Lit Terms

archetype

archetype

a character, action, or situation that is a prototype or pattern of human life generally; a situation that occurs over and over again in literature, such as a quest, an initiation, or an attempt to overcome evil

characters

people or animals who take part in the action of a literary work

Readers learn about characters from:
· what they say (dialogue)
· what they do (actions)
· what they think (interior monologue)
· what others say about them
· through the author's direct statement

flat character

person or animal in whom the author emphasizes a single important trait

round character

a complex, personality (three-dimensional)

static character

a person or animal who changes very little over the course of a narrative; things happen to these characters, but little happens in them

dynamic character

a character that changes in response to the actions through which he or she passes

antagonist

the character pitted against the protagonist of a work with whom the readers most often identify; usually has evil or distasteful qualities but are not necessarily all bad. If is all-evil, he/she is considered a villain

protagonist

the most important or leading character in a work; usually identical to the hero/heroine, but not always; can have both good and bad qualities

foil

a character, who by contrast with the main character, serves to accentuate that character's distinctive qualities or characteristics

stock

a type of character who regularly appears in certain literary forms; they are often stereotyped characters

conflict

describes the tension between opposing forces in a work of literature

external conflict

a struggle against an outside force (person against person, nature, society)

internal conflict

a struggle between opposing needs, desires, or emotions within a character

diction

word choice intended to convey a certain effect

denotation

dictionary definition of a word

connotation

feelings and attitudes associated with a word

dialect

regional variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary; language peculiar to a particular group or social class

dialogue

character's voice; the conversation between two or more characters

euphemism

the use of a word or phrase that is less direct but is also less distasteful or less offensive than another

idiom

an expression that means something different from the literal meaning of the words

formal diction

polysyllabic, usually no contractions, scholarly

colloquial

conversational; informal language, use contractions

vernacular diction

language or dialect of a particular group or region

slang

language that is very informal; not standard

jargon

language that is specialized to a particular occupation or group

standard diction

language accepted as the norm; language used in most writing for school

imagery

consists of the words or phrases a writer uses to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and ideas descriptively by appealing to the senses

visual, auditory, tactile, papillary, olfactory

mood

the atmosphere or predominant emotion in a literary work

plot

the sequence of events or actions in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem

Freytag's Pyramid is a convenient diagram that describes the typical pattern of a dramatic or fictional work

exposition

The storyteller sets the scene and the character's background.

inciting incident

The character reacts to something that has happened, and it starts a chain reaction of events.

rising action

The story builds. There is often a complication, which means the problem the character tried to solve gets more complex.

climax

The story reaches the point of greatest tension between the protagonist and antagonist.

falling action

The story shifts to action that happens as a result of the climax, which can also contain a reversal (when the character shows how they are changed by the events of the climax).

denouement

The character solves the problem or conflict. resolution

flashback

a scene that interrupts the action of a work to show a previous event

foreshadowing

the use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action

subplot

a part of the story that develops separately from the main story

parallel plot

a story structure in which the writer includes two or more separate narratives linked by a common character, event, or theme

point of view

the perspective from which a narrative is told

1st person

narrator is a character in the story (I)

3rd person limited

narrator is not a character in the story but zooms in on the thoughts and feelings of one (or a very few) character(s)

3rd person omniscient

narrator is not a character in the story but can tell us what all (or many) of the characters are thinking and feeling as well as what is happening in other places.

3rd person objective

narrator is not a character in the story but can only report what characters say and do, not what any of them are thinking or feeling. It is as if a camera were reporting the events without any commentary. This point of view is very rarely used in literature.

rhetorical shift or turn

refers to a change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization, or insight gained by the speaker, a character, or the reader

epiphany

used more figuratively to describe the insight or revelation gained when one suddenly understands the essence of a (generally commonplace) object, gesture, statement, situation, moment, or mentality—that is, when one "sees" that commonplace object for what it really is beneath the surface and perceives its inner workings or nature

setting

the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem take place

structure

the framework or organization of a literary selection.

usually determined by plot and by chapter division.

of drama depends upon its division into acts and scenes.

of an essay depends upon the organization of ideas.

of poetry is determined by its rhyme scheme and stanzaic form.

style

the writer's characteristic manner of employing language

suspense

the quality of a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem that makes the reader or audience uncertain or tense about the outcome of events

syntax

the arrangement of words and the order of grammatical elements in a sentence

theme

the central message of a literary work

the idea the author wishes to convey about the subject. It is expressed as a sentence or general statement about life or human nature.

tone

the writer's or speaker's attitude toward a subject, character, or audience, and it is conveyed through the author's choice of diction, point of view, imagery, detail, and syntax

can be serious, humorous, sarcastic, indignant, objective, etc.

figure of speech

words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of something else

apostrophe

a form of personification in which the absent or dead are spoken to as if present and the inanimate, as if animate

metaphor

a comparison of two unlike things not using "like" or "as"

metonymy

a form of metaphor

the name of one thing is applied to another thing with which it is closely associated. (symbol)

oxymoron

a form of paradox that combines a pair of opposite terms into a single unusual expression

paradox

occurs when the elements of a statement contradict each other

Although the statement may appear illogical, impossible, or absurd, it turns out to have a coherent meaning that reveals a hidden truth.

personification

a kind of metaphor that gives inanimate objects or abstract ideas human characteristics

pun

a play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings

can have serious as well as humorous uses.

simile

a comparison of two different things or ideas through the use of the words "like" or "as"

synecdoche

a form of metaphor

the reverse of something is used to signify the whole. Also the reverse can occur, whereby the whole can represent a part.

sound devices

stylistic techniques that convey meaning through sound

alliteration

the practice of beginning several consecutive or neighboring words with the same sound

assonance

the repetition of vowel sounds in a series of words

consonance

the repetition of consonant sound within a series of words used to create a harmonious effect (not at beginning of words but in middle or end)

onomatopoeia

the use of words that mimic the sounds they describe

rhyme

the repetition of sounds in two more words or phrases starting with vowel sound and continuing to end of word

end rhyme

rhyme occurs at the end of lines

internal rhyme

rhyme occurs within the line

rhyme scheme

patterns of end rhymes (example: A B A B)

meter

rhythm that continuously repeats a single basic pattern; a measure or unit of metrical verse

allegory

the presentation of an abstract idea through more concrete means; typically a narrative that has at least two levels of meaning

The first is the surface-level story line, which can be summed up by stating who did what to whom and when. Although they have coherent plots, their authors expect readers to recognize the existence of a second and deeper level of meaning, which may be moral, political, philosophical, or religious.

allusion

a reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place, or thing

hyperbole

a deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration

It may be used for either serious or comic effect.

irony

occurs in three types.

the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

verbal irony

occurs when a speaker or narrator says one thing while meaning the opposite

situational irony

occurs when a situation turns out differently from what one would normally expect--though often the twist is oddly appropriate

dramatic irony

occurs when a character or speaker says or does something that has different meanings from what he thinks it means, though the audience and other characters understand the full implications of the speech or action

sarcasm

the use of verbal irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it

motif

a term that describes a pattern or strand of imagery or symbolism in a work of literature

satire

refers to the use of humorous devices like irony, understatement, and exaggeration to highlight a human folly or a societal problem

The purpose is to bring the flaw to the attention of the reader in order that it may be addressed, remedied, or eradicated

symbolism

the use of any object, person, place, or action that both has a meaning in itself and that stands for something larger than itself, such as a quality, attitude, belief, or value. There are two basic types: universal, contexual

universal symbol

is common to all mankind

contextual

used in a particular way by an individual author

understatement

the opposite of hyperbole

It is a kind of irony that deliberately represents something as being much less than it really is.

meiosis

a literary device that uses euphemistic understatement to downplay or undermine a person, event, object, or movement

litotes

ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary