Honors English - Literary Devices Vocabulary

Allegory

A story or tale in which two levels of meaning are utilized: literal and symbolic

Alliteration

Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or accented syllables

Allusion

A reference to a well

Antagonist

Character or force in conflict with the main character

Aside

Words spoken in a play in such a way that the other characters are presumed not have heard them

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds

Characterization

The act of creating or developing a character

Direct Characterization

Flat out states the character's traits

Indirect Characterization

This occurs when an author reveals the traits of the character through his/her: thoughts, words, actions, reaction of others to the character

Chiasmus

A reversal in the order of two otherwise parallel phrases. Examples:
When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
"All for one and one for all!"
Those that matter won't mind and those that mind don't matter.

Climax

The high point of interest or suspense

Conflict

The struggle between opposing forces

Crisis

The point at which the protagonist or major character's situation or understanding dramatically changes. This is the moment when the character is pushed to make a major decision and you can't wait to turn the page (or watch the next episode on Netflix, lol).

Denouement

The denouement is the outcome of the resolution

Epiphany

A sudden realization or flash of insight

Figure of speech

Word or expression used imaginatively rather than literally

Foil

A character who provides a contrast to another character (usually the protagonist has one to make his own traits stand out)

Foreshadowing

A hint at events that have yet to occur

Frame story

Story within a story

Gothic

Refers to the use of primitive, wild, or mysterious elements in literature

Hyporbole

A deliberate exaggeration or overstatement

Incongruity

The combination or juxtaposition of incompatible or opposite elements

Irony

Provides a contrast

Verbal irony

A contrast between what is stated and what is meant

Dramatic irony

A contrast between what a character thinks and what the audience knows to be true

Situational irony

A contrast between what the reader expects to happen and what really happens

Litotes

A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite

Metaphor

Speaking of one things as if it were another

moody

The atmosphere or feeling created in the reader by a work of literature

Motif

Recurring element that has symbolic significance in the story

Motivation

The reason that explains a character's thoughts, feelings, actions or speech

Narration

Writing that tells a story

Novel

A long work of fiction

Onomatopoeia

The use of words to imitate sounds

Oxymoron

Side by side words with contrary meanings

Paradox

A statement that seems contradictory but actually presents a truth

Personification

Ascribing human attributes to that which is not human

Plot

The sequence of events in a work of literature

Point of view

The perspective from which a story is told

First person

The narrator is a character in the story and refers to himself/herself as "I"

Third person limited

The narrator uses third person pronouns such as "he" or "she" but the story is told from only one perspective

Third person omniscient

The narrator uses third person pronouns such as "he" or "she" but the thoughts/actions/perspectives of more than one character are known

Protagonist

The main character in a story

Pun

A play on words

Rhyme

Repetition of sounds at the ends of words

Rhythm

The pattern of beats or stresses in spoken or written language

Satire

Writing that ridicules (often for a purpose)

Setting

The time and place of the action

Simile

A figure of speech in which two distinct things are compared using "like" or "as"

Suspense

The feeling of growing uncertainty about the outcome of events

Symbol

Anything that stands for or represents something else

Theme

Central message or insight (it's never one word)

Thesis

An intellectual proposition

Tone

The writer's attitude toward the subject