USA Test Prep Lit Response & Analysis Terms

Aesthetic

the beauty of something

Allegory

a story with two or more levels of meaning--a literal level and a symbolic level--in which events, setting, and characters are symbols for ideas or qualities

Alliteration

the repetition of initial consonant sounds at the beginnings of words

Allusion

the reference to a person, place, or event from history, literature, or religion with which a reader is likely to be familiar

Ambiguity

vagueness: the state of having more than one possible meaning which often leads to misunderstanding because the meaning is not clear

Analogy

a comparison based on a similarity between things that are otherwise not similar

Analyze

to separate a whole into its parts; to examine and think critically about something

Antagonist

the person or force that creates conflict for the main character in a literary work

Argument

one or more reasons presented by a speaker or a writer to lead the audience or reader to a logical conclusion.

Aside

This is a short speech delivered by an actor in a play which expresses the actor's thoughts. It is usually said directly to the audience and not heard by other actors.

Author's Background

This includes information essential to understanding the author. A reader's experience with a literary work can be enhanced by knowing about the author's life and culture.

Author's Purpose

This is the author's reason for creating written work.

Believability

This is the ability to trust something as true or credible.

Bias

This is a prejudice that is leaning toward a positive or negative judgment on something; a personal judgment or opinion about a particular person, position, or thing.

Central Idea

The key point made in a written passage; the chief topic.

Central Message

This is the theme of a story, novel, poem, or drama that readers can apply to life.

Character

This is an individual's mental or moral quality.

Characterization

This is the combination of ways that an author shows readers what a person in a literary selection is like.

Characters

These are the people or animals who take part in a literary work.

Climax

This is the part of the plot where the conflict and tension reach a peak.

Comedy

This is a work of literature, especially a play, that has a happy ending.

Comic Relief

This is a funny or humorous episode inserted in the midst of a serious literary work. It is intended to relieve dramatic tension.

Compare

This is a method of relating how two or more elements or texts are SIMILAR.

Compare And Contrast

This is a method of relating two or more objects in a piece of work.

Complex

something that is complicated, difficult, or consists of interrelated parts.

Conclusion

This wraps up a piece of writing and reminds readers of the thesis.

Conflict

the main problem in a literary work.

Controlling Idea

the author's opinion or the perspective he/she wants to convey expressed through the thesis statement for an essay, or through a topic sentence within an individual paragraph

Cultural Elements

This includes language, ideologies, beliefs, values, and norms. These elements help to shape the life of a society.

Dialogue

the words spoken by characters in a literary work.

Diction

the writer's choice of words, including the vocabulary used, the appropriateness of the words, and the vividness of the language.

Direct Characterization

when an author reveals a person in the story characterization by giving specific descriptions.

Drama

a story written to be performed by actors.

Dramatic Irony

when the audience or the readers know something that the characters do not know.

Dynamic Character

a person in a fictional work that changes during the course of the action.

Evaluate

placing a value, rank, or judgment on a piece of writing or speaking.

Evidence

information and support

Explain

to give extra information: to tell how, what, when, where, etc.

Extended Metaphor

This is a sustained comparison in which a subject is written or spoken of as if it were something else.

External Conflict

This is when a character has a problem with another character, nature, society, or fate.

Falling Action

This is the part of the plot where the conflict begins to be worked out and tensions lessen.

Figurative Language

This goes beyond the literal meanings of words to create special effects or feelings.

First Person

This is a point of view where the narrator is a character in the story and refers to him or herself with I.

First-person Point Of View

This is a point of view in which the story is told by one of the characters.

Flashback

This is a scene, a conversation, or an event that interrupts the present action to show something that happened in the past.

Flat Character

This is a person in a fictional work that is never fully developed by the author.

Foreshadowing

the use of hints in written works about what will happen later.

Fourth Wall

the imaginary boundary that separates the audience from the fictional world of a play.

Genre

the category or type of literature.

Hyperbole

extreme exaggeration used in a literary work.

Idiom

This is a phrase in common use that can not be understood by literal or ordinary meanings.

Imagery

This is the use of language that appeals to the five senses--touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight.

Imagery

This uses sensory images to help readers to picture a person, a place, or an event.

Indirect Characterization

This is when an author reveals a person in the story characterization through his/her words, thoughts, appearance, action, or what others think or say about him/her.

Internal Conflict

This is when a character has a problem within him or herself.

Interpretation

This is the explanation of the significance or meaning of a work.

Irony

This is the contrast between appearance and reality or what is expected and what actually happens.

Limited Third Person

This is a point of view where the narrator relates the inner thoughts and feelings of only one person.

Literary Device

A type of tool or strategy to enhance an author's style

Literary Elements

These are the components used together to create a fictional piece of writing.

Literature

This is the body of written works that includes prose and poetry.

Main Idea

the central and most important idea of a reading passage.

Major Conflict

the main problem in a literary work.

Metaphor

a direct comparison of two things, in which they are said to be (in some sense) the same thing.

Minor Conflict

This is a small problem in a literary work.

Monologue

a long, uninterrupted speech by a character in a play, story, or poem.

Mood

the feeling that an author wants readers to have while reading.

Motivation

the wants, needs, or beliefs that cause a character to act or react in a particular way.

Narrative Text

This tells the events and actions of a story.

Narrator

The person who tells the story

Novel

This is a long work of fiction. It has a complicated plot, many characters, a significant theme, and varied settings.

Omniscient

This is a point of view; the narrator KNOWS EVERYTHING about the characters and events, and describes the characters and action from outside the story.

Omniscient "Third Person P-O-V"

a point of view in which the narrator is outside the story and knows everything about the characters and events.

Omniscient Third Person

This is a point of view where the narrator relates the inner thoughts and feelings of each character.

Onomatopoeia

This is the use of words that sound like the noises they describe.

Opinion

This is a statement that reflects a writer's belief about a topic , and it cannot be proved.

Oxymoron

This is something which seemingly cannot be, yet it is; a contradiction.

Paradox

This is a statement that leads to a contradictory situation in which something seems both true and false.

Parody

This is a humorous imitation of a literary work that exaggerates or distorts the characteristic features of the original.

Person Vs. Environment

This describes the type of conflict that places a character against forces of nature.

Person Vs. Person

This describes the type of conflict when the leading character struggles with his/her physical strength against other characters, animals, or forces of nature.

Person Vs. Self

This describes the type of conflict when the leading character struggles with himself/herself; with his conscience, feelings, or ideas.

Person Vs. Technology

This describes the type of conflict that places a character against scientific advances, machines, robots,etc.

Persona

This is a speaker created by a writer, not necessarily the writer. It can simply be the narrator. It involves the characteristic speech and thought patterns of a speaker.

Personification

This is a type of figurative language in which human qualities are given to nonhuman things.

Plot

This is the series of events that happen in a literary work.

Poem

This is an arrangement of words in verse. It sometimes rhymes, and expresses facts, emotions, or ideas in a style more concentrated, imaginative and powerful than that of ordinary speech.

Poetry

This is the third major type of literature in addition to drama and prose.

Point Of View

This is the perspective from which a story is told.

Prediction

This is the act of forecasting something that may (or may not) occur later.

Problem-Solution

This method of structuring text focuses on defining an issue, then gives a possible remedy for the issue.

Protagonist

the main character in a literary work.

Pun

humorous word play that usually is based on several meanings of one word.

Relevant

This implies a thing closely relates to or is on the same subject matter; appropriate to the situation.

Rhetorical Strategy

This is a plan an author uses to effectively deliver the intended message in written work.

Rising Action

This is the part of the plot where the conflict and suspense build.

Round Character

This is a person in a fictional work that is well-developed by the author.

Satire

This is writing that uses humor to ridicule or criticize individuals, ideas, or institutions in hopes of improving them.

Sensory Details

These are images help the reader see or hear or feel things. These are details that appeal to the senses.

Setting

This is the time and place in which a literary work happens.