Ap LnC - Lit. Terms #1

Subject

What a story is literally about.

Theme

The central idea a writer argues in a work; it underlies the central conflict and all other literary elements.

Conflict

A struggle between opposing forces.

External conflict

A conflict pitting a character against another character, society, nature, or some other outside entity.

Internal conflict

A conflict pitting a character against himself or herself.

Protagonist

The character who undergoes the central conflict; not necessarily a hero.

Antagonist

The person or force that opposes the protagonist.

Characterization

The way a writer reveals the personalities of the characters.

Direct characterization

Characterization in which personality or feelings are told through an abstract statement, such as He was afraid.

Indirect characterization

Characterization in which personality or feelings are shown through and must be inferred from a character's concrete actions, speech, or physical traits, or from other characters' reactions.

Setting

The time (time of day, season, historical era) and place (physical location and social setting) in which a story's events occur.

Point of view

The perspective from which a writer tells a story.

First-person point of view

A story told by a character in the story, using I.

Third-person point of view

A story told by a narrator who does not participate in the story, using he, she, and they.

Dramatic narration

Third-person narration in which the narrator simply reports what characters say and do.

Omniscient narrator

An all-knowing third-person narrator who can report the inward thoughts and feelings of the characters.

Limited omniscience

Narration reporting the thoughts and feelings of only one or a few characters.

Irony

A form of contrast; there are three types.

Dramatic irony

Irony that occurs when the audience or reader knows something a character does not.

Verbal irony

Irony that occurs when someone says one thing but means another; sarcasm is one form.

Situational irony

Irony that occurs when what happens is the opposite of what would normally be expected or appropriate.

Foreshadowing

A writer's use of clues to suggest something that will happen later in the story.

Symbol

Something in a work of literature that an author uses to represent something else, often an abstraction such as an idea or quality.

Motif

A recurring element in a work of literature.

Epiphany

A moment of sudden revelation or insight.

Imagery

Language used to represent a sensory experience.

Literal image

Imagery that attempts to recreate an object or experience realistically.

Figurative language

Non-literal language used to express an idea, often presented as a comparison; also called a figure of speech.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that makes a non-literal comparison of unlike things.

Simile

A type of metaphor that uses like, as, or than.

Personification

A figure of speech giving human attributes to an animal, object, or idea.

Allusion

A reference to something in literature, film, religion, or history.

Diction

The choice and placement of words.

Denotation

The basic, literal, or primary meaning of a word.

Connotation

The ideas or feelings a word invokes in addition to its denotation.

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences.

Tone

The author or speaker's attitude toward the subject, providing emotional color or meaning.