Moyer

Moyer

Theme

A recurring idea connected to the underlying meaning in a piece of writing

Subtext

The implied underlying message or meaning of a written text

Diction

Writers word choice

Syntax

The way a writer structures sentences

Motivation

The reason behind a characters action or behavior

Juxtaposition

The intentional placement of different elements of a story side by side in order to draw attention to the similarities or differences.

Direct characterization

When an author character or narrator explicitly describes a character

Indirect characterization

When an author reveals a character through what they say do think or interact with

First person

Told from the pronoun I

Second person

Told primarily from pronoun you

Third person limited

Written with he she they but narrator is limited to the perspective of a character or few

Third Person Omniscient

Story written or told using he she they by a narrator who describes thought and feeling of any character

Fable

Short work of fiction on that teaches lesson or moral often featuring animals as characters

Satire

Writing that aims to criticize the foolishness ir corruption of something through humor exaggeration and or irony

Euphemism

A mild word or phrase substituted for one considered to be inappropriate unpleasant or embarrassing

Propaganda

Biased or misleading info used to promote a particular political cause

Counterclaim

A claim used to argue against a previous claim.

Dramatic irony

When the reader or audience knows something that the character doesn’t

Situational irony

An occasion in which the outcome is different than from what was expected

Verbal irony

A person who says one thing and means another

Rhetoric

Language intended to have a persuasive effect in the audience

Ethos

Rhetoric that relies on the authority or credibility of the persuader and or supporters of the persuader

Pathos

Rhetoric that relies on appealing to the audience or readers emotions

Logos

Rhetoric that relies on reason and logic often using facts and data

Vignette

A brief descriptive piece of narrative writing generally set within a larger text

Parallelism

Repetition of an entire phrase or gramatical structure of an entire phrase

Character versus character

Conflict between protagonist and another character

Character vs nature

Conflict between a character and elements of the natural world

Character vs self

Conflict within a characters mind often resolving around a difficult choice

Character vs society

Conflict between a character and the expectations or not is in their community

Understatement

intentionally presenting as less significant than it really is

Florid

Elaborate or excessively intricate

Unreliable narrator

A characters story that is not complete accurate as narrator is not mentally complete

bildungsroman

A coming of age story focuses on the growth and development of a young protagonist

Deus ex machina the god in the machine

An unexpected character or event that appears at the end of a story to settle conflict

Rhetorical question

When a question is asked for a point instead of an answer

dialect

a regional variety of language distinguished by vocab, grammar and punctuation

exposition

the part of the story from the narrator or author that gives background info

plot

action of a story

archetype

characters or situations recognized throughout times and cultures

Frame story

A story within a story told by a character

Pun

a joke using the different meanings of a word or fact 2 words soudn the same, yet have different meanings

Double entendre

a pun with a vulgar double meaning

oxymoron

a figure of speech with apparently contradictory terms appearing together

Foreshadow

hints about what will happen later in the book

Slur

a word or phrase meant to hurt a person focusing on their idntitiy

cliche

unoriginal phrase or trope

Foil

the use of a character who contrasts with another to reveal the qualities or traits of the other

Synthesis

writing that combines multiple sources or idea to make a good point.

dystopia

an imagined future or alterante version of the present where the world is worse than present day reality

motif

something (image, type language, action) with symbolic significance that shows up repeatedly in a story in different ways to contribute to the development of a theme.

tropes

motifs characters situations within a genre of literature

style

the choices an author makes in his or her writing that makes it distinct

dialouge

conversation between two or more character generally designated by quotation marks

narrative

a spoken or written account of a series connected events

alliteration

the intentional repetition of the same letter or sound at beginning of two or more words

stream of consciousness

writing in which a character’s thoughts and experiences are depicted in a continuous uninterrupted flow

imagery

words and language that can be pictured in the mind of the reader

repetition

repeating of words phrases or sentences to draw attention to emphasize an idea

allusion

a reference to recognizable people places or items outside of the context of the text.

inference

a guess or conclusions based on evidence

explicit

stated clearly and in detail with no room for confusion or doubt

abstract

existing as a thought or idea that is hard or almost impossible to imagine

symbolism

an important person object or event in a story connected to a deeper meaning of the story

seminal

an important document character or event that has a strong influence on later decisions

allegory

a story in which the characters objects and events symbolically represent particular morals religious or political ideas outside the context of the story

connotation

the emotional impact of a word beyond the literal meaning

denotation

how the dictionary defines the word

tone

an authors attitude towards a subject

mood

the feeling or emotions evoked by an authors choices of words

literal

the original or basic meaning of a word or phrase

figurative language

words that describe creatively more than literally.

Metaphor

a comparison in which an object is described by something else with a shared characteristic

simile

a comparison with words like or as

hyperbole

exaggeration for humor or emphasis

personification

human traits on non human things

Onomatopoeia

word matching the sound described