Literary Terms
trott's literary terms from writers inc. :]
Terms
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- plot
- the action or sequence of events in a story, usually a series of related incidents that build as the story continues
- epic
- a long narrative poem that tells of the deeds and adventures of a hero
- paradox
- a statement that seems contrary to common sense, yet may, in fact, be true
- quest
- a main character seeking to find something or acheive a goal
- drama
- the form of literature known as plays, but also the type of serious play that is often concerned with the leading character's relationship to society
- didactic
- literature instructs or presents a moral/religious statement
- motif
- an often repeated idea/theme in literature
- antagonist
- the person/thing working against the protagonist or hero of the work
- novella
- a prose work longer that the standard short story, but shorter than a novel
- dramatic monologue
- a literary work in which a character is speaking about him/herself as if another person were present. Their words reflect/reveal something important about his/her character.
- oxymoron
- a combo. of contradictory terms ex. jumbo shrimp, tough love
- gothic novel
- a type of fiction characterized by gloomy castles, ghosts, and supernatural happenings creating a mysterious and frightening story
- mood
- the feeling a text arouses in the reader
- anecdote
- a short summary of a humorous event used to make a point
- epigram
- a brief, witty saying or poem often dealing w/ its subject in a satirical manner
- slice of life
- the type of realistic or naturalistic writing that accurately reflects what life is really like
- soliloqy
- a speech delivered by a character when he/she is alone on stage, the character is thinking aloud
- climax
- usually the most intense part of a story...a series of struggles or conflicts cuild a story or play towards the climax
- caricature
- a picture or an imitation of a person's features or mannerisms exaggerated in a comic/absurd way
- romanticism
- literary movement with an emphasis on the imagination and emotions
- comedy
- literature in which human errors or problems appear funny; end on a happy note
- allegory
- a story in which people, things, and actions represent an idea or a generalization about life; often have a strong moral/lesson
- essay
- a piece of prose that expresses an individual's point of view; usually a series of closely related paragraphs that combine to make a complete piece of writing
- falling action
- the part of a play/story that works out the decision arrived at during the climax
- renaissance
- the period of history following the Middle Ages, late 14th century, 15th and 16th century
- epiphany
- a sudden perception(moment of understanding) that causes a character to change or act in a certain way
- foil
- someone who serves as a contrast/challenge to another character
- symbol
- a person, place, thing, or event used to represent something else
- parody
- a form of literature that intentionally uses comic effect to mock a literary work/style
- context
- the set of facts or circumstances surrounding an event or a situation in a piece of literature
- imagery
- the use of words to create a picture in the reader's mind, based on sensory details
- poetic justice
- a term that describes a character "getting what he deserves" in the end, especially if he deserves punishment
- sarcasm
- the use of praise to mock someone or something
- memoir
- writing based on the writer's memory of a particular time, place, or incident
- denouement
- the final resolution/outcome of a play or story
- epithet
- a word or phrase used in the place of a person's name (ex. Miss Know-It-All)
- setting
- the time and place in which the action of a literary work occurs
- short story
- brief fictional work, 1 major conflict & 1 major character
- stereotype
- a form that doesn't change, no individuality, fits the mold of a particular type of person
- hubris
- excessive pride; in Greek tragedy, usually the downfall of the hero
- farce
- literature based on a humorous & improbable plot
- malapropism
- the type of pun, or play on words that results when two words become jumbled in the speaker's mind
- autobiography
- an authors account or story of his/her own life
- exaggeration
- overstating or stretching the truth for special effect
- flashback
- returning to an earlier time in a story to make something in the present more clear
- empathy
- putting yourself in someone else's place & imagining how they feel; putting yourself in "someone else's shoes"
- stream of consciousness
- a style of writing in which the thoughts and feelings of the writer are recorded as they occur
- tragic hero
- a character who experiences unner struggle because of a character flaw, the struggle ends in defeat of the hero
- genre
- a category/type of literature based on style, form, and content
- characterization
- the method an author uses to reveal characters and then personalities
- tragedy
- a literary work in which the hero is destroyed by some character flaw or forces beyond his/her control
- rising action
- the series of struggles that builds a story or play toward a climax
- fable
- a short fictional narrative that teaches a lesson: usually includes animals that talk & act like people
- narrator
- the person who is telling the story
- foreshadowing
- giving hints/ clue of what is to come later in the story
- biography
- the story of a person's life written by another person
- irony
- using a word/phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal meaning (dramatic, verbal, irony of situation)
- figure of speech
- a literary device used to create a special effect or feeling by making some type of interesting or creative comparison: antithesis(contrast of ideas), hyperbole(exaggeration), metaphor(comparison of two unlike things w/ no word of comparison), metonymy(substitution of one word for another), personification(giving human qualities to an animal, object, or idea), simile(a comparison of 2 things using like or as), understatement(emphasizing by talking about it in a restrained manner)
- theme
- the statement about life that a writer is trying to get across in a piece of writing; usually implied
- epitaph
- a short poem or verse written in memory of someone
- myth
- a traditional story that attempts to justify a certain practice or belief or to explain a natural phenomenon
- resolution
- the portion of the play when the problem is solved
- dialogue
- the conversation carried on by the characters in a literary work
- slapstick
- a form of low comedy that often uncludes exaggerated, sometimes violent action
- figurative language
- language used to create a special effect or feeling
- allusion
- a literary reference to a familiar person, place, thing, or event
- novel
- a lengthy fictional story w/ a plot that is revealed by the speech, action, and thoughts of the characters
- satire
- a literary tone used to make fun of human vice or weakness, often with the intent of correcting or changing the subject of the attack
- pseudonym
- "pen name", false name a writer uses in place of his/her given name
- local color
- the use of language & details that are common in a certain region of the country
- protagonist
- the main character/hero of the story
- picaresque novel
- a work of fiction consisting of a lengthy string of loosely connected events
- realism
- literature that attempts to represent life as it really is
- character sketch
- a short piece of writing that reveals or shows something important about a person or fictional character
- conflict
- the problem/struggle in a story that triggers the action. 5 basic types: person vs. person, person vs. society, person vs. self, person vs. nature, person vs. fate(God)
- melodrama
- an exaggerated form of drama(SOAP OPERA!!!) characterized by heavy use of romance, suspense, and emotion
- style
- how that author uses words, phrases, and sentences to form his/her ideas, qualities that distunguish an author's work
- exposition
- writing that is intended to explain something that's difficult to understand; in a play explains the background/situation surrounding the story
- trancendentalism
- a philosophy that requires humans to go beyond (transcend) reason in their search for truth. it assumes that an individual can arrive at the basic truths of life through spiritual insight if he/she takes the time to think seriously about them.
- pathetic fallacy
- a form of personification giving human forms to nature: cruel sea, howling wind, dancing water
- point of view
- the vantage point from which the story is told: ominescent, limited ominescent, camera view
- naturalism
- an extreme form of realism in which the author tries to show the relation of a person to the environment/surroundings
- plot line
- a graphic display of the action or events in a story
- impressionism
- the recording of events/situations as they have been impressed upon the mind
- moral
- the particular value or lesson the author is trying to get across to the reader
- diction
- an author's choice of words based on their correctness, clearness, and effectiveness: archaic(old fashioned), colloquialism(informal expression), jargon(technical diction), profanity(disrespect for something sacred), slang(informal language), vulgarity(language that is crude, gross, and offensive)
- parable
- a short descriptive story that illustrates a particular belief or moral
- pathos
- a Greek root meaning suffering or passion, sorrow from audience/reader
- narration
- writing that relates an event or series of events: a story
- tone
- the overall feeling, effect of an author's words
- analogy
- a comparison of two or more similar objects, suggesting that if they are alike in certain respects, they will probably be alike in other ways
- total effect
- the general impression a literary work leaves on the reader