Lit Fit Bit Literary terms

plot

arrangement of incidents in a story; organizing principle that controls the order of events

in medias res

stories beginning in the middle

flashback

a narrative technique that interrupts the chronological sequence of a story to revisit past events

exposition

background information the reader needs to make sense of the situation in which the characters are placed

protagonist

central character of a story

antagonist

a character who represents the force that opposes the protagonist

suspense

a narrative technique that creates anxious anticipation, tension, or excitement about upcoming events

foreshadowing

an author drops hints or symbolic imagery to suggest future plot developments

theme

central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work

typical layout of stories

rising action  conflict  climax  resolution  dénouement/falling action

characterization

methods by which a writer creates people in a story so that they seem to exist

dialogue

talking

stream of consciousness

Taking a reader inside a characters, mind reveal perceptions thoughts and feelings on a conscious or unconscious level; this technique suggests the flow thoughts, as well as his content hence complete sentences make it way to fragments as the characters mind makes a rapid associations free of conventional logic or transitions

dynamic character

undergoes some type of change bc of the plot’s action

static character

does not change

foil character

helps reveal distinctive qualities of another character by contrast

flat character

embodies 1 or 2 qualities, ideas, or traits that can be readily described in a brief summary

stock character

stereotypical characters

round characters

more depth and require more attention than flat or stock characters; have competing ideas, values, and possibilities in their lives

setting

point of view

who tells us the story and how it is told

narrator

the “teller” of the story

first person narrator

“I”

second person narrator

“you”

third person narrator

“he, she, they”

omniscient narrator

narrator takes us inside the minds of multiple characters

limited omniscient narrator

narrator takes us inside the minds of 1 or 2 characters

objective narrator

narrator is outside the consciousness of all the characters

editorial omniscient narrator

intrusion by the narrator to give opinions, thoughts, etc.

neutral omniscient narrator

allows characters’ actions and thoughts speak for themselves

protagonist

character most poised to change

unreliable narrator

narrator whose interpretations of events are dependent on  a subjective perspective that perhaps does not coincide with objective reality

naïve narrator

youthful innocence; lack sophistication to accuratelt interpret what they see

style

the distinctive manner in which a writer arranges words to achieve particular effects

tone

revealed by style; the author’s implicit attitude toward the people, places, and events in a story  

theme

the central idea or meaning of a story

doggerel

a term used for lines whose subject matter is trite and whose rhythm and sounds are monotonously heavy-handed

diction

choice of words

poetic diction

the use of elevated langage rather than ordinary language

formal diction

dignified, impersonal, and elevated use of language

middle diction

language used by most educated people

informal diction

informal/casual language

colloquially

conversational manner/style

dialect

language style spoken by definable groups of people from a particular geographical region, economic group, or social class

denotations

literal, dictionary meanings of words

connotations

associations and implications that go beyond a word’s literal meaning

persona

a speaker created by a poet

ambiguity

allows for 2 or more simultaneous interpretations of a word, phrase, action, or situation, all of which can be supported by the context of the work

allusion

a brief cultural reference to a person, place, thing, event, or idea in history or literature

syntax

the ordering of words into meaningful verbal patterns

tone

the writer’s attitude toward the subject; the mood created by all the elements of the poem

dramatic monologue

a type of poem in which a character/the speaker addresses a silent audience in such a way as to unintentionally reveal some aspect of his/her temperament or personality

image

language that addresses the senses; can also convey emotions and moods

form

overall structure or shape of a poem

fixed form

a poem that can be categorized by its lines, meter, rhymes, and stanzas

open form/free verse

poems that do not conform to established patterns of meter, rhyme, and stanza

stanza

a grouping of lines set off by a space that usually has a set pattern of meter and rhyme

rhyme scheme

a pattern of end rhymes

couplet

2 lines that usually rhyme and have the same meter

heroic couplet

rhymed iambic pentameter

tercet

3 line stanza

triplet

when all 3 lines in a tercet rhyme

terza rima

interlocking 3 line rhyme scheme

quatrain

4 line stanza; most common in English language

ballad stanza

alternating 8 and 6 syllable lines

sonnet

14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter

Italian/Petrarchan sonnet

divided into 2 parts first 8 lines (octave) rhyme abbaabba & final six lines (sestet) may vary; the issue is often presented in the octave and the resolution in the sestet

English/shakespearean sonnet

divided into 3 quatrains and 1 couplet and typically rhyme abab cdcd efef gg; shift usually occurs most drastically in the concluding couplet

villanelle

19 lines of any length divided into 6 stanzas (5 tercets and a concluding quatrain); first and third lines of the initial tercet rhyme and they are placed throughout the poem

sestina

39 lines of any length divided into 6 6-line stanzas and a 3-line concluding stanza (envoy); doesn’t rhyme; pattern of repeating ending words

epigram

brief, witty poem; no definite form; compressed irony, satire, or paradox

free verse or open form poem

lines deriving their rhythmic qualities from the repetition of words, phrases, grammatical structures, arrangement of words on the page, etc.  

ballad

told a story that was sung from one generation to the next until eventually transcribed

literary ballad

ballad imitated by poets

onomatopeia

the use of words that resemble the sound it denotes

alliteration

repetition of the same consonant sounds at the beginnings of nearby words; based on sounds rather than spelling

assonance

repetition of the same vowel sound in nearby words

euphony

lines that are musically pleasant to the ear and smooth

cacophony

lines that are discordant and difficult to pronounce

rhyme

a way of creating sound patterns; words that sound alike

eye rhyme

spellings are similar but the pronunciations are not (brow and blow)

end rhyme

rhyme comes at the end of a line

internal rhyme

places at least 1 of the rhymed words within the line

masculine rhyme

rhyming of a single-syllable word (glade and shade)

feminine rhyme

rhymed stressed syllable followed by 1 or more rhymed unstressed syllable (butter and clutter)

exact rhyme

share the same stressed vowel sounds as well as any sounds that follow the vowel

near/off/stressed/approximate rhyme

the sounds are almost but not exactly alike

consonance

an identical consonant sound preceded by a different vowel sound (home and same)

rhythm

the recurrence of stressed and unstressed sounds

stress/accent

places more emphasis on 1 syllable than another

meter

when a rhythmic pattern of stresses recurs in a poem

rising meter

moves from an unstressed to stressed syllable (iambic and anapestic)

falling meter

moves from a stressed to unstressed syllable (trochaic and dactylic)

prosody

all metrical elements in a poem make this

scansion

consists of measuring the stresses in a line to determine its metrical pattern

foot

metrical unit by which a line of poetry is measured

iamb

unstressed, stressed

trochee

stressed, unstressed

anapest

unstressed, unstressed, stressed

dactyl

stressed, unstressed, unstressed