english lit terms - unusual & theme (SCOUT)

Anachronism

A chronological mistake.

Flashforward

A scene that temporarily takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story.

Flashback

An interjected scene or point that takes the narrative back in time from the current point.

Ambiguities

Something, particularly words and sentences, that is open to more than one interpretation, it might be a purposeful mystery.

Sarcasm (Irony)

Saying one thing, but meaning another - often the opposite.

Situational (Irony)

Actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected.

Socratic (Irony)

When someone pretends to be stupid in order to achieve an effect.

Dramatic (Irony)

When the audience knows something that a character doesn't. It often elevates tension in the audience.

Romantic (Irony)

Breaking the 4th wall in a fictional work. When a character directly addresses the audience or makes us aware of the relationship between the work and us the reader.

Hyperbole

A deliberate or unintentional overstatement.

Paradox

A situation or statement that is made up of two opposite things and that seems impossible but is actually true or possible.

Juxtaposition

The act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side often to compare or contrast or to create an interesting effect.

Surreal

Being strange or unusual as if in a dream.

Sentence Fragment

An incomplete sentence, sometimes even just a word.

Contrast

Standing in opposition of another thing.

Notable quotes

A spoken or unspoken thought that communicates an important concept.

Symbols

A mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship.

Motif

Any recurring element in a story that has symbolic significance or the reason behind actions.

Extended metaphor

An author’s exploitation of a single metaphor or analogy at length through multiple linked tenors, vehicles, and grounds throughout a poem or story.

Protagonist

The main character.

Antagonist

A character or situation that gets in the way of the main character doing what they want to do.

Epiphanies

An experience of a sudden and striking realization.

Rhetoric

The art of persuasion.

Catharsis

The purging of emotion through pity or fear.

Thesis/Antithesis/Synthesis

A proposition followed by its opposite and then followed by mixing of the two creating a new situation, understanding, or construction.

Syllogisms

A kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two or more propositions that are asserted or assumed to be true.

Parallel Construction

When the parts of a sentence, paragraph, or book have elements that mirror each other.

Topic

What the artistic work is about - the subject of the piece.

Tone

The author's attitude towards the subject and the audience.

Theme

What the artistic work is really about - it usually tells us a complex truth about the human condition.