Literary Terms
Terms
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- Ode
- a long lyrical poem that is serious in subject and treatment of the subject
- Meter
- rhythm at regular intervals
- Epic
- long narrative poem with a hero's actions usually effecting a nation- The theme deals with a universal human problem
- Dynamic Character
- one who changes
- Anecdote
- A short incident, usually humorous
- Dramatic Irony (1)
- the audience and/or other characters are privy to information that another character doesn't know
- Characters
- The "who" in the story- examples of types are flat, round, static, and dynamic
- Plot
- consist of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution
- Satire
- a literary art- makes a subject ridiculous in order to evoke negative feelings about it (tone of contempt for the subject- i.e. Animal Farm)
- Subplots
- an additional plot contained within the the main plot of a story
- Fixed form
- a traditional pattern that applies to whole poem (sonnet, limerick)
- Fantasy
- A subgenre of fiction that involves exaggeration of imagination- supernatural characters and occurences
- Tragic flaw
- a weekness of defect that brings down the hero
- Overstatement
- over exaggeration (hyperbole)
- Figurative language
- variousliterary methods that describe or compare- non-literal
- Allusion
- Reference to a well-known piece of literature, a place, a character, etc.
- Indirect revelation
- (indirect characterization) the reader must infer things about the character based on what the author says
- Fable
- anecdote that teaches a moral and usually has animals for characters
- Direct Characterization
- A type of characyerization where the author directly describes the character
- Myth
- subgenre of fiction- has to do with gods and goddesses
- Descriptive
- a type of writing that describes (usually employs much imagery)
- Personification
- giving human characteristics to something that is not human
- Genre
- types of literature
- Tragic hero
- undergoes a moral struggle that ends in disaster
- Imagery
- Vivid description using the five senses
- 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)
- Dialogue
- Two or more characters speaking
- Conflict
- The problem in the story- a struggle
- Editorial
- An artical written about or in response to another piece of writing
- Drama
- Tells a story with action and dialogue- *mimics life*
- Sonnet
- a fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter
- Stanza
- group of related lines containing the same meter and rhyme scheme
- Homeric Simile
- a comparison using a compound word such as those Homer used in his epic poems (fleet-footed, wine-dark, bolt-hurling)
- Realistic fiction
- a fiction story that is written in a way that it seems it could be true
- Onomatopoeia
- the word sounds like its meaning
- Refrain
- repetition of a word or phrase is a poem (lyrical)
- Reflective
- writing that has to do with remembrances
- Significant details
- the five w's and how- used to find the main idea
- Consonance
- The repetition of consonant sound (smeared, bleared, with trade)
- Paradox
- a truth expressed in an apparent contradiction (matt 10:39- He that looses his life shall find it)
- Cinquain
- A five line poem with 2,4,6,8,2 syllables
- Propaganda
- uses various methods to persuade- often stretches the truth or lies
- Rhyme
- repetition of like sound
- Internal rhyme
- rhyme inside of a line
- Elegy
- written in paris of unrhymed lines- used for epitaphs in which the dead speak nin first person
- Hyperbole
- an exaggeration
- Foreshadowing
- clues or hints about what is going to happen
- Free verse
- no rhyme and no meter- follows normal patterns of speech
- Short story
- a narrative that can be easlily read in one setting
- Situational irony
- when the opposite of what one thinks would happen
- Symbol
- one thing that stands for something else
- Apostrophe
- The addressing of an inanimate object or an absemt person (cannot answer back)
- Irony
- the opposite of what you expect (dramatic, verbal, and situational)
- Synecdoche
- a part that represents the whole
- Dramatic Monologue
- one character on stage giving thoughts and feelings
- Tall tale
- unrealistic, exaggerated fiction- the hero has unrealistic abilities
- Alliteration
- Beginning sounds are the same
- Aside
- Comments made to the audience that other characters are not supposed to hear
- English sonnet (Shakespearean)
- a fifteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter and with the set form of ababcdcdefefgg
- Assonance
- Repetition of vowel sounds
- Turning point (crisis)
- the main characterr must make a decision that effects the story's outcome
- Caesura
- (//) Gives pause for expression or emphasis in a long pentameter rhyme
- Eye rhyme
- words that look like they should rhyme but do not sound alike (have/cave)
- Round character
- character that is developed
- Masculine rhyme
- either a one-syllable word or when second syllable of 2 syllable word rhymes
- Flash back
- Represents events that happened before the time that the work opened (maybe a memory or confession format)
- Biography
- Written about one person by another person
- Soliloquy
- a speech given by one character on stage expressing the characters thoughts
- Dramatic Structure
- exposition, inciting force, rising action, crisis, falling action, climax, catastrophe (denoument)
- Mood
- how the reader is feeling as the piece is read
- Legend
- a true story passed from generation to generation- usually has a hero that serves a country
- Italian sonnet (Petrarchan)
- fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter- abba abba cdc cdc
- Poetry
- one of the four major genres of literature in which figurative language is used- usually wirtten in stanza- often but not always employs rhyme
- Style
- the way a writter writes
- Ballad
- Narrative song (poem) written in stanza
- Analogy
- A comparasion between two things that are seemingly unalike
- Paraphrase
- a restatement- a summary
- Narrative
- a type of writing that tells a story
- Haiku
- a three-lined poem with no rhyme- has 5/7/5 syllables and presents an image or insight
- Climax
- Point on plot of highest intensity
- Oxymoron
- two words that are opposites are used toether- a form of figurative language
- Connotation
- A suggested meaning or association (emotional, subjective)
- Simile
- a form of figurative language- a comparison using like or as
- Science fiction
- a subgenre of fiction- has to do with futuristic setting and ideas such as space, robots, and discoveries not yet made
- End rhyme
- most popular form of rhyme- occurs at the end of the line
- Archetype
- A character or image that is seen over and over again in various pieces of literature
- Folk Ballad
- A poem that is meant to be sung- passed down from generation to generation- origin is usually unknown
- Limited Point of View
- may be used with 1st and 3rd person- told from thoughts and feeling of only one character
- Suspense
- feelings of unccertainty about the outcome of a story
- 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)
- Cliche' (trite)
- An overly used expression
- Internal conflict
- conflict within a character (man vs himself)
- Omniscient point of view
- written by an all-knowing author- third person- the reader gets the thoughts and feelings of more than one character
- Lyric
- song-like
- 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)
- Autobiography
- Written by the person and is about the person- literally, "self driven"
- 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)
- Extended metaphor
- A continuation of the classic metaphor in which comparisons continue to be made about two subjects
- Rhythm
- repetition of sound at regular intervals
- Stereotype
- assuming that a whole catagory of people have a characteristic that is descriptive of only a few (i.e.- religious, racial, territorial stereotypes)
- Objective point of view
- author uses facts not feelings to allow the reader to make judgement; first or third person
- Continuous form
- Line upon line without breaks
- Rising Action
- point of plot after exposition and before the climax- find the problem
- Blank verse
- Unrhymed iambic pentameter
- Denotation
- literal meaning/ dictionary meaning (objective)
- Fiction
- a genre of literature that is unture
- Tone
- the way the writer intends for the reader to feel as the piece is read
- Theme
- the lesson (personal life application)
- Parody
- imitates a serious topic in a comical or inappropriate way
- Farce
- A type of comedy that involves highly exaggerated characters and ludicrous situations- meant to provoke belly laughs
- Allegory
- Characters, places, and concepts are all symbols
- Nonfiction
- writing that is true
- Falling action
- part of the plot following the climax and before the resolution
- Folk Tale
- A short narrative that is passed down orally- usually by an unknown author
- Couplet
- two rhyming lines
- Monologue
- one person is speaking
- Static character
- a character that stays the same
- Limerick
- fixed form of poem of five lines- anapestic- aabba - 1,2,5 rhyme with 3 feet and 3 and 4 rhyme with 2
- Figure poem
- the shape suggests the topic of the poem
- Antagonist
- Opposition to protagonist
- Narrative
- story
- External conflict
- a conflict outside of the character himself (man vs man, man vs nature, man vs society)
- Point of view
- the angle from which the story is told
- Approximate Rhyme
- Also called "half or slant rhyme",- A sound that sounds alike but is not a certain match of sound (rain/again)
- Exposition
- The first part of plot where the characters, setting, background information, and usually the problem are all given
- Verbal irony
- what is said is the opposite of what is meant
- Parallelism
- a construction of two or more thoughts in the same pattern
- Comedy
- Drama that focuses on the light/happy aspects of life
- Narrator
- one who tells a story
- Quatrain
- four lines to poetry- uses rhyme
- Foot
- the pattern of line in poetry
- Tragedy
- subgenre of drama- deals with serious, sad, or catastrophic aspects of life
- Metaphor
- comparison where one thing is said to be another thing that it is not
- Flat character
- a character that is not developed
- Anachronism
- literally, "out of time"- When characters or events are placed in unlikely setting
- Feminine rhyme
- the first syllable of a two-syllable word or both syllables of a two-sylable word rhyme
- Literary Ballad
- written to mimick a folk ballad
- Protagonist
- the main character