Prose Literary terms and AICE Eng Lit AS Level Info

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

Allusion

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

Analogy

a comparison based on a similarity between things that are otherwise not similar used to explain a concept or make a point.

Antagonist

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

Antithesis

the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, phrases. or words so as to produce an effect or balance

Characterization

the combination of ways (context, speech, appearance, interactions, or observations) that an author shows readers what a person in a literary selection is like

Chronological Order

ordering events according to the time at which they happened, with the earliest coming first, and the latest coming last

Circularity

the way in which the ending of a text reflects or revisits its opening

Conflict

the main problem in a literary work

Connotation

an idea or feeling that a word brings to mind in addition to its primary meaning

Context

the relationship between a text and its historical, social and cultural backgrounds

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

Dramatic Irony

when 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

Dystopian

a genre where dysfunctional imaginary human societies are presented in the form of alternative futures or histories

Epilogue

a concluding section or speech at the end of a literary work, often serving as a comment on what has happened

Epiphany

describes a character’s moment of discovery, revelation, or realization

Extended Metaphor

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

External Conflict

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

First - Person Narration

a point of view where the narrator is a character in the story and refers to him or herself using the pronouns ‘I’ and ‘me’

Flashback

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

Flat Character

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

Focalized/ Limited Vision Narration

a point of view where the reader sees events through a single character or from a restricted perspective

Foreshadow

when a writer gives hints, a sign or a warning that prepares the reader for what is to follow later in the narrative.

Form

the way a text is ordered, presented, or shaped on the page

Genre

the category or type of literature

Hyperbole

extreme exaggeration used in a literary work

Idiom

a phrase in common use that cannot be understood by literal or ordinary meanings

Imagery

using sensory images to help readers to picture a person, a place, or an event; the use of language that appeals to the five senses - touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight

Internal Conflict

when a character has a problem within him or herself

Interpretation

the explanation of the significance or meaning of a work

Intertextuality

the way in which a text related or alluded to other texts

Irony

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

Metaphor

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

Mood

the feeling that an author wants readers to have while reading; created by the author’s use of language

Motif

an object, image, or idea, used symbolically, that is repeated throughout a text

Motivation

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

Multiple Narration

a point of view where the writer uses two or more narrators in prose work

Narrator

the person who tells the story

Omniscient Narration

a point of view where the narrator knows everything about the characters and events, and describes the characters and actions from outside the story

Onomatopoeia

the use of words that sounds like the noises they describe

Oxymoron

a figure of speech in which something seemingly cannot be, yet it is; a contradiction

Paradox

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

Parody

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

Personification

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

Perspective

the point of view from which a story is told

Plot

the plan or pattern of a series or events that happen in a literary work of fiction, organized in a way that creates interest

Prologue

a separate, introductory section at the start of a literary or dramatic work

Protagonist

the main character in a literary work

Pun

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

Register

the level of formality or informality in language use

Reliable Narrator

one that can be trusted (because they have the whole picture and/or do not intend to mislead)

Round Character

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

Satire

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

Sensory Details

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

Setting

the time and place in which a literary work happens

Sibilant

the characteristic soft or hissing sounds made by the consonants ‘s’, ‘sh’, and ‘z’

Simile

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

Situational Irony

when something happens that is the opposite of what was expected

Static Character

a person in a fictional work that does not change during the course of the action

Stream of Consciousness

a narrative technique that presents the free flow of random thoughts, feelings, and perceptions inside a character’s mind

Structure

the organization or sequence of ideas, events, or language in a text

Style

The way an author expresses ideas through the use of kinds of words, literary devices, and sentence structure

Subplot

a secondary plot in a work of literature that either explains or helps to develop the main plot; the characters and events are connected in some way to the main plot

Symbol

a person, place, thing or event that represents something more than itself in a literary work

Symbolism

the use of objects or ideas that represent something other than themselves

Theme

the message, usually about life or society, that an author wishes to convey through a literary work

Tone

the attitude that an author takes toward the audience, the subject, or a character

Trope

a recurrent literary device in which something has symbolic or metaphorical significance

Universal Theme

the central message of a story, poem, novel, or play that many readers can apply to their own experiences, or to those of all people

Unreliable Narrator

a narrator that is not to be trusted (because they do not have the whole picture or intend to mislead)

Verbal Irony

when someone says the opposite of what he or she really means

Voice

the author’s unique way of communicating-of being heard; associated with the basic vision of the writer and reveals the individual quality that makes the author’s writing her own