Literary Terms

Protagonist

Main character or hero of a story.

Analogy

a comparison between two things that are otherwise very different, used to explain a point or show how they are similar in a specific way

Apostrophe

Is a rhetorical device where a speaker directly addresses someone or something that cannot respond.

Argument

The primary position or "point" the author is trying to make.

Author’s purpose

the reason an author decides to write a specific topic (to persuade, to inform, to entertain)

Assonance

A literary device characterized by the repetition of similar vowel sounds with nearby words or phrases 

Consonance

the repetition of the same consonant sounds in a line of text or poetry

Flat character

 two-dimensional character that is relatively uncomplicated and defined by a single trait or quality. These characters typically do not undergo significant internal change or development throughout a story.

Round character

three-dimensional figure with a multi-layered personality. Unlike flat characters, they feel like "real people" because they possess depth, relatable motivations, and internal contradictions.

Dynamic character

one who undergoes a significant internal change throughout the course of a story.

Static character

a character who does not undergo any significant internal change throughout the story.

Diction

the deliberate choice of words and style of expression in speech or writing, tailored to a specific audience, purpose, and tone.

Fable

a short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral lesson.

Free verse

A type of poetry that does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any musical pattern, allowing it to follow the natural rhythms of speech.

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claim not meant to be taken literally.

Memoir

a true, personal account of important moments or experiences from the author's life, written from their own perspective.

Onomatopoeia

a literary device and figure of speech where words phonetically imitate, resemble, or suggest the natural sound of the thing they describe

Oversimplification

The act of reducing complex, or situations into overly simple terms, often distorting reality or causing error.

Oxymoron

a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction

Rhetoric

the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.

Sonnet

a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line.

Style

the distinct, conscious manner in which an author arranges words, sentences, and structures to express ideas, create a unique voice, and evoke specific emotions

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create a well-formed sentence in a language, or sentence structure

Voice

(the “who”) the distinct personality, style, or "sound" of the writer or a character. It’s what makes a piece of writing feel like it was written by a specific person and no one else. 

Tone

(the “how”) the author’s attitude toward the subject matter or the audience. It is conveyed through word choice (diction) and sentence structure.

Understatement

When a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it actually is

Plot

the series of related events in a story or play, sometimes called the storyline. 

Antagonist

the character or force in a story that opposes the main character

Protagonist

the main character in a story

Fallacy

 errors in the structure or form of an argument

External Conflict

The conflict between the character and something in the outside world

Internal conflict

a psychological struggle within a person's mind, characterized by opposing thoughts, emotions, beliefs, or desires

Motif

recurring element or theme in a work of art or media.

Hubris

excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence and complacency

In Medias Res

a Latin phrase that literally translates to "in the middle of things."

Dramatic Irony

When the audience or reader knows key information that the characters in a story don’t.

Situational Irony

is when what happens is very different from what is expected to happen.

Verbal Irony

when someone says something but means the opposite of what their words literally state.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that makes an implicit comparison between two unlike things

Mood/Atmosphere

The feeling or emotional response a work of literature evokes in the reader.

Colloquialism

The use of informal words, phrases, or slang in a piece of writing or speech. Often used in everyday conversation rather than in formal writing or speaking.

Satire

a literary genre or form of art that uses humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize human folly, vice, or social and political issues.

Setting

Time, place, and social/cultural context in which a story, event, or artwork unfolds.

Smilie

a figure of speech that directly compares two different things using the words "like" or "as."

Symbolism

forms of expression where a tangible object, person, action, or idea represents something deeper

Tragedy

Serious and dramatic story where the main character (often called the tragic hero) suffers a downfall.

Theme

 the central, underlying message or big idea of a literary work

Foil

 A foil character is a literary device used by an author to highlight the qualities of another character, typically the protagonist, by providing a stark contrast.

Flashback

A flashback is a literary device in which a scene from the past is inserted into the main narrative of a story.

First Person POV

a narrative perspective where the storyteller is a character within the story, telling it from their own experience. This is indicated by the use of first-person pronouns such as "I," "me," "my," and "we

Third person POV limited

a narrative perspective in which the narrator is an all-knowing, all-seeing observer who is not a character in the story.

Allusion

is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance

Direct characterization

when the author explicitly tells the reader about a character's traits

Indirect characterization

characterization is a method used by an author to reveal a character's personality

Foreshadowing

Literary used to give people hints on

What’s to come later in the story.

Imagery

Using visual literary work to describe what’s going on to make the reader understand how it feels.

fiction

prose that tells about imaginary characters and events.Short stores and novels are examples of this type of writing. Some writers base their writing on actual events and people, adding invented characters, dialogue, setting, and plots

novel

A long work of fiction- it contains such elements as charaters, plot, conflict, and setting. The writer (novelist) develops these elements in addition to the main plot, it may contain one or more subplots , or independent, related stories. It may also have several themes

Novella

a work of fiction that is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.

Short story

a brief work of fiction. Like a novel, it presents a sequence of events, or plot.The plot usually deals with central conflict faced by a main character or protagonist. This message, or central idea, is the story’s theme.

plot

sequence of events in which each event results from a pervious one and causes the next. In most novels, dramas, short stories and narrative poems, it involves both characters and a central conflict

exposition

Introduces the setting(time and place of the story), the characters, and the basic situation.(conflict is often introduced toward the end of this plot).

Rising action

Events that increase the tension.

Climax

The turning part in the story. It is the high point in the action of the plot. it is the moment of greatest tension when the outcome of the plot hangs in the balance.

Falling action

Is the part of a story when the conflict lessens:events that follow the climax

resolution

Is the story’s conclusion: final outcome is achieved; loose ends are tied up

Character

A person or an animal that takes part in the action of a literary work. The main, or major, one is the most important one in a story, poem, or play.

setting

the time and place of the action. It includes the details of a place and time- the year, the time of day, and even the weather.

theme

Central message, concern, or purpose in a literary work. it can usually be expressed as generalization, or a general statement , about human beings or life. It’s not the summary of this plot.

point of view

The perspective , or vantage point, from which a story is told.It us either a narrator outside the story or a character in it.

Conflict

a struggle between opposing forces. it is one of the most important elements in a story, novels, and plays because it causes the action.there are two types:external and internal .

Flashback

A scene within a story that interrupts the sequence of sequence of events to relate events that accord in the past.

foreshadowing

The author’s use of clues to hint at what might happen later in the story

external conflict

One in which a character struggles against some kind of outside force, such as another person. another one may occur between a character and a force of nature.

Internal conflict

it takes place within the mind of the character. The character struggles to make a decision, take an action, or overcome a feeling.

First-person point of veiw

Told by a character who uses the first person pronoun “I.”

Third-person POV

There are two kinds, limited and omniscient. This is called “third person” because the narrator uses third person pronouns such as he or she to refer to the characters.

TP Limited

the narrator relates the inner thoughts and feelings of only one character, and everything is viewed from that character’s perspective.

TP Omiscient

the narrator knows all tells about each character and what each thinks and feels.

dialect

the form of a language spoken by people in the particular region or group. They differ in pronunciation, grammer, and word choice.

Diolauge

conversation between characters. in poems, novels, and short story’s dialogue is usually set off by quotation marks to indicate a speaker’s exact words

Protagonist

the main character in a literary work it is often a person but sometimes it can be an animal.

Antagonist

this is a character or force in conflict with a main, or protagonist.

tone

The writer’s attitude toward his or her audience and subject, it can often be described by a single adjective, such as formal or informal, serious or playful, bitter, or ironic.

Mood

the general feeling or atmosphere that a piece of writing creates within the reader.

Alliteration

the repetition of initial consonant souns. writers use this device to draw attention to words ideas to imitate sounds

Comedy

A literary work, especially a play which is light often humorous or satirical and ends happily they frequently depict ordinary characters faced with temporary difficulties and conflicts.

Drama

A stroy written to be preformed by actors although it is meant to be performed one can also read the script or written version and imagine action.

Script

made up of dilouge and stage direactions

Dialouge

the words spoken by actors

acts

this is how drama is divided

stage directions

note s include in a drama describe how the work is to be preformed on stage these are usually printed in italics enclosed within parentheses or brackets they describe the movements costumes emotional states and ways of speaking of the character

scene

A section of uninterrupted action in the act of drama

playwright

A person who writes plays

tradegy

In a work of literature, especially a play that results in a catastrophe for the main character in modern drama the main character can be an ordinary person and the cause of it can be some evil in society itself

Set

the scenery used for a play or movie

theater

a building or outdoor area in which plays and other dramatic preformances are given

prop

a protable object other than furniture or costumes used on the set of play or movie

dynamic character

one who changes or grows during the corse of work

static chracater

one who does not change