ib lit literary terms to know

allegory

the concrete presentation of an abstract idea with at least two levels of meaning.

alliteration

the reparation of sounds in a sequence of words.

allusion

an indirect reference, often to a person, event, statement, theme, or work.

ambiguity

lack of clarity or certain meaning; can be interpreted in several ways.

anachronism

something outside of its proper historical time period.

antihero

a protagonist, particularly in modern literary work, who does not exhibit the qualities of the traditional hero.

antithesis

a rhetorical figure in which two ideas are directly opposed; “I long and dread to close”

apostrophe

a rhetorical figure in which the speaker directly and often emotionally addresses a person who is dead or absent, an imaginary human entity, or a place or concept (usually an abstract idea or ideal).

archetype

the original model from which something is developed or made; in literary criticism, those images, figures, character types, settings, and story patterns that are universally shared by people across the cultures.

aside

a convention in drama whereby a character onstage addresses the audience to reveal some inner thought or feeling that is presumed inaudible to any other characters in earshot.

assonance

in proximate words, the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in stressed syllables, followed by different consonant sounds.

authorial intention

an author’s intention in writing a work, as expressed in letters, diaries, interviews, and conversations.

bildungsroman

a novel hat recounts the development (psychological and sometimes spiritual) of an individual from childhood or adolescence to maturity, to the point at which the protagonist recognizes his or her place and role in the world

binary oppositions

a concept that suggests that people in Western Culture tend to think and express their thoughts in terms of contrary pairs.

cacophony

harsh, unpleasant, or discordant sounds; the opposite of euphony

canon

a body of written works accepted as authoritative or attentive.

character, the character, characterization

a character is a figure, whether human or nonhuman. the character refers to a literary genre that developed in seventeenth and eighteenth century England and France. characterization refers to the means by which authors describe and develop the characters in literary works.

cliche

an expression that has been used so often that it has become hackneyed and lost its original impact.

climax

the point of greatest tension or emotional intensity in a plot; the turning point in the action where the protagonist’s lot changes dramatically.

close reading

the nuanced and thorough analysis of a literary text

comedy

an amusing and entertaining work or drama

conflict

struggle between opposing characters or forces in the plot of a narrative work, from which the action emanates and revolves around

connotation

the association evoked by a word beyond its denotation, or literal meaning

convention

a literary device, form, style, situation, or usage that has become so widely employed that it has become accepted and even expected by knowledgable readers or audience

denouement

French for “unknotting”; refers to the events following the climax of the plot and implies some ingenious resolution of the dramatic conflict and explains some mysteries or misunderstandings

diction

an author’s word choice; the general type or character of language used in a work of literature

denotation

a words literal meaning or definition independent of any connotations that an individual may attach to it

figurative language

language that employs one or more figures of speech to supplement or modify the literal meanings of words with additional connotations

figure of speech

a literary device involving unusual use of language, to associate or compare different things

flashback

a scene that interrupts the presents action of a narrative work to depict some earlier event via reverie, dream, remembrance, or some other mechanism.

flat and round characters

terms that refer to the depth of characterization. flat characters lack depth and complexity. round characters are fully developed, with the complexity and depth associated with real people

foil

a character whose contrast with the main character serves to accentuate the latter’s distinctive qualities or characteristics

frame story

a story that contains another story or stories; usually explains why the interior story is being told

free indirect discourse

a mode of presenting discourse that blends third person narration with first person point of view

hyperbole

a trope employing deliberate, emphatic exaggeration, usually for comic or ironic effects

image

a visual, physical representation of something (such as a photograph) or a mental picture of some visible thing or things.

imagery

the use of figurative language, often to express abstract ideas in a vivid and innovative way

in media res

latin for “into the midst of things”; the literary technique of beginning a narrative in the middle of the action

intentional fallacy

refers to the practice of basing interpretations on the expressed or implied intentions of authors

intertextuality

the condition of interconnectedness among texts, or the concept that any text is an amalgam of others, either because it exhibits signs of influence or because its language inevitably contains common points of reference with other texts through allusion

irony

contradiction or incongruity between appearance or expectation and reality

litotes

Greek for “simple” or “meager”; a trope that involves making an affirmative point by negating its opposite

magic(al) realism

a mode or genre in prose fiction often associated with postmodernism and characterized by a mixture of realistic and fantastic elements

meiosis

greek for “lessening”: a trope employing deliberate understatement, usually for comic, ironic, or satiric effect

metafiction

self-reflective fiction that examines the nature and status of fiction itself and often seeks to test fiction as a form

metaphor

Greek for “to transfer”; figure of speech that associates two distinct things without using a connective word to link the vehicle and the tenor

mood

can be synonymous with atmosphere or tone; tone refers to the attitude of the author towards the reader; atmosphere refers to the general feeling created for the reader by the work

motivation

combination of personality and situation that impels a characters to behave the way they do

myth

a traditional anonymous story told by a particular cultural group in order to explain a natural or cosmic phenomenon

narrator

a speaker through whom an author presents a narrative, often but not always a character in the work

other, the

that which defines and limits the subject, or self, and from which the subject seeks confirmation of its existence and agency

paradox

a statement that seems self-contradictory or nonsensical on the surface but upon clever examination may express an underlying truth

parallelism

a rhetorical figure used in written and oral compositions since ancient times to accentuate ideas by using grammatically similar constructions

phallocentric

centered on or privileging the masculine, a nonnatural characteristic ascribed to institutions and culture more generally by certain deconstructs, feminist critics, and psychoanalytic critics.

phallus

a symbol or representation of the penis

plot

the arrangement and interaction of event in a narrative work, chosen and designed to engage the reader’s attention and interest while also providing a framework for the exposition of the authors message

point of view

the vantage point from which a narrative is told

rhetoric

the art of persuasion through speaking and writing; one of the seven medieval subjects of study

satire

a literary genre or mode that used irony, wit, and sometimes sarcasm to expose a humanity’s vices and foibles

setting

the combination of place, historical time, and social milieu that provides the general background for the characters and plot of the literary work

simile

a figure of speech that compares two distinct things by using words such as *like, as,* or *as if* to link the vehicle and the tenor

style

the way in which a literary work is written; the message that the author communicates to the reader and how the author chooses to present it is what produces the authors style

suspension of disbelief

temporary acquiescence in the premises of a fictional work, regardless of reality or probability

symbol

something that stands for or suggests something larger and more complex

symbolism

Greek for “to throw together”; the relatively sustained use of symbols to represent or suggest other things or ideas

tenor

the subject of a trope; the vehicle is the rage that illustrates the tenor

theme

the statement that a text seems to be making about its subject; generally applied to the main idea or message in a text

thesis

refers to a paper or monograph written by a degree-seeking candidate in fulfillment of academic requirements or to the position taken by someone expostulating on a particular topic with the intent of proving a position

tone

the attitude of the author towards the reader, audience, or subject matter of a literary work

tragedy

a serious and often somber drama, written in prose or verse, that typically ends in disaster and that focuses on a character who undergoes unexpected personal reversals

unreliable narrator

a narrator who fails to provide an accurate report of events or situations and whose credibility is therefore compromised

vehicle

the image, activity, or concept used to illustrate or represent the tenor, or subject, of any figure of speech

zeugma

greek for “yoking”; a rhetoric figure in which one word or phrase governs or modifies two or more words or phrases