with the word, in addition to its explicit meaning.
tragedy
work of literature, especially a play, that results in catastrophe for the main character
figurative language
writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally. (metaphor, personification, simile)