Midterm vocabulary

allusion

a figure of speech whereby the author refers to a subject matter such as a place, event, or literary work by way of a passing reference. It is up to the reader to make a connection to the subject being mentioned.

Ambiguity

occurs when words, sentences and texts have more than one meaning. This can be deliberate or unintentional.

Atmosphere

creates the mood of a story and its emotional impact on readers. It often emerges from the story’s situations and settings.

CHARATERNYMS

constitute a literary technique in which distinctive personality traits of a character are reflected in through his or her name itself.

CONNOTATION

refers to the associations people make with words that go beyond their literal or dictionary definition. These associations often create or evoke emotions or feelings in the reader

Diction

is the selection of words in a literary work. It forms one of the work's centrally important literary elements, as writers use words to convey action, reveal character, imply attitudes, identify themes, and suggest values.

Empathy

is the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.

Epiphany

is a revelation of such power and insight that it alters the entire world-view of the thinker/character who experiences it

Exposition

is a device through which a writer provides the reader with background information about the setting and the characters of the story.

FOCALIZERS

are the characters through whose consciousness the third-person narrator filters what is being presented or said in a story.

Imagery

refers to the concrete representation of a sense impression, a feeling, or an idea. In some literary works one such concrete representation predominates either by recurring throughout the work or by appearing at a critical point in the plot.

IMPERATIVE

sentence constructions include forms of verbs that issue direct commands.

INITIATION STORY

is a kind of short story in which a character—often a child or young person—first learns a significant, usually life-changing truth about the universe, society, people, or himself or herself.

Irony

refers to a contrast or discrepancy between what is said and what is meant or between what happens and what is expected to happen in life and in literature

JUXTAPOSITION

refers to the arrangement of two or more ideas, characters, actions, settings, phrases, or words side-by-side (or in similar narrative moments) for the purpose of comparison, contrast, rhetorical effect, suspense, or character development

METAFICTION

is a literary (sub)genre in which texts refer to the act of writing itself, which makes readers aware of the construction and fictional nature of the texts they are reading

POINT-OF-VIEW

refers to the manner in which a story is narrated / depicted and who it is that tells the story. Simply put, this device determines the angle and perception of the story unfolding, and it is therefore instrumental in manipulating the reader’s understanding of the narrative

PROFILING

is the act of suspecting or targeting a person on the basis of observed characteristics or behavior.

PUNS / PUNNING

 is a literary device wherein a word is used in a manner to suggest two or more possible meanings. This is generally done to the effect of creating humor or irony or wryness. This term can also refer to words that suggest meanings of similar-sounding words.

SATIRE

is a style of writing that mocks, ridicules, or pokes fun at a person, belief, or group of people in order to challenge them. Often, such texts hold up human failings to ridicule and censure

SCAPEGOAT

is a person who is blamed and punished for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.

Setting

is constituted by both the location and the time (historical and/or cyclical) in which the plot of a story occurs

STEREOTYPE

is a character who is so average or unoriginal that he or she seems like an oversimplified representation of gender, class, religious group, or occupation. This technique in creating a character can be intentionally employed for particular purposes

SUBVERSION

occurs when a concept or text aims to undermine an established idea

SURREALISM

refers to the principles, ideals, or practice of producing fantastic or incongruous imagery or effects in art, literature, film, or theater by means of unnatural or irrational juxtapositions and combinations. Such works are often marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream.

SYNTAX

refers to the grammatical structure of sentences, the format in which words and phrases are arranged to create sentences

TOKENISM

is the policy or practice of making only a symbolic effort (as to desegregate).

tone

refers to the perspective or attitude that the narrator adopts with regards to a specific character, place or development. It can portray a variety of emotions ranging from solemn, grave, and critical, to witty, wry and humorous. It helps the reader ascertain the narrator’s feelings towards a particular topic and this in turn influences the reader’s understanding of the story.

UNRELIABLE NARRATOR  

is one who depicts what they observe and experience, but misinterprets those dealings because of defective perception, personal bias or agenda, or limited understanding

UTOPIA

is an imaginary location/society where political and social perfection have been reached. The people of such places are generally clean, virtuous, healthy, and happy.

VERISIMILITUDE

is the use of real-life details to ground a story in a sense of reality.