lit terms

1. Plot: the sequence of events that make up a story

2. Theme: the key idea or underlying message in a work of literature

3. Setting: where and when a story takes place; it includes the actual time and place

as well as the cultural values and beliefs that period embodies

4. Characterization: the methods by which an author reveals a character’s personality

and beliefs.

5. Point of View: the perspective from which the story is told; the most common points

of view are first person, third person limited, and third person omniscient

6. Mood: the emotional atmosphere an author creates through language.

7. Tone: the author’s attitude towards his/her subject. Some possible attitudes are

pessimism, optimism, earnestness, seriousness, bitterness, humorous, sympathetic,

angry, and joyful. An author’s tone can be revealed through choice of words and details.

8. Conflict: is a crucial ingredient to plot development and is defined as tension

between two or more opposing forces. It can be either internal or external.

Literary Techniques/Devices

1. Alliteration: the repetition at close intervals of the initial consonant sounds of

accented syllables or important words (for example: map-moon, kill-code,

preach-approve)

2. Allusion: a reference, either implicit or explicit, to something in previous literature or

history (for example: When Susan made that comment at dinner she really opened

Pandora’s Box)

3. Assonance: the repetition at close intervals of the vowel sounds of accented

syllables or important words (for example: hat-ran-amber; vein-made)

4. Connotation: what a word suggests beyond its basic definitions; the emotional

associations we make with words.

5. Denotation: the dictionary definition of a word

6. Diction: the selection of words in a literary work. Word choice.

7. End Rhyme: rhymes that occur at the ends of lines.●

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8. Figurative Language: language employing figures of speech; language that cannot

be taken literally or only literally.

9. Foreshadowing: when the author drops hints or clues to alert the reader that

something important will happen.

10. Hyperbole: a figure of speech in which overstatement or exaggeration is used in

the service of truth (for example: the hallway is so crowded with freshmen that it takes

ten years to get to class.)

11. Imagery: language that appeals to the senses (taste, touch, sight, sound, smell)

12. Irony: a situation, or a use of language, involving some kind of discrepancy or

incongruity

Verbal irony: when what is meant is the opposite of what is said;

sarcasm.

Dramatic irony: when the author implies a different meaning from that

intended by the speaker of a literary work (the character is surprised)

Situational irony: when there is a contradiction between what is

anticipated and what actually happens (audience is surprised!)

13. Metaphor: a direct comparison between two unrelated objects

14. Onomatopoeia: the use of words that supposedly mimic their meaning in sound

(for example: buzz, click, pop)

15. Oxymoron: a two-word contradiction(for example: pretty ugly; loud silence)

16. Paradox: a seemingly contradictory statement or situation that, upon careful

examination, is actually true (for example: Elroy felt like a stranger in his own town.)

17. Personification: the attribution of human qualities and characteristics to an

animal, object, or concept (for example: Old age crept up on her and took her by

surprise.)

18. Repetition: the repeating of a word or group of words for effect.

19. Rhetoric: the study of persuasive techniques to persuade an audience

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Logos: appeal to the audience’s sense of logic and reasoning by

providing data, charts, quotes, statistics, etc. (The information is logical

and trustworthy.)

Ethos: refers to the speaker’s credibility and trustworthiness shown by

reputation, experience, good character

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Pathos: appeal to the audience’s emotions or sense of entertainment

20. Simile: an indirect comparison between two or more unrelated objects using the

words “like” or “as” (for example: The thief was as quiet as a mouse when he broke into

the mansion)

21. Sonnet: a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes,

in English typically having ten syllables per line.

22. Stanza: verse.

a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a

23. Symbol: when an object, animal, or character represents itself as well as

something else