Literary Terms

Literary Terms

Plot

Sequence of events in a literary work. In most novels, dramas, short stories, and narrative poems, the plot invlolves both characters and a central conflict. Usually begins with an exposition. Then followed by inciting incident, which introduces central conflict. Conflict increases duirng developement untill it reaches climax. All events leading up to climax make rising action. Falling action is after climax. After falling action there is denoument/resolution, which is when a change is conveyed.

Setting

Setting of a literary work is the time and lace of action. Time can include historical period-past, present, or future- and a specific year. Place may involve a geographical place, region, country, state, ot town-but also social, economic, or cultral environment. (setting is a crucial element)

Allusion

An allusion is a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art.

Point of View

An author's point of view is perspective from which events are told or described.
First Person - Narrating from main character's point of view
Third Person Limited - Narrating as spectator point of view, but includes main character's thoughts/ideas
Third Person Omniscient - Narrating as spectator point of view, which include thoughts/ideas of every character.

Character

​Character is a person or animal that takes part in action of literary work. Main character is most important character in a story. This character often changes in some important way, leading to story's events. Characters are sometimes classified as round or flat, dynamic or static. A complex shows many different traits. A flat only shows one trait. Dynamic character develops/grows during course of story; a static character does not change.

Protagonist

A protagonist is the main character of a story, who makes decisions that effect the story. The decisions often affect the plot.

Antagonist

An antagonist is a character or force in conflict with a main character, protagonist.

Symbol

A symbol is anything that stands for something else. A symbol represesnts abstract ideas. For example, a flag is a peice of cloth, but it also represents the idea of a country.

Tone

The tone of a literary work is the writer's attitude toward his or her audience and subject.

Diction

Diction refers to an author's choice of words, especially with regard to range of vocabulary, use of slang and colloquial, and level of formality

Dialect

Form of language spoken in particular part of a country or region by particular group of people.

Irony

Irony is general term for literary techniques that portray differences between appearence and reality, or expectation and result. Verbal irony is when words are used to suggest opposite of what is meant. Dramatic irony is when there is a contradiction between what a character thinks about reader/audience. In situational irony, events occur that directly contradict the expectations of the characters, readers, or audience.

Genre

A genre is a category or type of literature. Literature is commonly divided into 3 major genres: Poetry (lyric, concrete, dramatic, narrative, and epic poetry), prose (fiction and nonfiction), and drama (serious and tragedy, comic, melodrama, and face drama).

Motif

A recurring image or an idea in a literary work that highlights a theme.

Imagery

Desciptive or figurative language used in literature to create word pictures for the reader. These pictures, or images, are creasted by deatails of sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, or movement.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is the use in a literary work of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur. This technique helps create suspense, keeping readers wondering about what will happen next.

Mood

Mood, or atmosphere, is the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage. The mood is often suggested by descriptive details. Often the mood can be described in a single word, such as lighthearted, frightening, or despairing.

Audience

Poeple who are spectating or reading something. For example, in a book, the reader is the audience.

Speaker

The speaker is the imaginary voice assumed by the writer of a poem. In many poems, the speaker is not identified by name, and may be a person, an animal, a thing, or an abstraction.

Figurative Language

Writing or speech not meant to be interpreted literally. It's often used to create vivid impressions by setting up comparisions betwwen similiar things.

Theme

A theme is a central message or insight into life revealed through a literary work. The theme of a literary work may be started directly or implied. When the theme of a work is implied, readers think about what the work suggests about people or life.

Connotation

The connotation of a word is the set of ideas with it in addition to its explicit meaning.

Denotation

The denotation of a word is its dictionary meaning, independent of other associations that the word may have.

Paradox

A paradox is a statement that seems contradictory but may actually be true. Because a paradox is surprising, it catches the reader's attention.

Inference

A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning.

Interpretation

The action of explaining the meaning of something.

Analogy

A comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

Parallel structure/parallelism

using similar words, clauses, phrases, sentence structure, or other grammatical elements to emphasize similar ideas in a sentence

Caricature

a picture, description, or imitation of a person in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect.

Active-voice vs. passive-voice

Active Voice: the subject of sentence performs the action

Passive Voice: the subject is acted upon; he or she receives the action expressed by the verb

Ethos

Focuses attention on the writer's or speaker's trustworthiness.

Logos

to appeal to the audiences' sense of reason or logic

Pathos

to persuade an audience by purposely evoking certain emotions to make them feel the way the author wants them to feel.

Claim

a statement in which a writer presents an assertion as truthful to substantiate an argument

Claim

a point yielded to an opposing perspective during an argument

Refutation

disproving an opposing argument.