lit elements

Characterization

The representation of the traits, motives, and psychology of a character in a narrative.

Couplet

A two-line stanza, usually with end-rhymes the same.

Diction

The choice of words used in writing.

Figurative Language

Creative language that suggests a non-literal meaning.

Hyperbole

A deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration, used for either serious or comic effect.

Idiom

An expression that conveys a figurative meaning different from the literal meaning; for example, 'it’s raining cats and dogs.'

Imagery

Sensory details in a work of literature, often used in the course of description.

Irony

When the actual meaning is opposed to the suggested meaning; includes verbal, situational, and dramatic irony.

Metaphor

A figurative comparison between two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'.

Mood

The feelings that the literary work evokes in the reader.

Motif

An important, recurring idea, structure, or image; can be expressed as a single word.

Paraphrase

A restatement of ideas or text that changes the diction and form while keeping the same meaning.

Personification

A kind of metaphor that gives non-human things human characteristics.

Plot

The sequence of events in a literary work including exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

Point of View

The perspective from which a story is told by a narrator.

Rhetorical Appeals

How an author convinces the reader using logos (logic), ethos (ethics), pathos (emotion), and kairos (time and place).

Rhetorical Devices

Linguistic tools used to create a specific effect on an audience.

Antithesis

Contrast of two opposing ideas; for example, 'best of times / worst of times.'

Asyndeton

Leaving out conjunctions like 'and'; for example, 'I came, I saw, I conquered.'

Allusion

A reference to a work or historical event.

Analogy

Comparison between two things to show similarities.

Repetition / Anaphora

Repeats a word or phrase at the beginning of a sentence.

Rhyme

When the sound at the end of a word matches the sound at the end of another word.

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of rhymes at the end of each line in a poem or song.

Setting

The time and place of a literary work.

Simile

A figurative comparison between two unlike things using 'like' or 'as'.

Stanza

A repeated grouping of three or more lines with the same meter and rhyme scheme.

Style

The distinctive way an author expresses themselves through language.

Symbol

Something that is both itself and a sign of something else.

Text Structures

How non-fiction authors order their texts.

Theme

The main thought or idea expressed in a work.

Tone

The author's attitude toward what they are writing about.

Universal Theme

A theme that applies to anyone regardless of time, place, or culture.

Epic Theme

Themes that appear in epic literature, such as invoking the gods and heroism.