Literary Terms
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Terms
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- rhythm
- repetition of sound at regular intervals
- verbal irony
- what is said is the opposite of what is meant
- anecdote
- a short incident, usually humorous
- point of view
- the angle from which the story is told
- flat character
- a character that is not developed
- approximate rhyme
- also called "half or slant rhyme"--a sound that sounds alike but is not a certain match of sound (rain/again)
- literary ballad
- written to mimick a folk ballad
- lyric
- song-like
- masculine rhyme
- either a one-syllable word or when second syllable of 2 syllable words ryhmes
- drama
- tells a story with action and dialogue-- mimics life
- significant details
- the five w's and how-- used to find the main idea
- english sonnet (shakespearean)
- a fifteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter and with the set form of ababcdcdefefgg
- symbol
- one thing stands for something else
- cinquain
- a five line poem with 2,4,6,8,2 syllables
- assonance
- repetition of vowel sounds (ex: and i smile in a familiar light)
- tragic hero
- undergoes a moral struggle that ends in disaster
- end rhyme
- most popular form of rhyme- occurs at the end of the line
- metaphor
- comparison where one thing is said to be another things that it is not
- exposition
- the first part of plot where the characters, setting, background information, and usually the problem are all given
- fable
- anecdote that teaches a moral and usually has animals for characters
- anachronism
- literally "out of time"-- when characters or events are placed in unlikely setting.
- dramatic irony
- the audience and/or other characters are privy to information that another character doesn't know
- metonymy
- one term is used to represent something that is closely related to it (the office had a party)
- setting
- the place and time of the action (where and when)
- turning point (crisis)
- the main character must make a decision that effects the story's outcome
- situational irony
- when the opposite of what one thinks would happen
- omniscient point of view
- written by an all-knowing author--third person--the reader gets the thoughts and feelings of more than one character.
- tall tale
- unrealistic, exaggerated fiction--the hero has unrealistic abilities
- figurative language
- various literay methods that describe or compare-non literal
- figure poems
- the shape suggests the topic of the poem
- meter
- rhythm at regular intervals
- protagonist
- the main character
- internal conflict
- conflict within a character (man vs. himself)
- narrative
- a type of writing that tells a story
- blank verse
- unrhymed iambic pentameter
- plot
- consist of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution
- free verse
- no rhyme and no meter-- follows normal patterns of speech
- paraphrase
- a restatement--a summary
- short story
- a narrative that can be easily read in one sitting
- archetype
- a character or image that is seen over again in various pieces of literature. (ex: blondes in scary movies -LOL- or the little devil or an angel that pop up on someone's shoulder
- indirect revelation
- (indirect characterization) the reader must infer things about the character based on what the author says
- rhyme
- repetition of a like sound
- ballad
- narrative song (poem) written in stanza
- limerick
- fixed form poem of five lines--anapestic-aabba--1,2,5 rhyme with 3 feet and 3 and 4 rhyme with 2
- continuous form
- line upon line without breaks
- science fiction
- a subgenre of fiction--has to do with futuristic setting and ideas such as space, robots, and discoveries not yet made
- elegy
- written in pairs or unrhymed lines- used for epitaphs in which the dead speak in first person
- feminine rhyme
- the first syllable of a two-syllable word or both syllables of a two-syllable word rhyme
- characters
- the "who" in the story--examples are flat, round, static, and dynamic.
- alliteration
- beginning sounds are the same
- style
- the way a writer writes
- legend
- a true story passed down from generation to generation--usually has a hero that serves a country
- conflict
- the problem in the story-- a struggle
- connotation
- a suggested meaning or association (emotional, subjective)
- flash back
- represents events that happened before the time that the work opened (maybe a memory or confession)
- onomatopoeia
- the word sounds like its meaning
- simile
- a form of figurative language--a comparison using like or as
- biography
- written about the person by another person
- static character
- a character that stays the same
- analogy
- a comparison between two things that are seemingly unalike
- poetry
- one of the four major genres of literature in which figurative language is used--usually written in stanza--often but not always employs the rhyme
- eye rhyme
- words that look like they should rhyme but do not sound alike (have/cave)
- refrain
- repetition of a word or phrase is a poem (lyrical)
- ode
- a long lyrical poem that is serious in subject and treatment of the subject
- aside
- comment made to the audience that other characters are not supposed to hear
- objective point of view
- author uses facts not feelings to allow the reader to make judgement (first or third person)
- tone
- the way the writer intends for the reader to feel as the piece is read
- haiku
- a three lined poem with no rhyme--has 5/7/5 syllables and presents an image or insight
- historical fiction
- a subgenre of fiction- the setting or a main event in the work is truly historical, but the characters and events are often made up. (The Patriot, Titanic, and Little House on the Prairie)
- genre
- types of literature (drama,poetry,non-fiction,fiction)
- fiction
- a genre of literature that is untrue
- irony
- the opposite of what you expect (dramatic, verbal, and situational)
- allusion
- reference to a well-known piece of literature, a place, a character etc (ex: holy virgin: Mary/ golden arches: McDonalds)
- homeric simile
- a comparison using a compound word such as those homer used in his epic poems
- reflective
- writing that has to do with remembrances
- apostrophe
- the addressing of an inanimate object or an absent person (cannot answer back)
- imagery
- vivid description using the five senses
- autobiography
- written by the person and is about the person--literally "self driven"
- tragic flaw
- a weakness or defect that brings down the hero
- foot
- the pattern of line in poetry
- epic
- long narrative poem with a hero's actions usually effecting a nation- the theme deals with a universal human problem.
- descriptive
- a type of writing that describes (usually employs much imagery)
- extended metaphor
- a continuation of the classic metaphor in which comparisons continue to be made about two subjects
- realistic fiction
- a fiction story that is written in a way that it seems it could be true
- foreshadowing
- clues or hints about what is going to happen
- narrator
- one who tells a story
- myth
- subgenre of fiction-- has to do with gods and goddesses
- folk tale
- a short narrative that is passed down orally- usually by an unknown author
- suspense
- feelings of uncertainity about the outcome of a story
- hyperbole
- an exaggeration
- comedy
- drama that focuses on light/happy aspects of life
- stereotype
- assuming that a whole category of people have a characteristic that is descriptive of only a few (ex: religious, racial, territorial, stereotypes)
- fantasy
- a subgenre of fiction that involves exaggeration of imagination- supernatural characters and occurences
- sonnet
- a fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameters
- caesura
- (//) gives pause for expression or emphasis in a long pentameter rhyme
- mood
- how the reader is feeling as the piece is read
- stanza
- group of related lines containing the same meter and rhyme scheme
- dynamic character
- one who changes
- round character
- character that is developed
- fixed form
- a traditional pattern that applies to whole poem (sonnet, limerick)
- oxymoron
- two words that are opposites are used together--a form of figurative language
- cliche (trite)
- an overly used expression
- overstatement
- over exaggeration (hyperbole)
- monologue
- one person is speaking
- parody
- imitates a serious topic in a comical or inappropriate way
- climax
- point on plot of highest intesity
- satire
- a literary art--makes a subject ridiculous in order to evoke negative feelings about it (tone of contempt for the subject--ex. Animal Farm)
- nonfiction
- writing that is true
- couplet
- two rhyming lines
- narrative
- story
- allegory
- characters, places, and concepts are all symbols
- editorial
- an article written about or in response to another piece of writing
- tragedy
- subgenre of drama- deals with serious, sad, or catastrophic aspects of life
- dramatic structure
- exposition, inciting force, rising action, crisis, falling action, climax, catastrophe
- external conflict
- a conflict outside of the character himself ( man vs. man/ man vs. nature/ man vs. society)
- synecdoche
- a part represents the whole
- limited point of view
- may be used with 1st and 3rd person--told from thoughts and feelings of only one character
- antagonist
- opposition to protagonist (the villain of the story)--negative attitude
- soliloquy
- a speech given by one character on stage expressing the characters thoughts
- idiom
- sayings that are frequently used and have a meaning totally outside of what is said (that's a piece of cake, break a leg)
- persuasive
- a type of technical writing in which the author is making a call to action (often involves one or some of the various propaganda techniques)
- falling action
- part of plot fololowing the climax and before the resolution
- denotation
- literal meaning/dictionary meaning (objective)
- paradox
- a truth expressed in an apparent contradiction (Matthew 10:39 He that loses his life shall find it)
- quatrain
- four lines to poetry-uses rhyme
- theme
- the lesson (personal life application)
- folk ballad
- a poem that is meant to be sung--passed down from generation to generation--origin is usually unknown
- parallelism
- a construction of two or more thoughts in the same pattern
- dramatic monologue
- one character on stage giving thoughts and feelings
- direct characterization
- a type of characterization where the author directly describes the character
- rising action
- point of plot after exposition and before the climax--find the problem
- dialogue
- two or more characters speaking
- subplots
- an additional plot contained within the main plot of a story
- internal rhyme
- rhyme inside of a line
- personification
- giving human characteristics to something that is not human
- farce
- a type of comedy that involves highly exaggerated characters and ludicrous situations- meant to provoke belly laughs
- consonance
- the repetition of consonant sound (smeared, bleared, with trade)
- propaganda
- uses various methods to persuade--often stretches the truth or lies
- italian sonnet (petrarchan)
- fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter--abba abba cdc cdc