A level English Literature Literary Terms - prose

allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event

ambiguity

uncertainty or inexactness of meaning in language

antagonist

A character or force in conflict with the main character

anticlimax

A drop in tension in a story

antihero

a central character in a story, movie, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes.

archetype

a very typical example of a certain person or thing

Bildungsroman

A coming of age story

dynamic character

A character who grows, learns, or changes as a result of the story's action

static character

A character that does not change from the beginning of the story to the end

flat character

two-dimensional in that they are relatively uncomplicated and do not change throughout the course of a work

dialogue

Conversation between two or more characters

fable

short tale that teaches a lesson

foil

A character who acts as a contrast to another character

situational irony

An outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected

first person narrator

a narrator within the story who tells the story from the "I" perspective

omniscient narrator

a narrator who is able to know, see, and tell all, including the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters

protagonist

the main character in a literary work

verisimilitude

the quality of appearing to be true, real, likely, or probable

juxtaposition

the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

oxymoron

a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction e.g. deafening silence

alliterative

the repeating of initial consonant sounds in language

ironic

turning out against expectation

hyperbole

extreme exaggeration

pathetic fallacy

The attribution of human emotions or characteristics to inanimate objects or to nature; for example angry clouds; a cruel wind. The feelings mirror the mood of a character.

tropes

a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression