Literary Terms

A list of literary terms for sophomores.

Allegory

a story in which people, things and actions represent an idea or a generalization about life; these often have a strong moral or lesson

Allusion

a literary reference to a familiar person, place, thing, or event

Analogy

a comparison of two or more similar objects, suggesting that if they are alike in certain respects, they will probably be alike in other ways as well

Antagonist

the person or thing working against the protagonist, or hero, of the work

Autobiography

an author’s account or story of her or his own life

Biography

the story of a person’s life written by another person

Characterization

the method an author uses to reveal characters and their personalities

Comedy

a literature in which human errors or problems appear funny. These end on a happy note

Conflict

the problem or struggle in a story that triggers the action. There are five basic types of conflict

Person vs. Person

One character in a story has a problem with one or more of the characters

Person vs. Society

A character has a problem with some element of society: the school, the law, the accepted way of doing things

Person vs. Self

A character has a problem deciding what to do in a certain situation

Person vs. Nature

A character has a problem with nature: heat, cold, a tornado, an avalanche, or any other element of nature

Person vs. Fate (God)

A character must battle what seems to be an uncontrollable problem. Whenever the conflict is an unbelievable or strange coincidence, it can be attributed to fate or an act of God

Context

the set of facts or circumstances surrounding an event or a situation in a piece of literature

Dialogue

the conversation carried on by the characters in a literary work

Diction

an author's choice of words based on their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness

Colloquialism

an expression that is usually accepted in informal situations and certain locations, as in “He really grinds my beans.”

Jargon

(Technical diction) is the specialized language used by a particular group, such as those who use computers: override, interface, download

Profanity

language that shows disrespect for someone or something regarded as holy or sacred

Slang

the informal language used by a particular group of people among themselves; it is also language that is used in fiction to lend color and feeling: awesome, chill out, no way

Vulgarity

language that is generally considered crude, gross, and, at times, offensive. It is sometimes used in fiction to add realism

Didactic

literature instructs or presents a moral or religious statement

Drama

the form of literature known as plays; but also refers to the type of serious play that is often concerned with is he leading character’s relationship to society

Empathy

putting yourself in someone else’s place and imagining how that person must feel

Epic

a long narrative poem that tells of the deeds and adventures of a hero

Epitaph

a short poem or verse written in memory of someone

Epithet

a word or phrase used in place of a person’s place; it is a characteristic of that person: Alexander the Great, Material Girl, Ms. Know-It-All

Essay

a piece of prose that expresses an individual’s point of view; usually, it is a series of closely related paragraphs that combine to make a complete piece of writing

Fable

a short fictional narrative that teaches a lesson. It usually includes animals that talk and act like people

Antithesis

an opposition, or contrast, of ideas

Hyperbole

an exaggeration or overstatement

Metaphor

a comparison of two unlike things in which no word of comparison (like or as) is used

Metonymy

the substituting of one word for another related word

Personification

a literary device in which the author speaks of or describes an animal, object, or idea as if it were a human

Simile

a comparison of two unlike things using the words “like” or “as”

Understatement

a way of emphasizing an idea by talking about it in a restrained manner

Flashback

returning to an earlier time for the purpose of making someone in the present more clear

Foil

someone who serves as a contrast or challenge to another character

Foreshadowing

is giving hints or clues of what is to come later in the story

Genre

refers to a category or type of literature based on its style, form, and content

Hubris

derived from the Greek word meaning “excessive pride.” In Greek tragedy, this is often viewed as the flaw that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero

Imagery

the use of words to create a certain picture in the reader’s mind; usually based on sensory details

Irony

using a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or normal meaning; there are 3 kinds of irony: dramatic, verbal, situation

Memoir

writing based on the writer’s memory of a particular time, place, or incident. Reminiscence is another term for this

Mood

the feeling a text arouses in the reader: happiness, peacefulness, sadness, and so on

Moral

the particular value or lesson the author is trying to get across to the reader. The “moral of the story” is a common phrase in Aesop’s fables

Motif

the term for an often-repeated idea or theme in literature

Myth

traditional story that attempts to justify a certain practice or belief or to explain a natural phenomenon

Narrator

person who is telling the story

Novel

a lengthy fictional story with a plot that is revealed by the speech action, and thoughts of the characters

Novella

a prose work longer than the standard short story, but shorter and less complex than a full length novel

Oxymoron

a combination of contradictory terms as in jumbo shrimp, tough love, or cruel kindness

Paradox

a statement that seems contrary to common sense, yet may, in fact, be true: “The coach considered this a good loss.”

Plot

the action or sequence of events in a story. It is usually a series of related incidents that build upon one another as the story develops

Exposition

writing that is intended to explain something that might otherwise be difficult to understand. In a play or novel, it would be the portion that gives the background or situation surrounding the story

Climax

usually the most intense point in a story. A series of struggles or conflicts builds a story or play toward this

Resolution

or denouement, is the portion of the play or story in which the problem is solved. It comes after the climax and falling action and is intended to bring the story to a  satisfactory end

Point of View

the vantage point from which the story is told. In first-person point of view, the story is told by one of the characters. In third-person point of view, the story is told by someone outside the story

Omniscient Point of View

allows the narrator to share the thoughts and feelings of all the characters

Limited omniscient point of view

allows the narrator to share the thoughts and feelings of only one character

Camera view

allows the storyteller to record the action from his or her own point of view, being unaware of any of the characters’ thoughts or feelings

Protagonist

main character or hero of the story

Romance

a literary movement with an emphasis on the imagination and emotions

Satire

a literary tone used to make fun of human vice or weakness, often with the intention of correcting or changing the subject of the attack

Setting

the time and place in which the action of a literary work occurs

Soliloquy

a speech delivered by a character when he or she is alone stage. It is as though the character is thinking out loud

Symbol

A person, a place, a thing, or an event used to represent something else

Theme

a statement about life that a writer is trying to get across in a piece of writing; most cases it is implied

Tone

the overall feeling, or effect, created by a writer’s use of words. This feeling may be serious, humorous, or satiric

Tragedy

a literary work in which the hero is destroyed by some character flaw or by forces beyond his or her control