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Literary Terms
All
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| alliteration | the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of a word |
| allusion | a reference to a famous person, place, event, or work of literature. |
| analogy | comparison between two things alike in some way |
| antagonist | the character working against the main character |
| assonance | the repetition of vowel sounds within non-rhyming words |
| author's purpose | a writer usually writes for one or more of these purposes: to express thoughts and feelings, to inform, to persuade, and to entertain |
| characters | the people, animals, or imaginary creatures who take part in the action of a work of literature. Like real people,, characters display certain qualities, or traits, that develop and change over time |
| dynamic characters | a character who changes throughout the course of the novel |
| static characters | a character who does not go through significant changes throughout the course of the novel |
| round characters | A character with much personality |
| flat character | a character with little to no personality |
| characterization | the way a writer creates and develops characters |
| conflict | a struggle between opposing forces. An external conflict involves a character who struggles against a force outside him/herself. An internal conflict is one that occurs within a character. |
| connotation | the ideas and feelings associated with the word |
| denotation | dictionary definition |
| dialogue | written conversation between two or more characters. |
| figurative language | language that communicates meanings beyond the literal meanings of the words |
| flashback | an interruption of the action to present events that took place at an earlier time |
| foreshadowing | a writer provides hints that suggest future events in a story. It creates suspense and makes the reader eager to find out what will happen. |
| genre | a category in which a work of literature is classified |
| hyperbole | is a figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or humorous effect |
| inference gap | the act or process of reaching a conclusion about something from known facts or evidence |
| idiom | an expression that has a meaning different from its individual words |
| imagery | descriptive words and phrases that re-create sensory experiences for the reader. |
| irony | contrast between appearance and reality |
| situational irony | an outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected, the difference between what is expected to happen and what actually does. |
| verbal irony | a figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant |
| dramatic irony | understood by the audience, but not grasped by the characters in the story |
| metaphor | a comparison of two things that are basically unlike, but have some qualities in common |
| mood | the feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the READER |
| narrator | the voice that tells a story. Not the same as the writer |
| oxymoron | a combination of contradictory words that have opposite or very different meanings |
| onomatopoeia | the use of words whose sounds echo their meanings |
| paradox | something (such as a situation) that is made up of two opposite things and that seems impossible but is actually true or possible |
| personification | the giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or idea |
| plot | the series of events in a story |
| exposition | beginning; introduces background, setting, and characters |
| rising action | develops the conflict |
| climax | the point of greatest interest in the story; conflict is usually resolved and the outcome of the plot is clear; usually towards the end |
| falling action | story begins to draw to a close |
| resolution | final outcome |
| poetic justice | the ideal judgment that rewards virtue and punishes vice |
| point of view | the method of narration |
| first person | uses "I." A character in the story |
| second person | the use of "you" |
| third person | not a character in the story |
| third person omniscent | narrator is all knowing |
| third person limited | tells what one character thinks, feels, and observes |
| protagonist | the main character; involved in the main conflect |
| pun | a play on words based on the similarity of sound between the two words with different meanings |
| setting | time and place the action takes place including: geographic location, historical period, season, time of day, and culture |
| satire | is a genre of literature and/or performing arts in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule |
| simile | comparison between two unlike things using the words like or as |
| style | a manner of writing |
| symbolism | a person, place, object, or activity that stands for something beyond itself |
| theme | a message about life or human nature that the writer shares with the reader |
| tone | the writer's attitude toward his or her own subject |
| understatement | creating emphasis by saying less than is actually or literally true; opposite of hyperbole |
| inciting incident | propels action. event that sets story in motion. Makes the rest possible. |
| almanac | an annual publication containing a calendar for the coming year, the times of such events and phenomena as anniversaries, sunrises and sunsets, phases of the moon, tides, etc., and other statistical information and related topics. |
| appendix | supplementary material at the end of a book, article, document, or other text, usually of an explanatory, statistical, or bibliographic nature. |
| atlas | a bound collection of maps. |
| bibliography | a complete or selective list of works complied upon some common principle, as authorship, subject, place of publication, or printer. |
| dictionary | a book giving information on particular subjects or on a particular class of words, names, or facts, usually arranged alphabetically. |
| encyclopedia | a book or set of books or online informational resource containing articles on various topics, usually in alphabetical arrangement, covering all branches of knowledge or, less commonly, all aspects of one subject. |
| glossary | such a list at the back of a book, explaining or defining difficult or unusual words and expressions used in the text. |
| index | a more or less detailed alphabetical listing of names, places, and topics along with the numbers of the pages on which they are more mentioned or discussed, usually included in or constituting the back matter. |
| table of contents | a list that is placed at the beginning of some books. It shows how the book is divided into sections and at which page each section begins. |
| analyzing | to break down and examine the parts of something to better understand it. |
| annotating | annotating is a way of marking your textbook by taking key points from the text. In addition to underlining or highlighting, you should annotate because it will help you understand and remember information. |
| arguing | to present reasons for or against a thing |
| comparing and contrasting | comparing (finding similarities) and contrasting (finding differences) is a process of analysis which helps you to understand things in a greater depth. |
| comprehending | to understand the nature or meaning of; grasp with the mind; perceive. |
| critiquing | a careful judgement in which you give your opinion about the good and bad parts of something (such as a piece of writing or work of art). |
| finding central idea | the main idea is the point of the paragraph. It is the most important thought about the topic. To figure out the main idea, ask yourself this question: What is being said about the person, thing, or idea (the topic)? |
| giving textual evidence | to present a convincing and persuasive analysis, the essay writer must demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the text by presenting carefully chosen, pertinent quotations which support each point the essay writer makes. |
| making inferences | inferences are logical deductions made after you gather enough evidence to support your conclusion. You make inferences every day when you predict the outcome of an event or a decision. |
| paraphrasing | paraphrasing is when something is rewritten in the reader's own words. |
| summarizing | summarizing is how we take larger selections of text and reduce them to their bare essentials:the gist,the key ideas, the main points that are worth noting and remembering. |
| using context clues | an author often includes hints,or clues,to help the reader expand vocabulary and grasp the meaning of the passage. |
| allegory | a story, poem, or picture that can be integrated to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. |
| fiction | literature in the form of prose, especially short stories and novels, that describes imaginary events and people |
| realistic fiction | a genre of fiction that is set in modern present with human characteristics and is based on the premise that the story's plot could actually happen in real life. |
| mystery | involves the search for answers surrounding an unexplained event |
| adventure | consists of incredible journeys or the struggle to survive |
| historical fiction | a genre of fiction that is set in the past and involves real people, places, or significant events from history. |
| science fiction | a genre of fiction that is set in the future and based on the impact of real, potential, or imagined technology. |
| dystopian fiction | set in a post-apocalypse society or future society in which the laws and morals that govern the people have regressed to the point of repression or loss of human rights. |
| fantasy | a genre of fiction that contains magical elements such as non-existant worlds, talking animals, and other creatures, and objects or people with super powers |
| nonfiction | prose writing that is based on facts, real events, and real people, such as biography or history |
| parody | imitating another work or style of a particular writer, artist, or genre for humorous effect |
Created by:
cgoodson08
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