English 2 AAC Literary Terms

this was for a quiz in term one in september :3

Archetype

a character, action, or situation that is a prototype or pattern of human life generally; a situation that occurs over and over again in literature, such as a quest, an initiation, or an attempt to overcome evil

Characters

people or animals who take part in the action of a literary work

Readers learn about characters from

interior monologue

what a character is thinking

flat character

– person or animal in whom the author emphasizes a single important trait

round character

a complex, fully-rounded personality (three-dimensional)

static character

a person or animal who changes very little over the course of a narrative; things happen to these characters, but little happens in them

dynamic character

a character that changes in response to the actions through which he or she passes

foil

a character, who by contrast with the main character, serves to accentuate that character’s distinctive qualities or characteristics

stock

– a type of character who regularly appears in certain literary forms; they are often stereotyped characters such as a femme fatale, siren, temptress, damsel in distress, mentor, old crone, hag, witch, or naive young man from the country

external conflict

a struggle against an outside force (person against person, nature, society)

internal conflict

– a struggle between opposing needs, desires, or emotions within a character

diction

word choice

denotation

dictionary definition of a word

connotation

feelings and attitudes associated with a word

dialect

regional variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary; language peculiar to a particular group or social class

euphemism

the use of a word or phrase that is less direct but is also less distasteful or less offensive than another

idiom

an expression that means something different from the literal meaning of the words (example: “raining cats and dogs”)

formal diction

polysyllabic, usually no contractions, scholarly

colloquial diction

conversational; informal language, use contractions

vernacular diction

language or dialect of a particular group or region

slang diction

informal language

jargon diction

language that is specialized to a particular occupation or group

standard diction

language accepted as the norm

exposition

The storyteller sets the scene and the character’s background.

inciting incident

The character reacts to something that has happened, and it starts a chain reaction of events.

Denouement

the ending of a story. basically another word for resolution in plot charts

Non-linear plot devices

Flashbacks, foreshadowing, subplot, and parallel plots are called…

3^rd Person Limited

narrator is not a character in the story but zooms in on the thoughts and feelings of one (or a very few) character(s)

3^rd Person Omniscient

– narrator is not a character in the story but can tell us what all (or many) of the characters are thinking and feeling as well as what is happening in other places.

^3rd Person Objective

narrator is not a character in the story but can only report what characters say and do, not what any of them are thinking or feeling. 

It is as if a camera were reporting the events without any commentary. This point of view is very rarely used in literature.

rhetorical shift (turn)

refers to a change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization, or insight gained by the speaker, a character, or the reader           

epiphany

used more figuratively to describe the insight or revelation gained when one suddenly understands the essence of a (generally commonplace) object, gesture, statement, situation, moment, or mentality—that is, when one “sees” that commonplace object for what it really is beneath the surface and perceives its inner workings or nature

syntax

the arrangement of words and the order of grammatical elements in a sentence

Metonymy

a form of metaphor where the name of one thing is applied to another thing with which it is closely associated.

oxymoron

a form of paradox that combines a pair of opposite terms into a single unusual expression

paradox

occurs when the elements of a statement contradict each other

      Although the statement may appear illogical, impossible, or absurd, it turns out to have a coherent meaning that reveals a hidden truth.

synecdoche

a form of metaphor where a part of something is used to signify the whole. Also the reverse can occur, whereby the whole can represent a part.

alliteration

1.     the practice of beginning several consecutive or neighboring words with the same sound

assonance

the repetition of vowel sounds in a series of words

consonance

the repetition of consonant sound within a series of words used to create a harmonious effect (not at beginning of words but in middle or end)

allegory

1.     the presentation of an abstract idea through more concrete means; typically a narrative that has at least two levels of meaning 

allusion

a reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place, or thing

dramatic irony

occurs when a character or speaker says or does something that has different meanings from what he thinks it means, though the audience and other characters understand the full implications of the speech or action

situational irony

occurs when a situation turns out differently from what one would normally expect--though often the twist is oddly appropriate

motif

– a term that describes a pattern or strand of imagery or symbolism in a work of literature

satire

refers to the use of humorous devices like irony, understatement, and exaggeration to highlight a human folly or a societal problem

The purpose is to bring the flaw to the attention of the reader in order that it may be addressed, remedied, or eradicated