Literary Analysis Terms for 10th Honors Literature

Figurative Language

The way a writer uses language beyond the literal meaning of words to convey ideas.

Alliteration

Repeating the same consonant sound at the beginning of nearby words. Used to enhance auditory and aesthetic qualities, draw attention to key elements, create memorable writing, and influence tone or mood.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration for emphasis or effect. Used to emphasize a point, create imagery, add humor, express emotions, and heighten drama.

Idiom

An expression that cannot be understood from the individual meaning of its elements. Used to achieve concise expression of ideas, add cultural connection, introduce humor, or convey subtext.

Irony

An expression of something contrary to the intended meaning. Types include dramatic, situational, and verbal. Used to convey deeper meaning, humor, or commentary.

Juxtaposition

The placement of contrasting ideas next to each other. Used to produce an ironic or thought-provoking effect, build tension, or highlight important contrasts.

Metaphor

Comparing two unlike things directly, without using 'like' or 'as'. Used to create vivid descriptions, simplify complex ideas, evoke emotions, provide conciseness, express relationships, add style, or convey symbolism.

Metonymy

A figure of speech where the name of an object is replaced with a word related to the original. Used to achieve conciseness, clarity, and add subtlety or creativity to the text.

Onomatopoeia

The use of words to imitate the sounds they describe. Used to enhance sensory description and engage the reader's auditory imagination.

Oxymoron

Combines contradictory words or ideas within a brief phrase. Used to highlight conflict or conflicting ideas, similar to a paradox.

Personification

Attributing human characteristics to nonhuman objects or creatures. Used to enhance writing and make it more engaging, emotional, and imaginative.

Pun

A form of wordplay with words that sound similar but have different meanings. Used to create humor or add a clever twist to a sentence.

Simile

A comparison of two unlike things using 'like' or 'as'. Used to make abstract concepts or complex ideas more accessible and relatable.

Literary Elements

The fundamental building blocks of a story, novel, or poem. Essential structural elements that shape the narrative.

Character

A person, animal, being, creature, or thing in a story that is a focus of the plot.

Conflict

The central struggle that drives the plot of a story. Can be internal or external.

Plot

The sequence of events in a narrative, consisting of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

Point of View

The perspective from which the events of a story are reported to the reader. Can limit or expand the reader's access to information.

Mood

The feeling that a literary work conveys to readers, created through elements like plot, character, and description.

Motif

A recurring object, concept, or structure in a work of literature that helps convey the overarching theme.

Setting

The time and place in which a story unfolds.

Theme

An underlying or emerging abstract idea or concept explored in a literary work. The theme helps to develop the meaning of the work as a whole.

Tone

The attitude of the writer, narrator, or speaker toward the subject matter, as expressed through style and word choice.

Allegory

A story whose purpose is to represent an abstract idea or concept.

Allusion

A reference or brief mention to a well-known person, place, event, or work of literature, art, religion, or history within a literary or artistic work.

Characterization

Refers to the combined techniques the writer uses to create characters (e.g., traits, motivations, background information, etc.).

Dialogue

Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative.

Imagery

The use of words and phrases that appeal to the five senses.

Flashback

When the writer presents past events during current events, in order to provide background for the current narrative.

Foreshadowing

When the writer provides clues or hints that suggest or predict future events in a narrative.

Parallelism

Using similar grammatical structures, patterns, or arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses within a sentence or passage.

Paradox

A juxtaposition of two contrasting ideas that, while seemingly impossible, actually reveals a deeper truth.

Pacing

The manipulation of the speed at which events unfold, information is revealed, and the story progresses.

Suspense

Refers to intense feelings of uncertainty, anticipation, and tension that authors create to keep readers engaged and eager to know what happens next.

Symbolism

When the writer uses symbols (object, characters, colors, or events) to represent abstract ideas or concepts within a literary work.