A Level English Literature: Unseen Prose Key Terms

denotation

the literal meaning of the wods

choronology

simple chronology, framed narratives, flashbacks, cyclical structure, shifts in time/place

analeptic narrative

flashbacks, after events have taken place

proleptic narrative

flashforward

conventional story-telling elements

exposition, complication, foreshadowing, crisis/defining moment, resolution

characterisation

physical appearance, movements, thoughts, words, interactions with others, direct/implicit revelation of attitudes, realistic/unrealistic presentation

narrative gaps

things left out, left to reader's imagination/speculation

caricature

exaggerated portrayal

pathos

appeal to emotion

types of narration

first person, second person, third person, characters' perspectives being privileged, character as the centre of consciousness

points of view

physical, ideological, perceptual, privileged or marginalised characters' perspectives, narrative gaps

categories of speech and thought

direct, indirect, narrator's representation of speech, indirect/free indirect discourse, patterns of speech

adjective

describing word, modifies a noun

adverb

describing word, modifies all words excluding nouns

abstract noun

naming word for an idea, concept, state of being, belief

demonstrative pronoun

this, that, those

third person pronoun

his, hers, it, them

superlative

adjective that displays the most extreme value of its quality

active verb

represents a physical action

modal verb

auxiliary verb that expresses a degree of either possibility or necessity

imperative sentence mood

issuing a command

parenthetic commas

an aside within a text created by sectioning off extra information between brackets, dashes, or between two commas

register

level of formality of a text

archaism

a word that has fallen out of common usage

colloquialism

informal language

clipping

colloquial omission of parts of words to create a more casual alternative

dialect

regional variation of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation from other regional varieties and constituting together with them a single lanuage

tenor

tone or relationship between author and reader and how it is created

antithesis

when ideas contrast or oppose each other, a semantic contrast in a text, often used in reasoned arguments or to create emphasised contrast

binary opposites

elements of a text that hold opposite ends of a notional scale

hypophora

when a rhetorical question is immediately followed by an answer

parenthesis

an aside within a text created by sectioning off extra information between brackets, dashes, between two commas

parallelism/patterning

creation of patterns in a text through repetition of words

phonological parallelism

repetition of words or phrases

semantic parallelism

balancing meanings for deliberate effect

polysemy

deliberate use of more than one meaning for a sign or word

homonym

opposite of polysemy, coincidental use of a word that has multiple meanings

litotes

deliberate downplaying of things for effect

assonance

repetition of vowel sounds, can create rhyme

mimesis

mimicry, use of the sounds of words to present the situation in a text

allegory

narrative in which literal meaning corresponds clearly and directly to symbolic meaning

anecdote

the brief narration of a single event of incident

black comedy

disturbing or absurd material presented in a humorous manner, usually with the intention to confront uncomfortable truths

didactic literature

intended to instruct or educate

elergy

a formal poem that laments the death of a friend or public figure

metafiction

fiction that concerns the nature of fiction of itself, either by reinterpreting a previous fictional work or by drawing attention to its own fictional status

noir

a fiction genre, popularised in the 1940s, with a cynical, disillusioned, loner protagonist

nonfiction

a narrative work that reports true events

parody

humorous and often satirical imitation of the style or particular work of another author

pastoral

a celebration of the simple, rustic life of shepherd and shepherdesses, usually written by a sophisticated, urban writer

satire

a work that exposes to ridicule the shortcomings of individuals, institutions or society, often to make a political point