Lit terms #2

First Person POV

A story where The point of view is told from a character in the story

Third Person Omniscient POV

the narrator knows everything,

including the thoughts and feelings of all the characters

Third Person Limited POV

The narrator sees things

through one character’s eyes and

reveals that character’s feeling and

thoughts.

Voice

author’s distinctive use of language to convey their personality

Author’s Purpose

the author’s main reason for writing (to inform, to entertain, to persuade, to expose a particular problem in society, etc.)

Round Character

complex, showing many different qualities/personality traits – revealing faults as well as virtues

Flat Character

one-dimensional, showing a single personality trait

Focuses on personality

Dynamic Character

Develops, changes, and learns something

during the course of a story

Static Character

remains the same, does not change or learn

Direct Characterization

The author directly tells the reader what the character is like or looks like

Indirect Characterization

The author gives clues about a character by describing what a character does, says, as well as how other characters react to them

Theme

central message or insight about life. It should be a complete thought.

Setting

time and place in which the action of the story occurs

Colloquialism

Informal speech that people

use in everyday language (Y’all come over

to my house.)

-Means slang words (sick, rad, sigma, rizz,

skibidi, aura)

Allegory

a story with two or more levels

of meaning, a literal level and one or more

symbolic levels

Satire

a writing that exposes and ridicules the flaws of people in society

Style

The choices an author makes when

writing such as diction, syntax, and other

literary devices

Hyperbole

figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion

Imagery

descriptive or figurative language used to create “word pictures” for the reader (these pictures are created by details of the five senses)

Metaphor

comparison between two objects without using like or as

Simile

comparison of two unlike things using like or as

Narrative

story told in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or drama

Narrator

speaker or character who tells the story

Tone

reflection of a writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a subject of literary work.

Understatement

A writer or speaker

deliberately makes the situation less

important or serious than it is.

Testimonial

formal statement

testifying to someone or

something’s character also during advertisements

Protagonist

main character or hero of story.

Antagonist

a character or force in conflict with a main character or protagonist

Anthropomorphism

an interpretation of what is not human or personal in terms of human or personal characteristics; humanization

Denotation

strict literal

dictionary definition of a word

Connotation

the non-literal,

implied, suggested meaning of

a word (e.g. lemon for a poor

performing vehicle)

Free Verse

poetry not written in a regular pattern or meter or rhyme

Euphemism

a mild word substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing

Diction

A writer’s choice of words

Genre

category of literary work

characterized by a particular

form or style

(e.g.fiction/non-fiction)