1st Semester study guide

myth

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

epigram

a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way.

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.

narrator

a person who narrates something, especially a character who recounts the events of a novel or narrative poem.

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

tragic hero

the central character of a play, film, etc., depicted as a noble figure who experiences a tragic downfall

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

antagonist

a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary

protagonist

the main character of a novel or play

hero

a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities

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