Literary terms, writing strategies 10th grade

Setting

The location, time period, and physical environment where a story takes place.

Third person POV omniscient

Hear all of the character’s thoughts

Pathos

Appeal to emotions; based on how the text makes the reader/audience feel. (emotion, empathy, sympathy, excitement, anger, etc.)

Logos

Appeal to logic and reason; based on facts, research, and evidence. (logic, proof, data, statistics)

Flashback

A device that moves an audience from the present moment in a chronological narrative to a scene in the past. Often, flashbacks are abrupt interjections that further explain a story or character with background information and memories.

Conflict

A struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions.

Ethos (authority/credibility)

Appeals to ethics and credibility based on the speaker or author. 

(credibility, expertise, authority)

Metaphor vs. Symbol

Metaphor: Means something other than what it literally is

• Should NEVER be taken literally

• Compares two unlike things -objects, characters, colors

• Always nouns 

Symbol: Means what it is, but something else

• Seeing one thing as another to make a point

• Suggests deeper meaning

• Can be nouns and verbs

Dialogue

Conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or movie.

Means “conversation.” It is created when two or more characters speak to each other directly.

Point of view

relationship of narrator to the story

First person POV

Use of "I" in the story, narrator is a character

Second person POV

Use of "you" in the story"

Third person POV

The author is narrating a story about the characters referring to them with pronouns like "he/she." You can only hear one character’s thoughts

Characterization

how characters are presented in the story

The process by which the writer reveals the personality of the character. This can be done through describing the character’s thoughts, feelings, or actions.

Protagonist

The main character, usually the hero of the story, who is faced with a conflict. Undergoes charge from beginning to end.

Antagonist

The character or force that creates conflict for the protagonist.

The opposite of the protagonist; someone or something that gets in the way of the protagonist. Typically, this is the “villain.

Foil

A character who provides a contrast (opposite) to the protagonist.

Dynamic characters

change in some way from the beginning to the end.

Rounded characters

are lifelike, well-rounded, and complex.

Static characters

remain the same throughout the work.

Flat characters

are one sided, have no depth and are usually minor characters

Stereotypes

• assuming that “they’re all alike” when looking at a whole group of people and assuming that they all share certain qualities.

• Problematic: eliminates individuality, interferes with free will, and puts people in a “box”

External conflict

struggle between character and outside forces

Occurs when a character struggles against some outside force. (character vs character, character vs nature, character vs society, character vs supernatural), character vs technology)

Types of external conflict

Character vs. Character, Character vs. Nature, Character vs. Society

Internal conflict

conflict WITHIN the character (internally) Character vs. self.

Occurs when a character struggles with emotions, needs, or desires within themself.

Central idea

The most important idea in a paragraph or passage that may be stated or it may be implied.

• It states the purpose and sets the direction of the paragraph or passage. 

• The main idea may be stated or it may be implied.

How do you find the central idea?

• "What point is the author making in this passage?"

• Who - Does this passage discuss a person or group of people?

• When - Does the information contain a reference to time?

• Where - Does the text name a place?

• Why - Do you find a reason or explanation for something that happened?

• How - Does this information indicate a method or a theory?

Plot

the main events of a play, novel, movie, or similar work. The sequence of events that make up a story.

Parts of plot

exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution

Exposition

introduces characters, setting & conflicts

Appeals to ethics and credibility based on the speaker or author. 

(credibility, expertise, authority)

Rising Action

complications, twists, and intensification. A question asked in order to create dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer.

Climax

high-point of story

The highest point of tension or drama in a plot. Often, the climax is also when the main problem of the story is faced and solved by the main character, or protagonist.

Falling Action

result of climax

Occurs right after the climax, when the main problem of the story resolves. At this stage, loose ends are tied up.

Resolution

final outcome of story. Also known as the denouement, is the conclusion of the story’s plot.

Theme

Insight about life or human nature. Often a life lesson that unifies the story.

The main idea, moral/lesson, and/or insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work through characters and conflict.

Motif

A distinctive repeating feature or idea that often helps develop other narrative aspects such as theme or mood

Theme vs. Motif

Theme: Overall meaning or message.

Motif: A recurring element that conveys the theme.

Rhetorical question

a question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer.

does not involve an answer

Symbolism

A person, place or object which has a meaning in itself, but suggests other meanings as well.

A person, place, thing, or event that stands both for itself and for something beyond itself (dove = peace, heart = love).

Foreshadowing

An author's use of hints or clues to suggest events that will occur later in the story.

Irony

Contrast between what is expected or what appears to be and what actually is.

A contrast between expectation and reality-- between what is said and what is meant, between what is expected and what really happens.

Three types of irony

Verbal irony, Dramatic irony, Situational irony

Verbal irony

occurs whenever a speaker or narrator tells us something that differs from what they mean, what they intend, or what the situation requires.

Dramatic irony

occurs whenever a character in a story is deprived of an important piece of information that governs the plot that surrounds them.

Situational irony

occurs when characters' intentions are foiled, when people do certain things to bring about an intended result, but in fact produce the opposite result.

Allusion

an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

Paradox

A statement that appears to contradict itself, but upon further rumination, either reveals a deeper meaning or actually makes sense.

Mood

is the feeling or atmosphere the reader has when reading a story. This is what the READER feels!

Tone

Is an author's attitude toward their subject matter that reflects their personal opinion or feelings for a particular character or idea. This is how the AUTHOR feels! Authors convey tone through their word choice, punctuation, and sentence structure.

The attitude the writer takes toward the reader, a subject, or a character.

Imagery

Language that appeals to the senses. (Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch)

To use figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses.

Simile

A direct comparison between two different things, usually with the words LIKE or AS (usually they are alike in one significant way) to create a new meaning.

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike things by using a connective word such as “like” or “as.”

Metaphor

A comparison without using like or as

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike, without words such as “like” or “as.”

Personification

Gives the qualities of a person to an animal, an object, or an idea.

Alliteration

The repetition of identical or similar sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables.

The occurrence/repetition of the same letter or sound that are placed close together.

Onomatopoeia

formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named. ex. hiss

The use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to (such as hiss or murmur). 

It can also include made-up words or simply a series of letters, such “RUFF” represent a dog’s bark.

Hyperbole

an exaggeration of speech and should not be taken literally.

A figure of speech that involves an exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis.

ex: I am so hungry I can eat a horse

Idiom

a group of words in a fixed order that has a particular meaning that is different from the meanings of each word on its own. A word or phrase that does not literally mean what it says; it has some other meaning.

ex: it is raining cats and dogs

Oxymoron

Is a self-contradicting word or group of words

Ex: big baby, alone together, open secret, deafening silence, passive aggressive, clearly confused, original copy, living dead

Pun

A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words which sound alike but have different meanings.

Figurative language

• Describing something by comparing it with something else, you are using figurative language. 

• Any language that goes beyond the actual meaning of words in order to bring fresh insights into an idea or a subject.

Structure

How information is organized (cause/effect, problem/solution, sequence, description, compare/contrast)