Literary Terms
Terms
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- slang
- an informal, often short-lived kind of language used in place of standard words
- metaphor
- a figure of speech that makes an indirect comparision between two unlike subjects (something is described as if it were something else)
- prose
- the ordinary form of writing; most writing that is not poetry, drama, or song
- formal language
- the standard language of written communication, formal speeches, and presentations; may not use contractions or slang
- stanza
- a division of poetry similar to a paragraph in prose
- setting
- the time and place of the story (where and when it takes place)
- internal & external conflict
- the two major types of conflict
- fantasy
- highly imaginative writing that has elements not found in real life
- personification
- a figure of speech in which a non-human subject is given human characteristics
- author's purpose
- the author's intent either to inform/teach, to entertain, or to persuade/convince the audience
- bias
- a judgement based on a personal point of view
- mood
- the feeling created in a reader by a literary work or passage
- external conflict
- a problem or struggle between a character and someone or something outside of the character
- narrator
- the speaker or character who tells the story
- biography
- a form of nonfiction in which a writer tells the life story of another person
- figurative language
- writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling
- suspense
- the quality of the story that makes the reader curious and excited about what will happen next
- tone
- the attitude toward the subject and audience conveyed by the language and rhythm of the speaker in a literary work
- dramatic irony
- a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader or audience knows to be true (we, the audience, know more than the character/s)
- fiction
- prose writing that tells about imaginary characters and events
- plot
- the series of related actions or events in a literary work
- character motivation
- a reason that explains, or partially explains a character's thoughts, feelings, actions or speech
- initiating incident
- introduces the central conflict (sometimes it occurs before the opening of the story)
- flashback
- presents events of the past in the midst of a story in the present
- autobiography
- a form of nonfiction in which a writer tells his or her own life story
- primary source
- text that tells a first-hand account of an event;original works used when researching (letters, journals)
- climax
- the point of highest interest, the conflict must be resolved one way or another or a character begins to take action to end the conflict
- allusion
- a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art
- trait
- one of the qualities that makes up a character's personality
- dynamic character
- this character changes as a result of the action in the story
- emotional appeal
- tries to persuade the reader by using words that appeal to the reader's emotions instead of to logic or reason
- exposition
- establishes the setting, identifies the characters, introduces the basic situation (problem my be revealed here)
- idiom
- an expression having a special meaning different form the usual meanings of the words (example - "hit the road")
- theme
- the message, central concern, or insight into life revealed in a literary work
- foreshadowing
- an author's use of hints or clues to suggest events that will occur later in the story
- inference
- understanding gained by "reading between the lines"; a judgement based on reasoning rather than direct statement
- antagonist
- a character or force in conflict with the main character
- testimonial
- attempts to persuade the reader by using a famous person to endorse a product or idea
- satire
- literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness
- circular arguement
- states a conclusion as part of the proof of the arguement
- situational irony
- an event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of the character, the reader, or the audience (a surprise twist)
- name-calling
- an attack on a person instead of an issue
- point of view
- the relationship between the narrator and the story he/she is telling/the perspective from which the story is told
- flat character
- this character seems to possess only one or two personality traits - little or no background is revealed
- appeal to numbers, facts, or statistics
- attempts to persuade the reader by showing how many people think something is true
- hyperbole
- a figure of speech that is an exaggeration for effect
- figures of speech
- types of figurative language
- informal language
- the language of everyday speech, may use contractions and slang
- static character
- this character stays the same throughout the story
- onomatopoeia
- the use of words that imitate sounds
- secondary source
- text used when researching that is derived from something original (biographies, magazine articles)
- falling action
- events that occur between the climax and the conclusion
- internal conflict
- a problem or struggle within a character
- editorial
- a newspaper or magazine article that gives the opinions of the editors or publishers
- sweeping generalization
- makes an oversimplified statement about a group based on limited information
- protagonist
- the main character in a literary work
- propaganda
- techniques used to influence people to believe, buy, or do something
- character
- a person or animal who takes part in the action of a literary work
- jargon
- the special words or terms used by the members of a particular profession or class
- conflict
- struggle between opposing forces; any problem that must be solved
- bandwagon
- tries to persuade the reader to do, think or buy something because it is popular or everyone is doing it
- rising action
- any events leading up to the climax
- voice
- the fluency, rhythm and liveliness in writing that make it unique to the writer
- sequence
- the arrangement of events in a literary work
- conclusion/resolution
- the story's end
- stereotype
- a fixed, generalized idea about a character, place, or situation
- red herring
- an attempt to distract the reader with details not relevant to the arguement
- nonfiction
- prose writing that presents and explains ideas about real people, places, objects or events
- generalization
- a conclusion that is used to make a broad statement about a topic or person
- euphemism
- an inoffensive word or term used in place of another that is felt to be offensive
- imagery
- a word or group of words in a literary work which appeal to one or more of the senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell
- alliteration
- the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words
- symbol
- anything that stand for or represents something else
- genre
- a division or type of literature - generally prose, poetry or drama
- refrain
- a regularly repeated line or group of lines in a poem or song
- text structure
- the author's method of organizing text
- verbal irony
- words are used to suggest the opposite of their usual meaning or contradict their usual meaning
- dialogue
- conversation between characters
- irony
- the general name given to literary techniques that involve surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions
- dialect
- a form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group
- simile
- a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two unlike subjects using like or as
- round character
- this character is fully developed - the writer reveals good and bad traits as well as background