lit terms masterlist

ambiguity

a word or expression that can be understood in two or more possible ways (k's words)

anachronism

something that places someone or something associated with a particular historical time in the wrong time period

archetype

a character, symbol, or event that is consistently recurring across literature and thought (hand reaching)

connotation

the use of a word to suggest a different association than its literal meaning (a second definition) (lip service)

denotation

the literal definition of a word, or its dictionary definition

details

the bits of factual information that help the reader understand better

epigraph

a short quotation/line at the beginning of a work that hints at its theme (80% of blah blah)

flashback

a literary device that interrupts the chronological order of a story to show a scene that happened in the past (river scene)

foreshadowing

a literary device that authors use to hint at what will happen later in a story (my body moved on its own)

imagery (tactile, gustatory, visual, olfactory, auditory)

a literary device that uses descriptive language to appeal to a reader's senses: visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), tactile (touch), gustatory (taste), and olfactory (smell)

in medias res

into the middle of a narrative; without preamble (inception)

mood

the overall feeling or atmosphere that a piece of writing creates for the reader (what the reader is feeling)

moral

a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event

motif

a repeated pattern, such as an image, word, sound, or symbol, that has symbolic significance and appears throughout a story (k reaching for i)

parable

a short, fictional story that illustrates a moral or spiritual lesson, often in a religious context

syntax

the set of rules that determines the arrangement of words in a sentence (sentence structure)

theme

the central idea, subject, or message that a writer explores in a work (reaching, saving etc.)

tone

the attitude or feeling that an author has about the subject they are writing about (what the writer feels)

allegory

story, picture, or other piece of art that uses symbols to convey a hidden or ulterior meaning, typically a moral or political one (lip service)

allusion

a reference to another work of literature, person, or event (dp to tt)

apostrophe

address to an absent, dead or imaginary person (am vision of ne)

euphemism

a word or phrase that softens an uncomfortable topic (she kicked the bucket vs. she died)

hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally (k "i hate him")

irony (dramatic)

when the readers know something important which the characters do not (v backstories)

irony (verbal)

one thing is said while another thing is meant (lip service)

irony (situational)

a situation or event that is the opposite of what is or might be expected (k saving i)

irony (romantic)

the procedure by which apparently significant gestures or assertions or decisions are made only to immediately collapse (i saving/killing s)

metaphor (direct)

when a comparison is made between two things explicitly and it is easy to detect

metaphor (indirect)

a metaphor does not explicitly say that one thing is another, but they hint at a connection in a subtler way than direct metaphors

metaphor (extended)

a version of metaphor that extends over the course of multiple lines, paragraphs, or stanzas of prose or poetry

metonymy

figure of speech in which the name of an object or concept is replaced with a word closely related to or suggested by the original (crown vs king)

oxymoron

a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction (deafening silence... iykyk)

paradox

a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth (the only constant is change (k cHarAcTeR deVeLOPmEnT)

personification

the giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or idea

pun

a figure of speech that plays with words that have multiple meanings (math counts)

simile

a comparison using "like”, "as", or “than”

symbol

an object, person, place, action, or situation that has a literal meaning in a story but also suggests or represents other meanings (am)

synesthesia

a rhetorical device that involves blending two or more senses together to describe an object or phenomenon (his chilling gaze)

synecdoche

a figure of speech that uses a part of something to represent the whole, or vice versa (he commands a hundred sails - navy army ship thing)

understatement

a device that deliberately minimizes the importance of a situation (k apologising to i)

alliteration

repetition of consonant sounds

antecedent

the word, phrase, or clause referred to by a pronoun (k is the top of his class)

conceit

a figure of speech that compares two things that seem very different or incongruous (life is a bowl of cherries)

contrast

difference between things (poverty vs wealth)

metaphysical conceit

an entire extended metaphor that lasts throughout the poem

meter

a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry (shall I compare thee to a summer's day?)

referent

a person, thing, or idea that a word, symbol, or linguistic expression refers to (carlo poured a cup of coffee and sipped it slowly)

rhyme: masculine

a type of rhyme that occurs when the final syllables of two words rhyme and are stressed (keep & deep)

rhyme: feminine

a rhyme that contains a stressed syllable followed by one or more unstressed syllables (motion & ocean)

shift

a literary device in which the tone or mood in a piece of writing is changed in order to define characters or make a novel or poem more interesting, engaging, and effective (he speaker shifts from the wistful mood of the previous lines to a more hopeful, ecstatic mood)

stanza

a group of lines in a poem that are arranged together as a unit

structure

the way a story's elements are organized, such as its plot, characters, themes, setting, and events (plot)

bildungsroman

a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of a protagonist from childhood to adulthood (tkam)

climax

the most intense moment in a story, where the main conflict is resolved and the protagonist reaches or fails to reach their goal (k death)

internal conflict

a psychological struggle that occurs within a character's mind, often called "man vs. self" (internalized homophobia idfk)

external conflict

a struggle between a character and an outside force (i vs s)

denouement

the final part of a story's narrative arc that occurs after the climax and falling action, where the conflict is resolved and the reader is left with closure (falling resolution)

epiphany

sudden realization (v are human)

epistolary

the works of fiction that are written in the form of letters or other documents (message delivered)

exposition

background information presented in a literary work (80% shit)

falling action

events after the climax, leading to the resolution (424)

gothic romance

a romance that deals with desolate and mysterious and grotesque events (dark romance)

inciting incident / event

a key event that starts conflict in a story and is an essential part of a compelling story

metafiction

prose narrative in which attention is directed to the process of fictive composition (little women)

motivation

the reason why the protagonist does what they do (dreams)

narrative pace

a literary device that can be used to captivate and maintain a reader's interest (slow af)

plot

a sequence of events that describe what happens in a story and why it happens

resolution

the conclusion of the story (424-430)

rising action

the part of a story that builds tension and suspense as it leads up to the climax

setting

the time and place where a story takes place (q)

stream of consciousness

a narrative style that tries to capture a character's thought process in a realistic way (they know the thoughts)

quixotic

overly idealistic; impractical

antagonist

a character or force in conflict with the main character (s)

agency

a term used to describe a character's ability to take action and impact the events of a story (cheating vs integrity)

carthasis

the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions (r+j dying)

direct characterisation

tells the audience what the personality of the character is (he's a sad boi lol)

indirect characterisation

the process by which the personality of a fictitious character is revealed through the character's speech, actions, appearance, etc.

dynamic character

a character who undergoes a significant internal change over the course of a story (k)

foil character

a character's whose main purpose is to highlight the strengths of another character (s vs i)

hamartia (tragic flaw)

a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine (loyalty - percy jackson)

hubris

excessive pride (annabeth)

perspective

the way a character/narrator sees themselves, their world, their place in the world, etc.

protagonist

main character (izu)

first person point of view (singular)

the narrator is a person in the story, telling the story from their own point of view

first person point of view (plural)

a narrative technique that uses words like "we," "us," and "ours" to tell a story from a group's perspective

second person point of view

the narrator addresses the reader directly using the pronoun "you"

third person point of view (limited)

the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of one character

third person point of view (omniscient)

point of view where the narrator knows all the thoughts, actions, and feelings of all characters

third person point of view (objective)

a narrative style in which the thoughts and feelings of characters are not presented at all

story circle - 1

you, establish the protagonist

story circle - 2

need - something isn’t right

story circle - 3

go! - crossing the threshold

story circle - 4

search - the road of trials

story circle - 5

find - meeting the goddess

story circle - 6

take - paying the price

story circle - 7

return - bringing it home

story circle - 8

change - master of both worlds (final show)