English 212 Literary Terms
Directions: I’ll expect you to know these literary terms for class this year, so keep a running list for your own reference. Feel free to add additional terms as you see fit. You may want to use this document to study for assessments or to reference while writing literary analysis essays.
Group 1: We will review these terms in class along with an example from familiar literature.
Vocab Term | Definition | Example |
Ambiguity | Details that are open for interpretation | The psychiatric center for research on regressive tendencies- is this jail? a rehab center? brainwashing study him |
Characterization (Direct) | See other note sheet | |
Characterization (Indirect) | See other note sheet | |
Close Reading | Careful, sustained interpretation of a brief passage of text by paying attention to the author's word choice and trying to generate meaning as to why she/he chose some words choices over others | st |
Connotation | The idea or feeling | Autumn- the season |
Denotation | The dictionary definition | N |
Flashback | A scene or scene showing events that happened earlier | Harry potter has many flashbacks in the form of regarding how his parents were killed |
Foreshadowing | Hints and clues given in the text to show what is going to happen | “But now these high was to were like streams in a dry season”- foreshadows that the day will be different than normal |
Imagery | Descriptive language that apples to one or more of the 5 senses | “There was a good crystal frost in the air; it cut the nose and made the lungs blaze like a christmas tree inside; you could feel the cold light going on and off,all the branches filled with invisible snow” |
Irony (Dramatic) | When the reader knows something but the character does not | Romeo and juliet when he finds her in the tomb and kills himself even though we knew she was only sleeping |
Irony (Situational) | An occurrence is the opposite of what we would expect it might mock human intentions and confidence with which we plan our futures | When he got arrested for walking |
Irony (Verbal) | Someone says one thing but does not literally mean it that statement has underlined meaning and those underlined meanings reveal the real intent | I beauty and the beast bell refuses to marry gaston by saying i don't deserve you meaning she is better than gaston and doesn't deserve to marry him |
Metaphor | Comparing two unlike things without using like or as | “Pered into the back sate of a little black jail with bars |
Mood | The way the authors text makes the reader feel | The street was long silent and empty with only the shadow of a hawk in the mid county” creates an empty dark mood. |
Rite of Passage | See other note sheet | |
Simile | Comparing two unlike things using like or as | He would stride off sending patterns of frosty air before him like the smoke of a cigar |
Symbolism | When something represents a bigger idea it has a deeper meaning | The empty police car with a robot in it represents how much society relies on the technology |
Theme | The underlying message of a story. A thematic statement should be concise, not a cliche, and it should be universal. | if you always expect yourself to be perfect you won't feel worthy of yourself when you're not. |
Group 2: We will discuss these together as a class, and you can fill in their definitions and examples as we cover them.
Vocab Term | Definition | Example |
Bildungsroman | A literary work dealing with one persons formatives years; a story about someone growing up | To kill a mockingbird Lion king |
Comic Relief | A scene or scenes meant to provide a break from a serious piece. | |
Diction | The king of words and sentences that the writer chooses to use | |
Graphic Novel | A book made of “comics”. We usually think of comics as funny, but these can be serious. Also, while “novel” usually means the work is fiction, the term “graphic novel” governs any work that is drawn, including nonfiction. | |
Memoir | A collection of memories that an individual writes about moments or events, both public and private, that took place in the subject's life. It is autobiographical, but it does not span the person's whole life, just a certain time period. | |
Stream of Consciousness | A literary style in which a character's thoughts, feelings, and reactions are depicted in a continuous flow uninterrupted by objective description or conventional dialogue | |
Tone | The writer attitude towards his/ her subject | |
Voice | Our sense of the writer who has created the work. The author's style; what makes the writing unique |