JM

IB Literary Terms 

  1. ==allegory==- story that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning/ the whole story is symbolic
  2. @@allusion@@- an indirect reference
  3. ambiguity- having more than one possible meaning at the same time
  4. %%antithesis%%- expresses opposite or contrasting ideas
  5. ^^apostrophe^^- talking to someone who isn’t really there
  6. ==catharsis==- process of releasing emotions & providing relief
  7. @@characterization@@- how author reveals different qualities of a character throughout the story
  8. conflict- tensions or struggles experienced by the characters (internal or external)
  9. %%connotation%%- association, implications, or suggestions evoked by a word or phrase
    1. ^^denotation^^- actual or literal definition of a word
    2. ==dialogue==- direct speech or conversation between characters in a story
    3. @@diction@@- an author’s choice of words
    4. epiphany- a sudden realization or divine intervention
    5. %%flashback%%- a return to a memory of a character
    6. ^^foil^^- an opposite or contrast
    7. ==graphic weight (graphic novel)== - the way some images draw the eye more than others
    8. @@hubris@@- excessive pride (a fault of a character)
    9. hyperbole- an exaggeration
    10. %%imagery%%- an author’s description/ “painting the picture”
    11. ^^dramatic irony^^- when the audience knows the truth but the characters don’t
    12. ==situational irony==- a striking reversal of what’s expected or intended
    13. @@metaphor@@- an IMPLIED COMPARISON between two unlike objects
    14. monologue- a long speech by one person during a conversation
    15. %%motif%%- a common theme or recurring idea
    16. ^^narrator^^- voice telling the story
    17. ==objective pov==- narrator is NOT involved with the story
    18. @@omniscient po@@v- narrator assumes an “all knowing” perspective on the story
    19. panels- distinct segment of the comic
    20. %%parallelism%%- structural similarity or conceptual similarity throughout a story/ poem
    21. ^^pastiche^^- taking inspiration or mimicking another thing
    22. ==personification==- giving human characteristics to a non human thing
    23. @@prose@@- anything in literature besides poems (written in sentences & paragraphs)
    24. rhyme scheme- an author’s rhyming pattern
    25. %%setting%%- where & when a story takes place
    26. ^^soliloquy^^- speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself
    27. ==stage direction==- an instruction in the text of a play indicating movement
    28. @@stanza@@- sections a poem is broken into
    29. stream of consciousness- a character’s unedited thoughts & expressions
    30. %%symbol%%- an object that represents an idea
    31. ^^syntax^^- the arrangement & ordering of words in a sentence
    32. ==tone==- the writer’s attitude as expressed by word choice
    33. @@tragic flaw@@- flaw in character that brings about their downfall or tragedy