Lit Terms #2

point of view

Definition: The perspective from which a story is told.

first-person point of view

Definition: The narrator is a character who participates in the action of the story and uses I and me to describe himself or herself.

third-person omniscient point of view

Definition: The narrator knows everything, including the thoughts and feelings of all the characters.

third-person limited point of view

Definition: The narrator sees things through one character’s eyes and reveals that character’s feelings and thoughts.

voice

Definition: Author’s distinctive use of language to convey their personality (e.g., smooth and sophisticated, choppy and blunt, or breathless and full of wonder).

author’s purpose

Definition: The author’s main reason for writing (to inform, to entertain, to persuade, to expose a particular problem in society, etc.).

characterization

Definition: The act of creating and developing a character (can be direct or indirect; flat, round, dynamic, or static).

round character

Definition: Complex character showing many different qualities/personality traits, revealing faults as well as virtues.

flat character

Definition: One-dimensional character showing a single personality trait.

dynamic character

Definition: Character that develops, changes, and learns something during the course of a story.

static character

Definition: Character that remains the same, does not change, and does not learn.

direct characterization

Definition: The author directly tells the reader what the character is like or looks like.

indirect characterization

Definition: The author gives clues about a character by describing what a character does, says, and how other characters react to them.

theme

Definition: Central message or insight about life.

setting

Definition: Time and place in which a story occurs.

colloquialism

Definition: Informal speech that people use in everyday language (e.g., "Y’all come over to my house.").

allegory

Definition: A story with two or more levels of meaning—a literal level and one or more symbolic levels.

satire

Definition: Writing that exposes and ridicules the flaws of people in society.

style

Definition: The choices an author makes when writing, such as diction, syntax, and other literary devices.

hyperbole

Definition: Figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion.

imagery

Definition: Descriptive or figurative language used to create “word pictures” for the reader using details from the five senses.

metaphor

Definition: Comparison between two objects without using like or as.

simile

Definition: Comparison of two unlike things using like or as.

narrative

Definition: A story told in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or drama.

narrator

Definition: Speaker or character who tells the story.

tone

Definition: Reflection of a writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a subject of a literary work.

understatement

Definition: A writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is.

testimonial

Definition: Formal statement testifying to someone or something’s character.

protagonist

Definition: Main character or hero of the story.

antagonist

Definition: A character or force in conflict with the main character or protagonist.

anthropomorphism

Definition: An interpretation of what is not human or personal in terms of human or personal characteristics; humanization.

denotation

Definition: Strict, literal dictionary definition of a word.

connotation

Definition: The non-literal, implied, or suggested meaning of a word (e.g., "lemon" for a poor-performing vehicle).

free verse

Definition: Poetry not written in a regular pattern of meter or rhyme.

euphemism

Definition: A mild word substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.

diction

Definition: A writer’s choice of words.

genre

Definition: Category of literary work characterized by a particular form or style (e.g., fiction, non-fiction).