Literary Terms (1)-1

Alliteration

The practice of beginning several consecutive or neighboring words with the same sound.

Allusion

A reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place, or thing.

Antithesis

A direct juxtaposition of structurally parallel words, phrases, or clauses for the purpose of contrast. e.g “Sink or Swim”

Apostrophe

A form of personification in which the absent or dead are spoken to as if present and the inanimate, as if animate.

Assonance

The repetition of accented vowel sounds in a series of words. e.g. “Cry” and “Side”

Cliché

A phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.

Conflict

The opposing drives of the character or forces involved in the story, which may be internal or external. Categories:

• man vs. man

• man vs. nature

• man vs. self

• man vs. society

Consonance

The repetition of a consonant sound within a series of words to produce a harmonious effect.

Details

The facts revealed by the author or speaker that support the attitude or tone in a piece of writing.

Diction

Word choice intended to convey a certain effect.

Figures of Speech

Words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of something else, involving imaginative comparison. e.g. “simile, metaphor, personification”

Flashback

A scene that interrupts the action of a work to show a previous event.

Foreshadowing

The use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action.

Hyperbole

A deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration. Used for serious or comedic effect.

Idiom

An expression whose meaning is not predictable from the individual words that comprise the saying. e.g. “It’s raining cats and dogs”

Imagery

Words or phrases used to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and ideas descriptively by appealing to the senses.

Irony

A literary device where the intended meaning is different from the actual meaning. Occurs in:

• Verbal: The speaker says one thing while meaning the opposite

• Situational: When a situation turns out differently from what one would expect (twist is appropriate)

• Dramatic: When a character does something says/ does something that has different meanings from what they think it means (audience understands full implications)

Metaphor

A comparison of two unlike things not using "like" or "as."

Mood

The atmosphere or predominant emotion in a literary work.

Motivation

A circumstance or set of circumstances that prompts a character to act in a certain way/ determines the outcome of a situation or work.

Narration

The telling of a story in writing or speaking.

Onomatopoeia

Imitative harmony when used extensively in a poem. The use of words that mimic the sounds they describe.

Oxymoron

A form of paradox that combines a pair of opposite terms into a single unusual expression.

Paradox

A statement that contradicts itself, appears illogical, but reveals a hidden truth/ meaning.

Personification

A kind of metaphor that gives human characteristics to inanimate objects or abstract ideas human charachteristics.

Plot

The sequence of events or actions in a literary work.

Point of View

The perspective from which a narrative is told.

Prosody

The study of sound and rhythm in poetry.

Protagonist

The central character of a drama, novel, short story, or narrative poem.

Antagonist

The character who stands directly opposed to the protagonist.

Pun

A play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings. Serious and humorous uses

Repetition

The deliberate use of any element of language more than once.

Rhyme

The repetition of sounds in two or more words or phrases that appear close to each other in a poem.

• End Rhyme

• Internal Rhyme

• Slant Rhyme (approximate rhyme)

• Rhyme Scheme (pattern of end rhymes)

Sarcasm

The use of verbal irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it.

Setting

The time and place in which events in a literary work take place.

Shift or Turn

A change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization, or insight.

Simile

A comparison of two different things or ideas using "like" or "as."

Sound Devices

Stylistic techniques that convey meaning through sound, including rhyme, assonance, consonance, alliteration, and onomatopoeia.

Structure

The framework or organization of a literary selection.

Style

The writer's characteristic manner of employing language.

Suspense

The quality that makes the reader uncertain or tense about the outcome of events.

Symbol

An object, person, place, or action that has both a meaning in itself and stands for something larger than itself.

Synecdoche

A form of metaphor where a part signifies the whole or vice versa.

• e.g. “Do you like my new wheels?” = “Do you like my new car?”

• Cleveland just won the game (Cleveland baseball team)

Syntax

The arrangement of words and the order of grammatical elements in a sentence.

Theme

The central message of a literary work, expressed as a sentence or general statement about life or human nature. A literary work can have more than one theme.

Tone

The writer's or speaker's attitude toward a subject, character, or audience, conveyed through word choice and detail. Can be serious, humorous, sarcastic, indignant, objective, etc.

Understatement

A kind of irony that represents something as being much less than it actually is.