Prose Analysis

Midterm packet

Character

Characters in literature allow readers to study and explore a range of values, beliefs, assumptions, biases, and cultural norms represented by those characters

Direct Characterization (telling)

explicit description given directly

Indirect Characterization (showing(

speech, thoughts, actions, looks- any description that shows the characterization rather than directly states it

Character development

explains the function of a character changing or remaining unchanged

Epiphany

allows a character to see things in a new light and is often directly related to a central conflict of the narrative

Perspective

refers to how characters (and potentially narrators and speakers) see their circumstancesP

Point of View (POV)

refers to the position from which a narrator or speaker related the events of a narrative (1st, 2nd, 3rd person POV)P

Protagonist

most neutral and broadly applicable term for the main character in a work, whether male or female, heroic or not heroic

Antagonist

a character or nonhuman force that opposes or is in conflict with the protagonist

Setting

depict a time place, and convey values associated with the setting

flashback

a temporary shift from the present timeline backward to a past event, memory, or dialougef

Foreshadowing

a hint of what is to come

In Media Res

a Latin phrase that translates as “in the middle of things,” beginning a story by dropping the reader in the midst of the action

Stream of Consciousness

a writing style that shows a character’s continuous inner thoughts

Plot Sequence

Order of events & relationship between events in a plot (chronological, flashback, shifts, etc) (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution

Conflict

struggle or tension between opposing forces

Internal Conflict

a character struggles with something internally- opposing forces are two drives, impulses, or parts of a single character

External Conflict

a character struggles against something outside of himself or herself- another character(s) or some impersonal force (nature or society)

Syntax

word order; the way words are put together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences

Telegraphic Syntax

as few words as possible

Simple Sytax

one independent clause

Complex Syntax

one independent clause and one or more dependent (subordinate) clauses

Parallel Structure

coordinates parts of a sentence, such as items in a series or list, have the same grammatical form

Juxtaposition

placing two or more things next to each other, side by side, to highlight their differences to create contrast, tensions, or emphasis

Irony

situation or statement characterized by a significant difference between what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant

Situational Irony

created when events in a text are inconsistent with either the expectation readers bring to a text or the expectations established by the text itself

Verbal Irony

when a person says one thing but means the exact opposite. It is an intentional choice by a speaker to create humor, make a joke or point out a truth

Dramatic Irony

when the audience knows something one or more characters do not

Narration

a narrator’s or speaker’s perspective controls the details and emphases that affect how readers experience and interpret a text

Narrative Distance

refers to the physical distance, chronological distance, relationships, or emotional investment of the narrator to the events or characters of the narrative

Figurative Language

Comparisons, representations and associations shift meaning from the literal to the figurative and invite readers to interpret a text

Diction

choice of words (NEVER just say “the author uses diction” because all authors use words)

Denotation

dictionary definition; a word’s direct and literal meaning

Connotation

the feelings a word suggests, apart from what it literally means

Repetition

words or phrases may be repeated to emphasize ideas or associations

Anaphora

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of consecutive clauses or sentences

Rhetorical QUestion

a question asked not to elicit an answer

Hyperbole

exaggerates

Understatement

minimizes

Imagery

any sensory detail or evocation in a work; the use of figurative language to evoke a feeling, to call to mind an idea, or to describe an object. Imagery may also be described as auditory, tactile, visual, gustatory, or olfactory depending on which sense it appeals to

Motif

a unified pattern of recurring objects or images used to emphasize a significant idea in large parts of or throughout a text

Symbol

person, place, thing, action, or even that figuratively represents or stands for something else

Metaphor

figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared implicitly without the use of a signals such as the word “like” or “as”

Extended Metaphor

created when the comparison of a main subject and comparison subject persists through parts of or an entire text. When the comparison is expanded through additional details, similes, and images

Personification

figure of speech that involves treating something nonhuman, such as an abstraction or inanimate object, as if it were a person by endowing it with humanlike qualities

Allusion

can reference literary works including mythes, sacred texts; other works of art including paintings and music; or people, places, or events outside of the text

Atecedent

a word, phrase, or clause that precedes its reference

Tone

attitude in a literary work takes toward its subject or that a character in the work or speaker of a poem conveys, especially as revealed through diction

Theme

a universal message of the text

Speaker

voice of the poem, similar to a narrator in fictional prose. WE CANNOT ASSUME THE SPEAKER AND THE POET ARE THE SAME

Subject

main idea(s) or topic(s) the poem explores

Meter

regular pattern of accented or unaccented syllables (each unit of meter is known as a foot)

Rhyme

repeated pattern of sounds in concluding syllables of words

Line

a single row of words making up on like of poetry

Line Break

where a line of poetry ends and a new one begins

Stanza

a section of a poem, marked by an extra line of spacing before and after, that often has a single pattern of meter and/or rhyme (like a paragraph in prose)

Caesura

short pause within a line of poetry, often produced by the use of punctuation

End-Stopped Line

line of verse that contains or concludes a complete clause, sentence, or thought and usually ends with a punctuation mark

Enjambment

in poetry, technique of running over from one line to the next without stop.

Anaphora (poetry)

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences

Alliteration

repetition of initial consonant sounds through a sequence of words

Assonance

repetition of vowel sounds in a sequence of words with different endings

Consonance

repetition of certain consonant sounds in close proximity

Euphony

sounds that are plesant to the ear

Cacophony

ugly sounding to the ear

Onomonopoeia

naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it.