ELA: Glossary of Literary Devices and Elements

Alliteration

a repetition of the same consonant (consonance) or vowel sound (assonance) in close succession.

Allusion

a brief, undeveloped reference to a familiar or famous place, event, or figure from literature; as it is one device used for achieving compression in writing, it differs from a direct reference by virtue of its brevity (an overt allusion).

Connotation

the emotional associations implied by a word that provide context beyond the literal interpretation; the coloration provided is also useful in determining tone.

Couplet

two successive lines of rhyming verse having the same number of feet, such as the closing lines of any Shakespearean sonnet.

Denotation

the precise, literal meaning or limited dictionary meaning of a word.

Diction

the choice of words, phraseology, or vocabulary used purposefully by the writer depending on the subject, the type of poem, purpose, and style.

Enjambement

a line of poetry that ends without punctuation, causing the reader to continue into the following line without a pause.

Figures of Speech

an extended rhetoric of connotation, a figure of speech is compressed language used to add meaning beyond the literal interpretation. Metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole, metonymy, and synecdoche are all figures of speech.

Hyperbole

a figure of speech which makes deliberate use of exaggeration for serious or humorous emphasis; also called overstatement.

Image

words and word groups that help the reader sense or picture what is being described; can be literal or figurative. Imagery is simply a pattern of images that emerges through a poem.

Metaphor

a common figure of speech in which a direct comparison or identification is made between two unlike objects.

Mood

the predominant atmosphere of a work. In poetry, mood is conveyed forcefully through imagery and rhythm.

Moral

a life lesson that can be drawn from a passage; the study of literature usually focuses on the explication of the theme rather than the moral, however the observance of an obviously intended moral can be used to inform the theme.

Onomatopoeia

the use of a word whose sound imitates, suggests, and reinforces its meaning.

Characterization

The methods a writer uses to communicate information about characters to readers. When the author tells the reader directly about a character, it is called direct characterization. When the author shows the character in action and lets readers draw their own conclusions, it is called indirect characterization.

Climax

The moment when the action comes to its highest point of dramatic conflict. Most often, the climax occurs before the actual ending of the story.

Complication

Any obstacle that increases the tension of the story conflict.

Conflict

The central source of tension and drama in the story. Conflict is also sometimes referred to as the story problem.

Dialogue

The actual words that characters speak. Authors use dialogue) skillfully in the story to portray character and to dramatize conflict.

Dramatic irony

A technique that increases suspense by letting readers know more about the dramatic situation than the characters know._

Exposition

Background material about the characters, setting, and dramatic situation with which the author introduces the essentials of the story to the reader.

Falling action

The part of the story, following the climax and leading to the resolution, in which there is a sharp decline in dramatic tension.

Foreshadowing

A writing technique that gives readers clues about events that will happen later in the story.

Imagery

The use of selected details to describe one thing in terms of another. This comparison helps suggest additional meanings and feelings.

Irony

A particular tone created when the speaker intends a meaning that is opposite to the words he or she says.

Narrator

The speaker who tells the story. If the narrator is also a character who participates in the story, it is important not to confuse the narrator with the author--who may, in fact, hold a very different attitude toward the story.

Point of view

The perspective from which a story is told. Point of view is said to be omniscient if the narrator is outside the story and presents the thoughts of all the characters involved. Point of view is called limited when the story is told from the viewpoint of one character who can see only a part of the whole story.

Protagonist

The central character of the story.

Resolution

The conclusion of the story. The resolution includes the story's action after the climax until the end of the story.

Rising Action

The part of the story, including exposition, in which the tension rises. Rising action builds to its highest point of tension at the story's climax

Setting

The environment in which the story takes place.

Structure

The framework that determines how a story is put together- its "skeleton." The structure of many stories includes four basic) parts: exposition, complication, climax, and resolution.

Style

The characteristic ways that an individual author uses language- including word choice, length and complexity of sentences, patterns of sound, and •ue of imagery and symbols.

Suspense

Techniques used by the author to keep readers interested in the story and wondering what will happen next.

Symbol

An image, object, character, or action that stands for an idea (or ideas) beyond its literal meaning.

Theme

The story's main ideas the "message" that the author intends to communicate by telling the story. Themes are often universal truths that are suggested by the specifics of the story.

Tone

The clues in a story that suggest the writer's (or narrator's) own attitude toward elements of his or her story.

Character development

The ways in which a novelist shows how a character changes as a result of experiencing a sequence of events over an extensive period of time.

Crisis

A small peak of dramatic tension that functions within a chapter in the way that the more dramatic climax functions in the novel plot as a whole.

Flashback

A dramatic scene that is presented out of chronological plot sequence. It takes the reader back to an earlier time than the present action of the novel.

Genre

Any of a number of traditional forms of the novel that are categorized by a particular treatment of characters, settings, plot, or style.

Multiple point of view

A narrative technique in which the novel's story line is told by more than one character in the plot. The narration shifts back and forth between different characters' limited points of view.

Plot

The arrangement of story events that defines a novel's structure- its "skeleton."

Serial plotting

The technique that creates suspense by telling the plot in a series of unresolved chapters with "cliffhanger" endings. Serial plotting keeps the reader reading ahead to find out what will happen next.