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myth
a genre of folklore or theology consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin
folktale
stories in the oral tradition, or tales that people tell each other out loud, rather than stories in written form
fable
a short fictional story that has a moral or teaches a lesson
legend
genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude
saga
form of the novel in which the members or generations of a family or social group are chronicled in a long and leisurely narrative. a dramatic history of a group, place, industry, etc.
riddles
tricky phrases or questions that have double meanings and are usually challenging to solve or answer
epic poetry
a long, often book-length, narrative in verse form that retells the heroic journey of a single person, or group of persons.
lyric
type of poetry that explores a poets personal interpretation of and feelings about the world
narrative poetry
contains setting, characters, and plot, one or more themes,
moral tale
frame story
a narrative that frames or surrounds another story or set of stories
metafiction
romance
refers to any imaginative adventure with noble heroes, gallant love, a chivalric code of honor, and daring deeds. usually have faraway settings, events not like ordinary life, idealize their heroes and the eras in which the heroes lived. Medieval ones often are lighthearted in tone and involve fantasy.
sonnet
14 lines of iambic pentameter with intricate rhyme scheme
ballad
a long narrative poem usually in very regular meter and rhyme; typically has native folksy quality
pastoral
a poem set in a tranquil nature or one about shepherds
elegy
a type of poem that meditates on death or mortality in a serious thoughtful manner
epitaph
lines that commemorate the dead at their burial place
ode
a short lyric poem that praises an individual, an idea, or an event
meter
the measured and rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry
short story
a story with a fully developed theme but significantly shorter and less elaborate than a novel.
free verse
no regular meter and no end rhyme although containing possible repetitive patterns
alliteration
repetition of initial consonant sounds
stock epithet
adjectives that point out special traits of people or things. ex. “ hell-forged” and “strong-hearted”
kenning
compounding with a metaphoric meaning (banhus= bone house= the human body) (hronrad= whale’s road= the sea)
caesura
break between words in a metrical foot; pause near the middle of a line
epic simile
A detailed, often complex poetic comparison (see simile) that unfolds over the course of several lines
allusion
reference to another work or famous figure
epithet
an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned
rhyme
in some parts identical sounds; especially the end of words in lines of verse
rhythm
the systematic arrangement of musical sounds, principally according to duration and periodic stress; aka cadence
repetition
using the same word or phrase over and over again in a piece of writing or speech
parallelism
repeated syntactical similarities used for effect
scop
oral poet
translator
a person who translates from one language or version into another, especially as a profession.
point of view
the perspective from which the action of a novel is presented
first person narrator
narrator is a character in the story and tells the tale from his/her POV; narrator is unreliable when the character is for some reaosn not entirely credible
second person
action is driven by a character ascribed to the reader, one known as you; “you" go here, “you” do this, etc
third person narrator
action is driven by a character ascribed to the reader, one known as you
omniscient narrator
third person narrator who sees, like God, into each character’s mind and understands all the action going on
limited omniscient
a third person narrator who generally reports only what one character (usually the main character) sees, and who only reports the thoughts of that one character
objective narrator
only reports what would be visible by a camera, doesn’t report any thoughts or anything inside the characters minds
theme
the main idea of the overall work; the central idea
setting
the time and geographic location within a narrative, either non-fiction or fiction
direct characterization
direct description from the narrator
indirect characterization
the character is characterized by either their own actions, words, behavior, dress, etc. or how other characters act towards the character
internal conflict
conflict within; man vs self
external conflict
character faces issues with an outside thing; other characters, nature, society, etc.
tragic flaw
in a tragedy, this is the weakness of character in an otherwise good individual that leads to his demise
anti-hero
a protagonist (main character) who is markedly unheroic; morally weak, cowardly, dishonest, or any number of unsavory qualities
foil
a secondary character whose purpose is to highlight the characteristics of a main character, usually by contrast
protagonist
the main character of a novel or play
diction
the authors choice of words
free verse
no regular meter and no end rhyme, although containing possible repetitove patterns
blank verse
lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter
soliloquy
a speech spoken by a character alone on stage. meant to convey the impression that the audience is listening to the characters thoughts
aside
a speech made by an actor to the audience, as though momentarily stepping outside of the action onstage
dialogue
conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or movie
parody
the work that results when a specific work is exaggerated to ridiculousness
analogy
a comparison usually involving two or more symbolic parts, and are employed to slarify an action or a relationship
paradox
a situation or statement that seems to contradict itself, but on closer inspection does not
allusion
a reference to another work or famous figure
tone
the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc
dramatic irony
when the audience knows something the characters do not
situational irony
something happening is very different to what was expected
verbal irony
when a person says one thing but means the opposite
circular plot
heavy foreshadowing, flashback/forward, know whats going to happen but don’t know when
fragmented plotline
story is told out of chronological order; could see plot from many different perspectives; like the plotline is a deck of cards that has been shuffled
exposition (plot)
The introduction of a story where the background information, setting, and characters are introduced to provide context for the reader.
rising action (plot)
builds the plot and leads to the climax. It includes events, conflicts, and complications that develop the story and increase tension; typically occurs after the exposition and before the climax, setting the stage for the main conflict and building suspense
climax (plot)
The climax isthe turning point or the highest point of tension in a story or play, the moment of greatest intensity or conflict, where the outcome of the main conflict is revealed or decided
falling action (plot)
the part of a story or play that follows the climax and leads to the resolution. It is the stage where the conflicts and tensions start to decrease, and loose ends are tied up; typically includes events that wrap up the main plot and provide closure to the story
resolution
the audience is comfortable leaving the conflict behind, final action comes to close; not all plotlines have resolutions
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