LITERATURE TERMS

Allegory•A story or visual image with a second distinct meaning partially hidden behind its literal meaning•Narrative in which characters, action, and sometimes setting have an underlying meaning

Alliteration•Repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together

Allusion•Reference to a statement, person, place, event, or thing that is known from literature, history, religion, myth, politics, sports, or the arts.

Anaphora•The repetition of a word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines.

Antagonist (see protagonist)•The character or force that blocks the protagonist

Aside•Stage whisper; a remark spoken in an undertone by a character in a play. The remark is heard by the audience but not by the other characters on stage.

Assonance•Repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds in words that are close together•EX: And so all the night tide, I lie down by the side, Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride--Poe, “Annabel Lee”

Ballad: Song or song-like poem that tells a story•Often has a tragic ending•Simple language, with rhythm, rhyme, and repetition•Use of refrains•Folk ballads = oral tradition; unknown singers

Blank Verse•Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter•Blank verse means poetry is unrhymed•See iambic pentameter

Characterization: The act of creating and developing a character

•Direct/Indirect•Dynamic/Static•Flat/Round•Character Motivation

Characterization: Direct/Indirect•Direct: The author states the character’s traits or special qualities.•Indirect: The author uses clues to reveal character traits in the following ways:Appearance ActionsSpeech Private thoughtsOther characters’ responses

Characterization: Dynamic/Static•A static character does not change much during the course of the story.•A dynamic character changes in some important way as a result of the story’s action.

Characterization: Flat/Round•Flat characters are one-dimensional and have only one or two personality traits. They can be summed up in one or two sentences.•Round characters are complex and have many different traits.

Character Motivation•What moves a character to act as he or she (or it) does?•Often, motives are not stated, but implied.•Use clues in a story to infer the reasons characters behave the way they do.

Climax•The turning point in a story•The height of action•Everything is “downhill” from this point (falling action).

Conflict: The struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions•External: Character struggles with an outside force (another character, nature, society, technology)•Internal: Struggle between opposing needs, desires, or emotions within a character

Connotation All the meanings, associations, or

emotions that a word suggests Denotation is the literal meaning

of a word (definition). Ex: slender, thin, skinny all have

the same denotation but different connotations.

Dialect•Way of speaking that is characteristic of a particular region or group of people•May have a distinct vocabulary, pronunciation system, and/or grammar•U.S. dialects include Maine, Brooklyn, Cajun, Appalachia, and standard English

•Diction: Writer’s choice of words. Essential element of a writer’s style.•Involves connotations of words and phrases•Any words or word groups that are important to the meaning and effect of literature/poetry•Figurative language: metaphor, simile, personification,…

Elizabethan English: The language of Shakespeare’s era

Exposition•The beginning of a literary work where the characters, the setting, and the basic situation are introduced

Fable•Brief story in prose or poetry that teaches a moral, or practical lesson about life.•Characters in fables are usually animals that behave as humans.

Figurative LanguageLanguage that conveys meaning beyond the literal meaning (denotation). Figurative means that the words are used in some thought-provoking or symbolic way.

•Flashback: Scene that interrupts the present action of a plot to show events that happened at an earlier time.

Foil•Character who serves as a contrast to another character•Used to emphasize differences between two characters or to highlight the traits of one character

Foreshadowing•The use of clues that hint at events that occur later in the plot

Iambic Pentameter•A line of poetry with five feet (syllable groups) each consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable•Blank verse is unrhymed iambic pentameter•This meter sounds the most like natural speech

•Idiom: Expression peculiar to a particular language that means something different from the literal meaning of the words.

•Chicken = coward•Under the weather = sick•Get on one’s nerves = irritate someone

Imagery•Language that appeals to the senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste

•Irony: Contrast or discrepancy between expectation and reality.•Verbal: A speaker says one thing but means the opposite.•Situational: What actually happens is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate.•Dramatic: The reader or audience knows something important that a character does not know.

Lyric Poetry•Poetry that expresses a speaker’s emotions or thoughts and does not tell a story.•Ode, elegy, haiku, tanka, sonnet,…

Metaphor•Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using a connective word such as like, as, or than•Direct metaphor•Implied metaphor•Extended metaphor

Metaphor cont.•Direct: The comparison is clearly stated•Implied: The reader must infer the comparison by using clues in the selection•Extended: A metaphor that is developed over several lines or throughout an entire poem•Mixed: The inconsistent combination of two or more metaphors. Often humorous

Meter•Generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry (see rhythm)•The number of feet in a line of poetry

Monologue•A long, uninterrupted speech by one character, to which the other characters listen

Mood•The atmosphere and feeling that a writer creates in a work through the choice of setting, imagery, descriptions, and other evocative words

•Motif: A frequently-repeated incident, idea, or symbol in a work of literature which underlines an important theme.

Onomatopoeia•A word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning:•Bang, slurp, hiss

Oxymoron•A combination of words that contradict each other•EX: deafening silence; wise fool

Paradox•A statement that seems contradictory but that actually may express a deeper truth.•Because a paradox is surprising, it catches the reader’s attention

Personification•Type of metaphor in which a nonhuman thing or quality is given human characteristics

Plot•The sequence of actions and events in a drama or work of fiction

Point of View•The perspective from which a story is told; author’s choice of narrator•First Person: A character in the story narrates; the character is part of the story (pronouns—I, me, our, us,…)•Third Person: Narrator is not in the story (pronouns—he, they, she, them,…)•Omniscient: All-knowing narrator•Limited: Narrator knows thoughts of one character or a small group

Protagonist•Main character in fiction or drama•Focus of attention•The character that sets the plot in motion

Pun•Play on the multiple meaning of a word or on two words that sound alike but have different meanings

Resolution•The final part of the plot of a drama or work of fiction. Explains how the conflict is resolved. Often ties up loose ends.

Rhyme/Rhythm•Rhyme is the repetition of accented vowels sounds and all sounds following them in words that are close together in a poem•Rhythm is the musical quality in language produced by repetition. Occurs naturally in language. Poems written in meter create rhythm through patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables

Satire•Type of persuasion that ridicules the foolishness and faults of individuals, an institution, society, or even humanity in general•The purpose of satire is to bring about social reform•Caricature, exaggeration, incongruity, parody, reversal, and wit are all satirical techniques

Setting•In a drama or work of fiction, setting is the time and place in which the action occurs

Simile•Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike things by using a connective word such as like, as, or than

Soliloquy•A long speech in which a character expresses private remarks or feelings•Character is either alone on stage or ignored by other characters who are also on stage

Sonnet: Fourteen-line lyric poem usually written in iambic pentameter

•Italian or Petrarchan sonnet•Shakespearean or English sonnet•Three quatrains•Couplet (sums up message)

Speaker in Poetry: The voice that is talking to us in a poem•Sometimes the poet is the speaker•Poet may create a different voice (child, man, woman, object, animal,…)

Symbol•Person, place, thing, or event that stands for itself and something beyond itself—often an abstract idea.

StyleThe particular way in which writers express their ideas. It refers not to what is said, but rather how it is said. Elements that make up a writer’s style include syntax, descriptive language, tone, point of view, use of dialogue, use of irony, and methods of characterization.

Suspense•The uncertainty or anxiety we feel about what is going to happen next in a story.

Syntax: The way words and phrases are arranged to form phrases and sentences•Sentence length/number of sentences•Sentence types (simple, compound,…)•Phrasing patterns•Specific kinds of punctuation•Repetition

Tanka: A Japanese poetic form•Evokes a strong feeling with a single image•Five unrhymed lines; 31 syllables total•Lines 1, 3 = 5 syllables each•Lines 2, 4, 5, = 7 syllables each

Theme •The central idea or insight revealed by a work of literature•Must use at least one complete sentence to state a theme, often more•Not the same as the subject (love, war, family background,…)•Often, what the protagonist learns about life is also what the author wants the reader to discover.

Tone: The author’s feelings or attitude about his or her subject•Intonation of voice that expresses meaning•Described using adjectives (sarcastic, apprehensive, confident,…)•May change throughout the piece

Tragedy•Drama that begins peacefully and ends in violence•One or more characters come to an unhappy end•Fate, weaknesses or flaws in characters contribute to ending•Resolution to the plot is called the catastrophe

Tragic Hero•Not an ordinary man, but a man with outstanding quality and greatness about him.•Usually of noble birth•Possesses a TRAGIC FLAW: a personality trait that eventually leads to his downfall•His actions result in self-awareness and self-knowledge•His downfall is not entirely his fault

Voice: Voice is the distinct personality, style, and point of view of a piece of writing or any other creative work.

•What is writer attempting to communicate about him/herself?•What is the purpose of the writing?•Who is the audience?