Senior Literary Terms Mr. T
Senior literary terms for Southridge School
Terms
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- voice
- the dominating tone of a literary work, not always identifiable with the actual views of the author
- sarcasm
- crudely mocking or contemptuous language; a form of verbal irony
- indirect presentation
- when a character's traits are revealed by his or her actions or speech
- falling action
- the action that occurs after the climax of a work of literature
- comedy
- a ludicrous and amusing event or series of events in a work of literature
- case study
- a study specific to a theory
- pun
- the usually humorous use of a word in such a way that it suggests more than one meaning: "the bicycle can't stand alone because it is TOO TIRED"
- research
- close careful study using various sources of a topic
- rhetorical question
- a literary technique that involves asking a question that has an obvious answer that does not need to be answered
- melodrama
- a form of writing characterized by exaggerated sentiment, emotion, action, and a hugely happy ending
- expert testimony
- an opinion given by a person highly educated in a topic
- wit
- an element used in a literary work designed to make the audience laugh or feel amused; can be used synonymously with humour
- epigram
- a short verse at the beginning of a poem or novel
- indeterminate ending
- an ending in which the central problem or conflict is left unresolved
- climax
- turning point, point of maximum interest, and highest tension in the plot of a story, play, or film. The climax usually occurs towards the end of story after the reader has understood the conflict and become emotionally involved with the characters
- characterization
- the image of an imaginary person--generates plot and is revealed by actions, speech, thoughts, physical appearance, and other characters' thoughts or words
- blank verse
- poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Shakespeare used this for most of his plays
- genre
- a category of literary work: horror, comedy, tragedy, chick lit., pastoral, etc.
- jargon
- confusing words and phrases used in an occupation, trade, or field of study. We might speak of medical jargon, sports jargon, pedagogic jargon, police jargon, or military jargon, for instance.
- foreshadowing
- a hint of things to come
- juxtaposition
- placing two different ideas or things beside each other for the purpose of comparing or contrasting
- objective point of view
- a "movie camera" point of view where the audience does not see the thought or feelings of any character
- elegy
- a mournful poem; a lament for the dead
- climatic order
- to save the most important to last
- monologue
- a speech by one person in a play, talking to the audience and themselves
- symbol
- an object that represents something more than it's literal definition: "a rose can represent love"
- allusion
- a reference to people, places, events, or ideas in history, religion and literature
- stereotyped character
- a one-dimensional character that possesses stereotyped qualities relating to gender, class, or ethnicity
- compare and contrast
- to note the similarities and difference between two things
- static character
- a character who does not change throughout a work; the reader's knowledge of the character also does not grow
- expository essay
- a simple essay usually factual and written without emotion
- satire
- a form of literature that ridicules some aspect of human behaviour, customs, or attitude in an attempt to bring about change
- conflict
- the tension or problem of a story; a struggle between opposing forces
- euphony
- agreably sounds produced by a succession of meliflous words
- slang
- a type of informal verbal communication that is generally unacceptable for formal writing
- dramatic form
- various literary forms that are related and include dramatic material
- dynamic character
- a character that develops and changes in a work of literature
- style
- the characteristics of an author's writing
- resolution
- the part of a work of literature that occurs after the climax and ties up any loose ends
- plot
- also called the storyline. the events in a work of literature
- cacophony
- the use of words that combines harsh unmelodious sounds
- lyric
- a short poem that tells the emotions and thoughts of the speaker
- surprise ending
- an ending that is meant to shock the reader: "she was actually a man!"
- propaganda
- biased writing with extreme examples meant to sway an audience to a certain point of view
- thesis statement
- a statement that presents the main argument of an essay
- chorus
- a band of singers and dancers that provides a religious and moral commentary on a story
- ode
- a lyric poem that expresses an exalted or enthusiastic emotion
- rising action
- the events that lead up to the climax in a work of literature
- refrain
- a line or lines that are repeated in music or verse
- figurative language
- language that contains many poetic devices; a way of saying something other than the literal meaning of words
- biography
- a account of a person's life written, composed, or produced by another
- tragedy
- a work of literature that features a catastrophic fall from grace of its protagonist
- first person point of view
- a point of view in which an "I" or "we" serves as a narrator of a piece of literature
- anectodal evidence
- information passed on by word of mouth, not documented or scientific
- farce
- a light humorous play
- setting
- the time, place, and mood of a work of literature
- mood
- the feeling that a piece of literature is meant to evoke in the audience
- interior monologue
- a passage of writing presenting a character's inner thoughts and emotions
- pastoral
- writing that has the characteristics of simplicity, charm, serenity, and a rural setting
- comparison
- the process of identifying similarities
- active voice
- the subject of the sentence is the active doer of the action:
- point of view
- the way a story is written; can be first person, second person, or third person; objective, limited omniscient, or omniscient
- image
- the picture that is created in the head of the reader
- fantasy
- literature that contains characters and a plot involving magic and invented creatures
- drama
- writing presented in the form of a pantomime, play, or dialogue in front of an audience
- formal language
- the use of "high" language or dialect in preference to "low" language or dialect; academic language
- mystery
- a work of literature that involves a crime or secret that seems to overwhelm understanding but is gradually solved
- form
- the structure of a piece of writing
- thesis
- the main argument of an essay
- contrast
- showing differences between or among things
- cliché
- an idea or expression that has become overused or trite
- legend
- a non-historical story that has been passed doen through the generations
- connotation
- feelings and emotions that are associated with words
- purpose
- what the writer is trying to achieve through the writing
- caricature
- a distorted character resulting from the author's deliberate exaggeration of a trait or traits of personality
- couplet
- two lines of the same metrical length that rhyme to form a complet unit
- didactic
- writing used to teach or convince the reader of a particular point
- character
- an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction
- imagery
- a word or phrase in a work of literature that appeals directly to the reader's taste, touch, hearing, sight, or smell
- soliloquay
- a dramatic convention through which a character, alone onstage, utters his or her thoughts aloud
- round character
- a many-sided character that does not always act predictably
- ballad
- a multi-stanza poem that tells a story and has a refrain
- stanza
- a "paragraph" in poetry
- colloquial language
- informal language; language that is "conversational"
- dialect
- language from a particular place, era, or social class
- alliteration
- the repetition of consonant sounds in a sequence of words, generally beginning with the same letter
- quatrain
- a four lined stanza that can be rhymed or unrhymed
- myth
- a traditional tale that is used to explain some natural mystery or religious or cultural belief, often including supernatural beings
- archaic language
- language not longer in use (old)
- narrator
- the "voice" that speaks or tells a story
- autobiography
- a non-fictional account of a person's life written by the actual person
- atmosphere
- the emotional tone of a story
- chronological order
- the order in which events happen in time
- statistical evidence
- the use of factual numbers to support an argument
- narrative
- a work of literature that tells a story. Ballads and epics are narrative poems
- free verse
- a poem that has no limitations in its use of meter or rhyme
- external conflict
- a struggle between two opposing characters or forces
- euphemism
- a "nicer" word or phrase used to replace an offensive word or phrase
- speaker
- the "voice" used by an author to tell a story or speak a poem
- colloquialism
- a word or phrase used in an easy informal style of writing or speaking
- limited omniscient
- a narration limited to what a single character can think, see, know, or judge
- personification
- a form of metaphor that gives human attributes to things that are not human
- anti-climax
- a sudden disappointing decline in action after a previous rise
- epic
- a poem that is a long narrative, has a hero or anti-hero, uses elevated language, and in which the outcome of a group of people is based on the success or failure of the protagonist
- metre
- the arrangement of a line of poetry: the number of syllables and the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables
- historical reference
- a reference to something historical
- antagonist
- the character or force(s) in a work of literature that opposed the protagonist
- cause and effect
- two events related by one causing the other: "there is a rainstorm and the basement floods"
- assonance
- the repetition of vowel sounds
- third person
- the point of view that relates action through "he" and "she"
- narration
- the act of telling a sequence of events in a story or poem
- proverb
- a short pithy saying in frequent and widespread use that expresses a basic truth
- diction
- the choice of words and word order in a work of literature
- dialogue
- lines spoken between characters in a work of literature
- aside
- a few words or a short passage spoken by a character to the audience that is not heard (pretending to not hear) by other characters on stage
- passive voice
- the subject of the sentence does not have a "doer": "the ball was thrown"
- simile
- when something is described by comparing it to something else, using like or as; "he ran like a monkey"
- editorial
- an opinion piece about any topic
- diary
- an informal record of a person's private life
- flashback
- the presentation of a scene that takes place before the present in a work of literature
- internal conflict
- a struggle that takes place within a character
- dramatic monologue
- when a single character addresses a silent audience at a critical moment and reveals something about himself or herself
- subjective
- language that can be interpreted in different ways depending on the reader
- question and answer
- the process of raising a question while reading in an effort to understand characters and events
- persuasive technique
- the method(s) used to persuade the audience
- analogy
- an extended comparison that reveals the similarities between two things
- bias
- a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation.
- formal essay
- an essay that uses academic language, logical organization, and serious purpose
- rhythm
- a pattern of stressed and unstressed sounds in poetry
- epitath
- an inscription carved on a tomb or gravestone; the last words spoken by a character before his or her death
- exposition
- the "exposing" of the story behind the story; a act of writing a speech of the purpose of conveying information
- tone
- the author's implicit attitude toward the reader or the places, people, and events in a work of literature
- informal essay
- an essay that is not formal and can contain a first or second person point of view
- understatement
- the opposite of hyperbole; the purposeful saying of less that what is meant
- catastrophe
- the "turning downward" of the plot in classical tragedy--usually after the climax
- denotation
- the literal meaning of a word
- pro and con argument
- an argument that features positive and negative points on a certain topic
- metaphor
- describing one thing by comparing it to something else: "the sun is an orange"
- dramatic irony
- a situation in a narrative or drama where the audience knows more than the character(s)
- consonance
- a special type of alliteration in which the repeated pattern of consonants are marked by changes in the intervening vowels
- idiom
- an expression whose meaning is not predictable from its constituent elements: "kick the bucket"
- apostrophe
- a sudden turn from the general audience to address a specific group or person or personified abstraction:
- synecdoche
- a part of an object is used to represent the whole: "nice wheels!"
- oxymoron
- a figure of speech that combines two words of opposite meaning: "jumbo shrimp, student teacher"
- pathos
- writing that evokes feeling of sympathy and compassion
- protagonist
- the main character
- dilemma
- a problem that creates conflict within or between characters
- dissonance
- the deliberate use of syllables or words that sound harsh together
- theme
- the main idea of a work of literature
- octave
- a set of eight lines of poetry; the first stanza of a sonnet
- hero
- the central character of story, usually possesses positive qualities (as opposed to a protagonist who can be positive or negative)
- flat character
- a minor character who has little depth of personality
- fable
- a short tale with animal characters that teaches a moral lesson
- sestet
- a six line poem or stanza
- persuasive essay
- an essay that meant to induce action of belief on the part of the reader
- antithesis
- a figure of speech where two opposite ideas are deliberately contrasted:
- hyperbole
- obvious and intentional exaggeration
- sonnet
- a 14 line poem usually written in iambic pentameter; can be Shakespearean or Italian
- parody
- a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious drama or piece of writing
- metaphor
- describing one thing by comparing it another directly: "the moon is a harsh mistress
- parallelism
- writing structure where different paragraphs or stanzas are organized in the same manner
- denouement
- the outcome of a series of events, the resolution that occurs after the climax of a work of literature
- literal language
- language that means exactly what it states
- personal essay
- an essay that pertains to personal feeling and experiences and is written in first person
- omniscient
- the point of view that allows the reader to see into the thoughts of more than one character
- verbal irony
- the use of words where what is said is different and often opposite of what is meant: "nice haircut"
- comic relief
- the inclusion of a humorous character or scene in an otherwise serious work of literature
- internal rhyme
- rhyme that occurs within a line of verse
- character foil
- a character who makes a contrast with another, especially a minor character who helps set off a major character
- foil
- a character that contrasts with and reveals various aspects of the main character's personality
- epiphany
- a revelation of such power and insight that it alters the world-view of the person who experiences it
- graphic text
- a combination of pictures and words to tell a story
- ballad stanza
- a four line rhyming stanza that is part of a ballad
- stylistic technique
- the techniques used by an author in his or her writing
- onomatopoeia
- words that sound like what the define: "crash, boom, drip"
- stream of consciousness
- a running or flowing way a character or narrator expresses his/her feelings and inner-most thoughts
- audience
- the person(s) reading a text, listening to a speaker, or observing a performance
- emotional appeal
- persuading an audience through the use of emotion
- allegory
- A narrative or story that has a secondary metaphorical meaning to it; an extended metaphor
- direct presentation
- when the writer tells readers what kind of personality the character possesses rather than allowing the character to show his or her personality and allow readers to draw their own conclusions
- iambic pentameter
- a line of 5 feet with an unstressed/stressed meter
- argumentative essay
- an essay that tries to prove a point by supporting it with evidence
- prologue
- an introductory speech or written passage at the start of a work of literature
- descriptive essay
- an essay that describes a person, place, or object
- repetition
- when a specific word or phrase is used several times to emphasize a particular idea