English Lit Term

Plot

The sequence of events in a story or play.

Exposition

Background information, summary, and/or explanation, often found at the beginning of a story.

Conflict

The opposing forces that tie incidents together and move the plot.

Character

A person in a fictional story.

Characterization

The process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.

Protagonist

The central character of the story; all major events are important to this character.

Antagonist

The opposition or 'enemy' of the main character/protagonist.

Dialogue

The conversation of characters in a literary work, typically enclosed within quotation marks.

Point of View (POV)

The angle or perspective from which the story is told.

Theme

The central message, underlying meaning, or key idea of a story.

Motif

Something that repeats throughout a piece of writing and usually leads to a theme.

Symbol

Something concrete used to represent something abstract.

Tone

The attitude, mood, vibe, or energy of a piece of writing.

Irony

A dissonance, incongruity, discrepancy, and/or contrast in expectation or understanding.

Foreshadow

A warning or indication of a future event.

Flashback

An interruption showing earlier events, providing background or context to current events.

Diction

Word choice or usage.

Figurative Language

Language use that conveys something other than the literal meaning of words.

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Juxtaposition

Two things being seen or placed close together for contrasting effect.

Paradox

A situation or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities.

Craft

The artistic skill or technique with which an author creates narrative and other elements.

Genre

A category of artistic composition characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

Satire

A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices and follies.

Monologue

A speech by a single character without another character's response.

Soliloquy

A speech in a play that is meant to be heard by the audience but not by other characters.

Act

A large section of a play, consisting of multiple scenes.

Alliteration

The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.

Haiku

A short poem of Japanese origin, usually about a moment of observation or insight regarding nature.

Sonnet

A poem of 14 lines, often with a volta near the end.

Bildungsroman

A novel dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education.

Tragedy

A type of drama where characters experience reversals of fortune, usually for the worse.

Comedy

A type of drama where characters experience reversals of fortune, usually for the better.