Literary and Media Terms

prose

prose

standard text written in sentences and paragraphs

poetry

text presented in separate lines

script

text presented as dialogue for actors, possibly with instructions

writer

general term for the creator of any text

author

the writer of a prose text (not used for the writer of poems or plays)

playwright

the writer of a drama text (wright is an old word for someone who makes things - nothing to do with write!)

poet

the writer of poems

genre

categories of literature, each category distinguished by a particular set of conventions and reader expectations.  'Genre' is used both for broad categories (drama, poetry, etc.) and specific types of text within these (lyric poem, historical drama, romantic novel, etc.)

theme

the central idea or comment about life which the writer communicates.  Sometimes this can be a "moral" or "message" pointing out what's good or bad.  More often the writer makes us think more about the less simple issues in our lives.

narrative

a story (noun); telling a story (adj.)

explicit meaning

the open, obvious, surface meaning

implicit meaning

underlying, suggested, indirectly stated meaning  The verb is "imply".

tone

the attitude which the writer or speaker suggests s/he has towards the subject and/or the audience.  (It's important not to confuse "tone" with "mood" and "atmosphere", which are the feelings characters have or which a scene seems to present.  "Mood" is also used for what readers feel.)   

hyperbole

exaggerated feeling - usually made obvious for comic or dramatic effect

speaker

The person 'speaking' the text, who may be a fictional creation - not to be automatically considered the same as the author/ poet/ playwright

point of view

the standpoint from which the story is told.  (Note 1: "from a point of view", not "in a point of view"; 2: in literary criticism, use point of view in this technical sense, not as an alternative phrase for "opinion")

first person

where the speaker uses "I"

third person

where the speaker refers only to other characters, and not to him/ herself

omniscient third person

where the third person speaker "knows everything" that happens in different places, inside characters' minds, etc.

limited third person

where the third person speaker "knows everything" about one character or characters (usually the central character(s))  or place, but describes others from the outside.

narrator

a speaker telling a story

voice

a character or personality invented by the writer to act as the speaker

narrator reliability

how far we think the narrator is telling the truth, or is made by the writer to have an incomplete or biased view

plot

not only what happens in a story, but what connects the events

exposition

the beginning of the story where the characters, setting and problem or conflict are introduced

rising action  / development

where the writer makes his/her main character start to try to work through the problem or conflict, and where suspense may be built up

climax / turning point

the most intense part of the story where the character finally works through the problem or conflict (often but not always the most exciting point of the story

falling action

a transition from the climax to the final phase of the story

resolution / denouement

the final sorting out and ending of the story  (may be expected, or surprising, or thought-provoking)

conflict / problem

the difficulty faced by the main character(s)

internal conflict

where the main character has to struggle with something inside her/himself, (such as wishes or feelings that clash with each other)

external conflict

where the main character has to struggle with something outside her/himself, (such as enemies, a difficult situation)

foreshadowing

something earlier in the story where the writer gives the reader a clue about something that will happen later

suspense

where the writer builds up a strong curiosity in the reader about what's going to happen next in the plot.

setting

the place where the text is located, and the time when it takes place; can also refer to the whole cultural context

mood, atmosphere

the feelings in a scene or character.   It's important not to confuse with “mood" and "atmosphere" with "tone" the attitudes which the writer or speaker suggests s/he has towards the subject and/or the audience.  "Mood" is also be used for what readers feel.

characters

the people in a story

major characters

the main people in a story

minor characters

the less important people in a story

dynamic character

a character whose personality changes for better or worse

static character

a character whose personality doesn't change

round character

a character with several sides to his/her personality

flat character

a character with only one side or very few dimensions to his/her personality

characterisation

the techniques the writer uses to build a character

direct characterisation

where the writer tells us plainly what the character's personality is

indirect characterisation

where the writer suggests the character's personality only through clues which the reader has to interpret

hero/heroine

an admirable character

protagonist

the main character

ballad

a poem telling a story, usually in a regular structure, traditionally for singing rather than reading

lyric

a short poem that expresses the observations and feelings of a single speaker, usually using concentrated descriptive and musical poetic language.

sonnet

A fourteen line poem, usually in iambic pentameter.  The two main types of sonnet are the Petrarchan (consisting of an eight line and a six line section - the octave and the sestet) and the Shakespearian (consisting of three quatrains and a couplet, often rhyming abab cdcd efef gg, the couplet at the end often undercutting the thought created in the rest of the poem.

free verse

poetry that is written without a regular rhyme scheme or meter (there may be rhythmic elements or rhymes within the poem, but not a consistent system)

blank verse

poetry in unrhymed iambic pentameter

stanza

a section of a poem (equivalent to a paragraph in prose -  the word 'paragraph' isn't used for poetry!)

verse

a regular stanza

refrain

the 'chorus', a set of lines repeated after each verse (originally part of a song which everyone sings when a soloist sings each new verse)

enjambement / run-on line

a line without a firm pause at the end, where we feel we have to move on to the next line to complete a thought.  (Depending on the meanings of the words, this can build tension and anticipation, or a sense of something being drawn out rather than rushed.) 

end-stopped line

a line with a pause at the end, where a sense unit is complete, most obviously made when the writer puts a punctuation mark.  (This gives the sense that an idea or part of an idea is complete, or movement is halted.)

alliteration

repeated initial consonants (Alliteration's main function is to bind words or a phrase together into a more distinct unit.  It might also have an onomatopoeic function - see below - but the two shouldn't be mixed up.  Alliteration doesn't have a plural!) 

assonance

repeated vowels (which can help to bind words or a phrase together, as in alliteration; again although assonance in some instances also has an onomatopoeic function, it's not the same)

consonance

repeated consonants not in initial positions (which can help to bind words or a phrase together - not the same as onomatopoeia)

onomatopoeia

where the sound the word itself makes imitates the meaning (to help readers' "hear" the sound)

rhythm

a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, or beats (can reinforce specific tones or moods when read in connection with the meaning, e.g. excitement, steadiness) 

stress / beat / accent

the stronger pulse or greater energy given to a syllable. (Since 'accent' usually refers to a culture's general pronunciation, it's best to avoid using it to mean 'stress'.)

metre (UK) meter (US)

metre (UK) meter (US)

a regular rhythmic pattern (can help to unify a poem)

rhyme

the repetition of sounds at the end of words - same vowel + end-consonant, or same vowel when there's no end consonant (rhyme can help to emphasize or link or contrast words and ideas in the different lines, or provide a binding structure)

rhyme scheme

a regular rhyme pattern running through a text (helps to unify a text, give a sense of starting new ideas or feelings and returning to previous ones, etc.  (The pattern can be indicated using by lower-case letters  - thus a rhyming couplet would have an aa rhyme scheme, whereas a quatrain might have an abab or an aabb or an abba rhyme scheme)

diction

the kinds of vocabulary including figures of speech the writer uses;  "diction" is often also used to include syntax. 

register

the combination of style features used to communicate in a specific social setting

syntax

the rules governing how words are connected grammatically; word order, and how sentences are constructed

imagery

Images are words and phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses.  Writers use images to create specific descriptions— to show how their subjects look, sound, smell, taste, and feel.  (Note - the plural is images: not imageries, which doesn't exist!) 

literal imagery

a word or phrase describing what actually is seen, heard, etc.

figurative imagery

a word or phrase describing a sense picture indirectly, using imaginative language, such as similes, metaphors, personification, or symbolism.

simile

a figurative image comparing two things using the words like or as (usually making an obvious comparison)

metaphor

a figurative image comparing two things by pretending that another item is the thing described.  (A metaphor usually makes a less predictable connection than a simile, the two items having little in common except one feature which the metaphor jumps us into recognizing).

personification

where a writer gives a human quality to a non-living thing to characterize it

symbol

where a writer uses a sense picture to represent an idea.  Universal symbols are widely recognized to indicate the same idea, for example, a skull to symbolize death.  Most symbols in literature are created by the writer to carry specific meanings in the context of the work.

scene

a short section of a play, usually happening at one place and time

act

a longer section of a play comprising a number of scenes

soliloquy

a speech where the actor is alone with the audience (We assume we are hearing his or her true thoughts and feelings, which may not be the case when other characters are there.)

monologue

a speech where one actor speaks at some length to other characters

dialogue

speech where two or more actors speak with each other

tragedy

a play showing the destruction of a character by the interaction of outside events and flaws in his or her character

comedy

a play in which despite problems often caused by their own faults, main characters' lives turn out all right

stage directions

instructions to the actors or stage managers

dramatic irony

where the audience knows more about what is happening in the play than the characters on stage