Literature Terms susustra08
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- static character
- this character stays the same throughout the story
- Plot
- sequence of events in a story
- irony
- the general name given to literary techniques that involve surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions
- Assonance
- the repittition of vowel sounds in two or more words that do not end in the same consonant sound.
- refrain
- a regularly repeated line or group of lines in a poem or song
- Dynamic Character
- Characters who go through a drastic change by the end of the work
- flashback
- presents events of the past in the midst of a story in the present
- mood
- the feeling created in a reader by a literary work or passage
- Antithesis
- a figure of speech in which sharply contrasting words, phrases, clauses, or sentences that juxtaposed to emphasize a point
- narrator
- the speaker or character who tells the story
- tone
- the attitude toward the subject and audience conveyed by the language and rhythm of the speaker in a literary work
- figures of speech
- types of figurative language
- theme
- a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work
- character motivation
- a reason that explains, or partially explains a character's thoughts, feelings, actions or speech
- Round Character
- A character whose personality is full, well developed, and demonstrated through a number different manners
- idiom
- an expression having a special meaning different from the usual meanings of the words (example - "hit the road")
- hyperbole
- a figure of speech that is an exaggeration for effect
- Comic Relief
- a humorous scene, incident, or speech that is intended to relieve the intensity of a dramatic moment in a play or novel
- metaphor
- a figure of speech that makes an indirect comparison between two unlike subjects (something is described as if it were something else)
- figurative language
- writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally
- exposition
- establishes the setting, identifies the characters, introduces the basic situation (problem may be revealed here)
- onomatopoeia
- the use of words that imitate sounds
- genre
- a division or type of literature - generally prose, poetry or drama
- external conflict
- a problem or struggle between a character and someone or something outside of the character
- fantasy
- highly imaginative writing that has elements not found in real life
- autobiography
- a form of nonfiction in which a writer tells his or her own life story
- Allusion
- a reference to a historical or fictional persons, place or event with which the reader is assumed to familiar. Understanding the allusions in a work can give the reader a better undersanding of it
- dialogue
- conversation between characters
- point of view
- the relationship between the narrator and the story he/she is telling - the perspective from which the story is told
- exposition
- introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation
- rising action
- any events leading up to the climax
- informal language
- the language of everyday speech, may use contractions and slang
- allusion
- a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art
- nonfiction
- prose writing that presents and explains ideas about real people, places, objects or events
- satire
- literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness
- Static Character
- A character that remains psychological or emotionally the same through out a work
- jargon
- the special words or terms used by the members of a particular profession or class
- Aside
- In drama, this is a remark spoken in an undertone by a character, either to the audience or to another character. Aside can be used to express characters' feelings opinions, and reactions, so they function as a method of characterization
- alliteration
- the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words
- Antagonist
- The character of novel, short story, drama or narrative poem is the character or force against which the main character or protagonist is pitted
- protagonist
- the main character in a literary work
- Allegory
- An allegory is story in verse or prose in which characters are used to personify abstract qualities. Like a fable or parable, an allegory often used to express generalizations about human existence and teach religious or moral lessons
- Alliteration
- the repitiion of consonant sounds at the beginning of words
- theme
- the message, central concern, or insight into life revealed in a literary work
- trait
- one of the qualities that makes up a character's personality
- symbol
- anything that stands for or represents something else
- sequence
- the arrangement of events in a literary work
- initiating incident
- introduces the central conflict (sometimes it occurs before the opening of the story)
- prose
- the ordinary form of writing; most writing that is not poetry, drama, or song
- character
- a person or animal who takes part in the action of a literary work
- foreshadowing
- an author's use of hints or clues to suggest events that will occur later in the story
- Author's Purpose
- used to entertain, to inform, to express opinions or to persuade
- dramatic irony
- a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader or audience knows to be true (we, the audience, know more than the character/s)
- Blank Verse
- is unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter.
- inference
- understanding gained by "reading between the lines;" a judgment based on reasoning rather than direct statement
- imagery
- a word or group of words in a literary work which appeal to one or more of the senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell
- author's purpose
- the author's intent either to inform/teach, to entertain, or to persuade/convince the audience
- verbal irony
- words are used to suggest the opposite of their usual meaning or contradict their usual meaning
- dynamic character
- this character changes as a result of the action in the story
- conflict
- struggle between opposing forces; any problem that must be solved
- text structure
- the author's method of organizing text
- falling action
- events that occur between the climax and the conclusion
- fiction
- prose writing that tells about imaginary characters and events
- Flat Character
- A character that is one dimensional
- flat character
- this character seems to possess only one or two personality traits - little or no background is revealed
- climax
- the point of highest interest, the conflict must be resolved one way or another or a character begins to take action to end the conflict
- slang
- an informal, often short-lived kind of language used in place of standard words
- setting
- arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a play, short story or movie is enacted
- dialect
- a form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group
- setting
- the time and place of the story (where and when it takes place)
- internal conflict
- a problem or struggle within a character
- secondary source
- text used when researching that is derived from something original (biographies, magazine articles)
- antagonist
- a character or force in conflict with the main character
- simile
- a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two unlike subjects using like or as
- euphemism
- an inoffensive word or term used in place of another that is felt to be offensive
- stanza
- a division of poetry similar to a paragraph in prose
- internal and external
- the two major types of conflict
- primary source
- text that tells a first-hand account of an event; original works used when researching (letters, journals)
- denoument
- the resolution of the conflict in a story's plot; a final outcome
- formal language
- the standard language of written communication, formal speeches, and presentations; may not use contractions or slang
- biography
- a form of nonfiction in which a writer tells the life story of another person
- situational irony
- an event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of the character, the reader, or the audience (a surprise twist)
- round character
- this character is fully developed - the writer reveals good and bad traits as well as background
- stereotype
- a fixed, generalized idea about a character, place, or situation
- conclusion/resolution
- the story's end
- suspense
- the quality of the story that makes the reader curious and excited about what will happen next
- voice
- the fluency, rhythm and liveliness in writing that makes it unique to the writer
- plot
- the series of related actions or events in a literary work
- personification
- a figure of speech in which a non-human subject is given human characteristics