julio

Literary Terms & Techniques

Plot-the action sequence of a narrative; what happens

Theme-the main message of the story



Climax-high point of interest i a story

Exposition-the beginning of a story; setting is created, characters are introduced

Denouement-the end of a story, after the climax



In Medias Res- a story that begins in the middle of the sequence of events. Previous events are made evident with flashbacks.



Topic- expressed in one or two words; does not express a view of life



Rising Action-longest part of the story; where conflicts are introduced



Falling action-explains the complications of the climax to the reader



conflict-struggle between opposing forces



Metaphor-a figure of speech in which something is spoken of as thought it were something else; direct comparison of two unlike things



Simile-a figure of speech in which like or as is used to make a comparison



Personification-a figure of speech in which something not human is treated as if it were human



Symbolism-the use of something to represent something beyond itself

Alliteration-repetition of the same initial consonant sound



Situational Irony-exists when what happens is the exact opposite of what is expected to happen



Verbal Irony-exists when a person says one thing and means another



Dramatic Irony-occurs when the audience has important information that the characters do not



Onomatopoeia-the use of the word or phrase that actually imitates or suggests the sound of what it describes



Hyperbole-a great exaggeration



Foreshadowing- use of clues or hints of what will happen later



First person narration- narrated by "I"



Second person narration- narrated by you



Third person limited- narration limited to ones characters thought and feelings as the authors own



Third person omniscient- narration in which the author knows and reveals several characters thoughts and feelings

Narrative- a story told in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or drama



Characterization- the act of creating and developing characters

setting- time and place



Short story- a short work of fiction



Narrator- Speaker or Character who tells a story



Tone- the writers attitude towards his or her audience and subject



Protagonist- main character or hero



Antagonist- a character or force in conflict with the main character



Fiction-prose writing telling about imaginary characters and traits



Direct characterization- when the author directly tells what the characters traits are



Indirect characterization- when the author tells what the characters look like, does, say, and how other characters react to them



Dynamic character- one who develops or grows during the story

Static character- character who doesn't change or grow during the story



Novel- a long work of fiction



Sensory language- writing or speech that appeals to one or more of the senses



Cliche- a phrase that has used so long that its meaning is lost



Allusion- a reference in a work of literature to a character, place, or situation from another work of literature, music, or art.

Flashback- narration of events before the normal time sequence of the plot



Analogy- when one thing is explained in terms of another

Understatement- when a response is deliberately incomplete



Oxymoron- two words that seem to mean the opposite of each other

Biography- a work about a persons life written by another person



Autobiography- a person writing about his/her own life

Nonfiction- prose writing presenting ideas or telling about real people, places, objects, or events



Figurative language- writing or speech not meant to be interpreted literally



legend- story about someone local or from a particular region



Myth- a fictional account that explains the actions of goods or causes of natural phenomena

Caricature- a drawing of a person in which one feature is exaggerated



Anecdote- a brief story about an interesting, amusing, or strange event



Genre- a division or type of literature



Prose- ordinary form of written language



Mood- feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage

Diction- word choice



Denotation- dictionary meaning of a word



Connotation- meaning of a word in context of a work



Narrative- tells a story



Descriptive essay- conveys an impression about a person, place, thing, or idea



Persuasive essay- tries to get reader to do something or accept writers point of view



Expository essay- gives information, discusses ideas, or explains a process



Satire- using humor to make fun of or change things



Dialect- form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group



Dialogue- conversation between characters



Suspense- a feeling of events in a literary work



Paradox- a statement that seems contradictory but is actually true



Rhetorical question- a question asked for effect, not to be answered



Free verse- poetry with out fixed meter or pattern



Blank verse- poetry written in unryhmed iambic pentameter



Soliloquy- one character, on stage, thinking aloud alone



Couplet- a pair of rhyming lines usually of the same lenth and meter



Tragedy- a work of literature, especially a play, that results in ctastrophe for the main character

Monologue- speech by one character in a play, story, or poem



Comedy- a work of literature especially a play, that has a happy ending



Foil- a character who is contrasted with another character



Aside- a short speech delivered by an actor in a play expressing his/her thoughts



Drama- a story written to be performed by actors



Repetition- more than one use of any element of language

Parody- making fun a work by writing something similar but exaggerated



Dramatic poetry- poetry that includes the techniques of drama



Rhyme scheme- a regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem



Round character- a character with many different traits



Archetype- original pattern or model; all others are copies



Stanza- a group of lines in a poem considered as a unit



Narrative poem- a poem that tells a story



Epic Simile- extended simile in a long epic poem, often several lines

Lyric- a poem expressing thoughts and feeling



Epic- a long narrative poem that traces the adventures of a hero, usually a hero with superhuman strength

Ballad- a short, musical poem usually focused on a single situation, often love or death



Haiku- a three line poem usually about nature



Rhythm- the pattern created by arranging stressed and unstressed syllables



Rhyme- repetition of accented vowel sounds and all succeeding consonant sounds

Assonance- the repetition of vowel sounds

Consonance- the repetition of consonant sounds int the middle or end of words



Subjective- based on opinions or feelings



Objective- based on facts/evidence

Chronological order- the order in which something happened