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English lit vocab
test 1 literary terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Allegory | The expression, by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions, of truths or generalizations about human existence: ex. The minister in the Minister's black veil. |
| alliteration | repetition of initial constant sounds, as in "dreary dropout". |
| antagonist | a character in a story or play or poem who stands in opposition to the hero. The conflict between them generates the action or plot in the story |
| archetype | a literary device in which a character is created based on a set of qualities or traits that are specific and identifiable for readers (the warrior, the orphan). Can also refer to a recurring pattern of plot (Overcoming the monster). |
| assonance | repetition of vowel sounds within the span of a few words; used to enhance either choppiness or flow in the language sound. ex: "flowing ocean" has a long o. short vowels speed up the pace while long vowels slow it down. |
| ballad | a narrative composition in rhythmic verse suitable for singing, a forerunner of fiction as we know today. ex: Ballad about King Arthur and his nights. |
| characterization | The means of presenting and developing a thinking being, shown through the authors description, the being's actions or thoughts, or other beings' actions or thoughts. |
| Climax | Turning point, the plots moment of greatest tension that fixes the outcome. |
| conflict | The struggle between opposing forces in a play, short story, or novel that is usually resolved by the end of the story. |
| Denouement | "The untying of the knot"; the end of the story in which complications are sorted out. The resolution of the story. |
| Dramatic Irony | Occurs when a reader or an audience knows things a character does not and, consequently, nears words or understands actions differently. |
| exposition | The beginning segment of the story that provides the reader background information needed to make sense of the action including setting and major characters. |
| fable | An early form of fiction, a brief story that points to a moral, with a satirical tone. Those with animals are titled "Aesop's fables". |
| falling action | The segment of a story in which complications and tensions cease and the action slows. |
| allusion | When text references incorporates, or responds to an earlier piece (including literature, Art, music, film). Used by the author as an economical way to call upon a knowledge they assume to be shared with the reader. |
| foreshadowing | An indication of what is to follow in a literary work. |
| Freytag's Pyramid | Diagram of typical plot structure of plays and novels as developed by a 19th century German playwright and novelist who saw common patterns in the plots of stories and novels |
| hyperbole | exaggeration for effect, emphasis. |
| imagery | Language that embodies an appeal to one of the physical five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. |
| inciting incident | Typically, an event that follows some exposition in a short story or longer plot marks the beginning of a tension or conflict in the story |
| irony | Figurative language in which the intended meaning differs from the literal meaning. |
| limited narrator | : Person or intelligence that the fiction writer creates to tell the story from a perspective of constrained knowledge, does not know everything about the characters or events occurring. |
| litote | Understatement for effect, usually in which a negative statement is meant to indicate something positively present. “She was not unhappy to win the lottery.” |
| magical realism | fiction that presents mythical or supernatural elements, in a matter-offact manner, in seemingly realistic fiction. A realistic narrative or naturalistic technique combined with surreal elements. |
| metaphor | A figurative expression consisting of two elements in which one element is provided with special attributes by being equated with a second, unlike element. Can include saying one thing IS another thing. (“Harlequin was “a strain of disease long-defunct, |
| mood | The atmosphere and general feeling created in a reader by a literary work. It is usually designed to complement or enhance the messages of the work. (This is what at least some of the characters would be able to identify, if asked.) |
| motif | a recurrent pattern or symbol in a literary work, such as a symbolic object, situation, or color that appears regularly throughout a work—if it always symbolizes the same thing. |
| omniscient narrator | usually third person: Person or intelligence that the fiction writer creates to tell the story and knows everything about the characters and events, can move about in time and place as well as from character to character at will, and can enter the mind of |
| onomatopoeia | Language that sounds like what it means, mimics the sound of what it denotes. Words like “buzz.” |
| parable | An early form of fiction, a short account with a serious tone, devoid of detail, that points toward spiritual beliefs or truths and should be read symbolically. |
| plot | Series of events in a story or drama that bear a significant relationship to each other. They create a fictional world. |
| protagonist | The hero or main character in a narrative, in conflict either with his or her situation or with another character. Originally, the first actor in a Greek drama |
| rising action | The second segment of the plot diagram that contains a series of complications or intensifications of the conflict that lead to a crisis or moment of great tension |
| setting | The time and place and social context in which a work occurs. Often the setting contributes significantly to the story’s mood and action. |
| short story | became popular in the 1800s and in this period tended toward a detailed representation of everyday life, typically the lives and experiences familiar to middle-class individuals. It had a different ratio of summary and scene |
| simile | A direct, explicit comparison of one thing to another, usually using the words like or as to draw the connection. “The dog was ran as quickly as a speeding train.” |
| situational irony | involves a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected. |
| symbol | An object, an action, or a person that represents more than itself |
| synesthesia | An image that uses a second sensory impression to modify the primary sense impression. When one speaks of a “cool green.” (Using an adjective describing the sense of touch to describe the visual.) |
| tale | A story that narrates strange or fabulous happenings. It doesn’t necessarily point to a moral as a fable or parable does, but it is almost as generalized in its depiction of character and setting. Example: “Paul Bunyan and His Blue Ox” |
| tone | The attitude embodied in the language a writer chooses. An author’s implicit attitude towards the characters, places, and events in the story and toward the reader of the work. (Think of the tone of voice in which one would read the story, such as objecti |
| verbal irony | happens when a character uses a statement in which the underlying meaning contradicts the obvious, literal meaning. For example, in Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” or the narrator in “Repent, Harlequin!...” |
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Ellah1123
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