test 2 lit terms

characterization

The ways individual characters are represented by the narrator or author of a text. Includes descriptions of physical appearances, personalities, actions, interactions, and dialogue.

dialogue

Spoken exchanges between characters in a dramatic or literary work, usually between two or more speakers.

genre

A kind of literature. Examples include comedy, mystery, tragedy, satire, elegy, romance, and epic.Defined by organizational features (chapters, stanzas), length, mood, style (high, low, or in between depending on the audience), the reader's role, and the author's purpose

imagery

describe an author's use of vivid descriptions that can refer to the literal landscape or characters described in a narrative or the theoretical concepts an author employs. Evoke sense impressions by literal/figurative reference to perceptible things (actions, objects, etc.)

plot

sequence of events that occur through a work to produce a coherent narrative or story.

style

an author's diction, syntax, tone, characters, and other narrative techniques. describe the way an author uses language to convey his or her ideas and purpose in writing. Can be associated with genre/mood.

symbol(ism)

An object or element incorporated into a narrative to represent another concept or concern, representing one thing with another. typically recur throughout a narrative and offer critical, though often overlooked, information.

theme

an abstract idea that emerges from a literary work's treatment of its subject matter; topic recurring in a number of literary works. Tend to differ depending on many factors.

point of view

The narrator is the voice telling the story or speaking to the audience. Includes:
objective: not told from any character's point of view, no access to thoughts - info comes from description and dialogue
1st person: one or several characters, each of whom typically uses the word "I." - readers experience story through the narrator's lens
2nd person: typically addresses that audience using "you." - help authors reach readers
3rd person: an outside figure who does not participate directly in the events of a story - "he, she, it"

bildungsroman

depicts an individual's coming-of-age through self-discovery and personal knowledge, explores protagonists' psychological and moral development

Epistolary

novel composed primarily of letters sent and received by its characters (18th century)

elegy

poem of mourning, someone who has usually died.

eulogy

great praise, commendation, usually for someone who has died

farce

type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved in silly, far-fetched situations.

parable

relatively short story that teaches a moral, or lesson about how to lead a good life.

didactic

form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.

irony

A contrast between expectation and reality

verbal irony

when someone says one thing but really means something else.

situational irony

takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen, or what would be appropriate to happen, and what really does happen.

dramatic irony

often used on stage. A character in the play or story thinks one thing is true, but the audience or reader knows better.

satire

style of writing that mocks, ridicules, or pokes fun at a person, belief, or group of people in order to challenge them. Texts use irony or sarcasm to do this

stream of consciousness

mode of writing in which the author traces his or her thoughts verbatim into the text. offers a representation of the author's exact thoughts throughout the writing process and can be used to convey a variety of different emotions or as a form of pre-writing.

antagonist

A character in a text who the protagonist opposes. The antagonist is often (though not always) the villain of a story.

anti-hero

protagonist of a story who embodies none of the qualities typically assigned to traditional heroes and heroines - failings are typically used to humanize him or her and convey a message about the reality of human existence.

Archetype

tend to reference broader or commonplace (often termed "stock") character types, plot points, and literary conventions, help readers identify the author's "universal truths"

Epithet

adjective, noun, or phase expressing some characteristic quality of a thing or person or a descriptive name applied to a person - indicates some notable quality about the individual, can also be used ironically

Personification

artistic representation of a concept, quality, or idea in the form of a person; a person who is considered a representative type of a particular quality or concept (war)

protagonist

primary character in a text, often positioned as "good" or the character with whom readers are expected to identify - usually oppose an antagonist