9B literary terms
Terms
undefined, object
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- foil
- a character who provides a contrast to another character
- direct characterization
- the author directly states a character's traits
- oxymoron
- A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as in
- setting
- the time and place of the action in a story
- odyssey
- long journey
- mood
- the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage
- flat character
- shows only one characteristic
- epic hero
- larger-than-life figure from history or legend who undertakes a dangerous voyage, demonstrates traits valued by the society from which the story originates
- dramatic irony
- The dramatic effect achieved by leading an audience to understand an incongruity between a situation and the accompanying speeches, while the characters in the play remain unaware of the incongruity.
- third person limited
- the narrator is outside the story but reveals the thoughts and feelings of only one of the characters.
- hyperbole
- A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect
- pun
- a phrase that deliberately exploits confusion between similar-sounding words for humorous or rhetorical effect.
- irony
- general term for techniques that portray differences between appearance and reality or expectation and result.
- first person
- the narrator is a participant in the story
- third person omniscient
- the narrator is outside the story but reveals the thoughts and feelings of multiple characters
- nonfiction
- prose writing that presents and explains ideas or that tells about real people, places, ideas or events. It must be true.
- internal conflict
- the main character is in conflict with himself or herself
- falling action
- the events of the plot leading to the resolution
- dialogue
- conversation between characters
- static character
- does not change during the story
- paradox
- A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true
- comic relief
- to interrupt a serious part of a literary work by introducing a humorous character or situation
- alliteration
- the repetition of a leading vowel or consonant sound in a phrase
- epic
- long narrative poem about the deeds of gods or heroes
- denouement
- resolution
- epic simile
- an elaborate comparison of unlike objects using like or as (similar to a conceit)
- theme,
- the central message or insight into life revealed through a literary work
- sarcasm
- verbal irony that is intended to cause emotional harm
- tone
- the writer's attitude toward his or her audience and subject
- narrative poem
- a poem that tells a story
- soliloquy
- a long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage
- allusion
- a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art
- plot
- the sequence of events in a literary work
- metonymy
- the substitution of a term naming an object clearly associated with the word in mind for the word itself
- exposition,
- the part of the work that introduces the characters, the setting, and the basic situation
- climax
- the high point of interest or suspense in a story
- verbal irony
- The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.
- dramatic irony
- there is a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader or audience knows to be true
- novella
- very short novel
- conflict
- a struggle between opposing forces
- personification
- a nonhuman subject is give human characteristics
- rising action
- the events leading to the climax of a story
- dynamic character
- grows and develops in the course of the story
- apostrophe
- a figure or speech in which a person (usually not present), or an abstract quality or nonexistent personage is directly addressed as though present
- monologue
- a speech by one character in a play, story, or poem that is heard by other characters
- myth
- a fictional tale with little historical truth and involving supernatural elements that explains the actions of gods or the causes of natural phenomena.
- foreshadow
- To present an indication or a suggestion of beforehand; presage.
- symbolism
- anything that stands for or represents something else
- dialect
- the form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group. It can affect the pronunciation, vocabulary and sentence structure,
- comic relief
- A humorous or farcical interlude in a serious literary work or drama, especially a tragedy, intended to relieve the dramatic tension or heighten the emotional impact by means of contrast.
- conceit
- A fanciful poetic image, especially an elaborate or exaggerated comparison or extended metaphor (similar to an epic simile)
- point of view
- perspective from which the story is told
- irony
- Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs
- onomatopoeia
- the use of words that imitate the sounds
- tragedy
- a work of literature that results in a catastrophe for the main character, usually because of a tragic flaw in the character.
- aside
- a literary device in that an actor speaks to the audience; he/she is not heard by the other characters. It is similar to a monologue and soliloquy.
- point of view
- perspective from which the story is told
- metaphor
- A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison
- personification
- A figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form
- round character
- shows many different traits
- imply
- to hint or indirectly give information without actually saying it
- imagery
- the descriptive or figurative language used in literature to create work pictures for the reader through details of sight, sound, taste, touch, smell and movement
- protagonist
- the main character is a literary work (not necessarily the good guy)
- verbal irony
- words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant
- simile
- A figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by like or as
- infer
- to draw a conclusion
- external conflict
- the main character struggles against an outside force
- contemporary interpretation
- present-day conceptions or understanding of older works
- indirect characterization
- the author tells what a character looks like, does, and says, as well as how other characters react to him or her, and the reader must draw conclusions