English Literary Terms

Motivation

The reasons for a character’s behavior within a work of literature

Antagonist

The opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, causing conflict in a story

Climax

The point in a plot that creates the greatest intensity, suspense, or interest

Dramatic Irony

Occurs when a character in a play or story thinks one thing is true, but the audience or reader knows better

Suspense

A feeling of uncertainty and curiosity about what will happen next in a story

Direct Characterization

When a writer uses this technique, we do not have to figure out what a character’s personality is like - the writer tells us specifically

Theme

The insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work

Exposition

The part of a story or play which tells us who the characters are and introduces their conflict

Foil

A character who acts as a contrast to another character

Atmosphere

A mood or feeling created in a piece or writing

Verbal Irony

When a character says one thing but it actually means something else

Limited 3rd Person View

An unknown narrator tells the story, but zooms in to focus on the thoughts and feelings of only one character

Static Character

A character who does not change throughout the course of a story

Resolution

The part of a story or play where all of the problems are solved and the story ends

Protagonist

The central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action, experiences/ suffers from the conflict

External Conflict

This can exist between two people, between a person and nature or a machine, or between a person and a whole society

Tone

The attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in it or the audience

Dynamic Character 

A character that changes in some important way as a result of a story’s action

Setting

The time and location in which a story takes place

Internal Conflict

Occurs when a character struggles with opposing forces within their own mind

Situational Irony

A discrepancy between what is expected to occur and what actually occurs

Narrator

The person telling the story

1st person

When the narrator tells the story from their perspective

3rd person

When the narrator tells the story through outside events and characters’ perspectives

Omniscient

When the narrator possesses all knowledge of characters, events, and internal thoughts throughout a story

Allusion

Brief reference to another well-known work of literature, place, thing, or person

Imagery

Use of figurative language that applies to the five senses, and writing that makes it easy to picture in your mind

Sensory Details

Details that engage the five senses

Concrete Details

Specific details in writing like facts about a person, place, or thing or vivid descriptions of something

Claim

An original thought or debatable statement that is about what you think/believe

Genre

a type of; a category of; a classification of

Magic 3

common pattern that empowers good writing, such as three details in a sentence, or three examples in a paragraph

Purpose

the goal that a writer or speaker wants to achieve in a piece of writing the reason for writing or delivering a speech

Indirect Characterization

The ways a writer helps us understand a character’s personality; by showing what the character says, and does, and thinks, as well as how the character reacts and what others say about the character

Thesis / Argument / Position

most important sentence or sentences in an essay; these 1-2 sentences clearly express the writer’s position or argument, directly answers the question, and sets up the rest of the essay to follow