Basic Terms Overview
Source (unless otherwise specified):
th
Meyer, Michael, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 6 ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002. Print.
Character (99-104)
We evaluate fictional characters in much the same way we understand people in our own lives. The action of the
plot interests us primarily because we care about what happens to people and what they do. A good writer gives us
the illusion that a character is real, but we should also remember that a character is not an actual person but an
intentional creation of the author’s.
characterization – the methods by which a writer creates people in a story so that they seem actually to exist; how
the author creates a context by which we interpret a character’s behavior
 character’s name – can be used to indicate qualities that a writer associates with the character; significance in a
lack of specific identity or an ambiguous or androgynous name
 character’s speech (what they say and how they say it)
 character’s action (both what they do and don’t do)
 character’s thoughts
 physical description – can indicate important inner qualities
 words or actions of other characters in response to the character
two methods of characterization
 showing (indirect characterization) – see above methods
 telling (direct characterization) – the author tells the reader about a character’s personality; this method is
often used when a minor character must be sketched economically, or when a long time has elapsed, causing
changes in a major character
types of characters – NOTE: these terms are helpful tools to use to determine what we know about a character, but
they are not an infallible measure of the quality of a story
 dynamic – undergoes some kind of change because of the action of the plot; the protagonist is usually, but not
always, dynamic
 static – does not change; generally characters in supporting roles
 foil – often a static character that helps to reveal (by contrast) the distinctive qualities of another character
 flat – embodies one or two qualities, ideas, or traits that can be readily described in a brief summary; onedimensional; not created to be psychologically complex and thus easy to understand
 stock (stereotypes) – immediately recognizable because they lack individuality; taken from cliché or social
prejudice
 round – more complex than flat or stock; have more depth and require more attention; more complex to
summarize because they embody competing ideas, values, and possibilities
Figures of Speech – a way of saying one thing in terms of something else (777-786)
 indirect, but designed to clarify our understanding of what they describe
 achieve color, vividness, and intensity of language
 clichés – figures of speech that lack originality and freshness “in a nutshell”
 simile – comparison that uses “like” or “as”
 metaphor – asserts the identity of dissimilar things; transforms objects into whatever the poet imagines them
to be; more frequently demanding than similes because they are not signaled by particular words
 implied metaphor – doesn’t explicitly identify the comparison; hints at or alludes
 extended metaphor (controlling metaphor) – consists of a series of related metaphors or similes
 pun – a play on words that relies on a word having more than one meaning or sounding like another word
 synecdoche – part of something is used to signify the whole: a gossipy neighbor is a “wagging tongue”; less







typically, refers to a whole signifying a part: “Germany invaded Poland (not all the people in Germany invaded
Poland)”
metonymy – something closely associated with a subject is substituted for it: “She preferred the silver screen
*motion pictures+ to reading.”
Synecdoche and metonymy may overlap and are therefore sometimes difficult to distinguish. When a
figure of speech overlaps categories, it is usually labeled metonymy. Knowing the precise term is less
important than responding to its use in a poem: consider how these elements work together to convey
meaning and tone.
personification – a form of metaphor
apostrophe – an address to someone who is absent and therefore cannot hear the speaker or to something
nonhuman that cannot comprehend; provides an opportunity for the speaker of a poem to think aloud
(expressed in formal tone); can provide an intense and immediate voice in the poem, but when it is overdone,
can be ludicrous
hyperbole (overstatement) – adds emphasis without intending to be literally true
understatement – saying less than is intended
paradox – a statement that initially appears to be self-contradictory but that turns out to make sense: “The pen
is mightier than the sword” – “pen” and “sword” are metonymies for writing and violence
oxymoron – a condensed form of paradox in which two contradictory words are used together: “sweet
sorrow,” “icy hot”; arrests the reader’s attention by its seemingly stubborn refusal to make sense
Plot (64-65) – the author’s arrangement of incidents in a story; order of events
 Chronological (linear) – begins with the first event, then second, then third, etc.
 Anachronous (non-linear) – moves back and forth between past and present;
o
begin at end and lead up to why or how the events worked out as they did (can be done as a frame
narrative – see below – but not always so)
o in medias res – begins in the middle of things; we enter the story on the verge of something important
o flashback – informs reader about events that happened before the opening scene of a work
 conventional plot – exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution
 frame narrative – begins with a character is telling the story to another character
Be aware of how the writer’s conscious ordering of events affects your response to the action. Also consider how
an author uses suspense and narrative pacing to affect your response.
Point of View (173-177) – who tells the story and how it is told
 narrator – a creation of the writer; should not be confused with the author who may agree or disagree with
their narrator
 narrative voice – if this is changed, the story will change
Determine where the author stands in relation to the story. Behind the narrative voice is the author, manipulating
events and providing or withholding information.
Writers choose a point of view to achieve particular effects because point of view determines what we know about
the characters and events in the story. We should, therefore, be aware of who is telling the story, what their
purpose might be for telling the story, and whether the narrator sees things clearly and reliably.
three categories:
 first-person (participant - I)
o reader restricted to perceptions, thoughts, and feelings of one character
o unreliable narrator – interpretation of events is different from the author’s for variety of reasons: lack of
self-knowledge, innocent and inexperienced; reader must go beyond the narrator’s understanding of
events to comprehend the situation for themselves
o naïve narrator – youthfully innocent; lack sophistication to accurately interpret what they see
o reflective narrator (a Purvis-made term) – dividing narration between the youth who experiences and
the mature adult who reflects back on those experiences; different from bildungsroman
 second-person (you) – rarely used because of the awkwardness of thrusting the reader into the story’s action
 third-person (non-participant – he, she, it)
o omniscient – narrator knows characters’ thoughts and feelings as well as speech and actions
 editorial omniscience – narrator evaluates the character for the reader
 neutral omniscience – allows character’s thoughts and actions to speak for themselves; reader’s
reach their own conclusions
o limited – confined to a single perspective or a major or minor character; sometimes the perspective can
shift (i.e. two characters alternately from one chapter to the next); we are not told anything that
happens away from the character’s perceptions
 stream-of-consciousness technique – reveal perceptions, thoughts, and feelings on a conscious
or unconscious level; suggests the flow of thought as well as its content; creates the illusion that
we are reading the character’s thoughts as they occur
o objective – narrator does not see into the mind of any character; detached and impersonal, reporting
the action, details, and dialogue without telling us directly what the character thinks and feels; external
details of the scene reveal his inner feelings
o intrusive – narrator offers opinions on characters and situations
Setting (150-152) – the context in which the action of a story occurs; time, place, and social environment
Avoid the temptation to locate time and place and then stop looking at setting details. Focus on the context created
by the details about time and place. Setting can be used to evoke a mood/atmosphere, to develop theme, to shed
light on character and plot. We are more likely to make connections that relate to a larger purpose if we can
understand why an author would include certain details.
Be aware of the traditional associations of setting – i.e. adventure and romance flourish in exotic locations – and
that a writer may consciously choose to reverse the expectations set up by those associations in order to
complement the elements of their particular story – i.e. using a tranquil garden as the location of a horrendously
bloody murder.
Some stories have no particularly significant setting; however, if a shift in setting would make a serious difference to
our understanding of a work, then the setting is an important element.
Sounds – the repetition of sounds in poetry is similar to the function of the tones and melodies that are repeated,
with variations, in music; as significant as a word’s denotative or connotative meanings (837-839)
 onomatopoeia – use of a word that resembles the sound it denotes
 alliteration – repetition of the initial consonant sound; heavy-handed use of alliteration is rarely effective – it
can be distracting instead of strengthening the meaning or emphasizing the relation between words
 assonance – the repetition of the same vowel sound in nearby words; helps establish the relations among




words in a line or a series of lines
euphony – lines that are musically pleasant to the ear and smooth
cacophony – lines that are discordant and difficult to pronounce
rhyme – a way of creating sound patterns
eye rhyme – spellings are similar, but the pronunciations are not
Many great poems have no rhymes, and many weak verses use rhyme as a substitute for poetry. At its worst,
rhyme is merely a distracting decoration that can lead to dullness and predictability.
Style, Tone, and Irony (282-286)
style – the distinctive manner in which a writer arranges words to achieve particular effects, an arrangement which
includes diction, syntax, structure and tone, and irony
Kennedy* (172) – One of the clearest indications of the tone of a story is the style in which it is written in general,
style refers to the individual traits or characteristics of a piece of writing: to a writer’s particular ways of managing
words that we come to recognize as habitual or customary. … Involved in the idea of style, too, is any habitual use of
imagery, patterns of sound, figures of speech, or other devices.
diction – choice of words; crucial in controlling a reader’s response because of the differing connotations of words
syntax – sentence structure; fuses what is said with how it is said
tone – the author’s implicit attitude toward the people, places, and events in a story; frequently an important
element for interpreting a story
irony – reveals a reality different from what appears to be true
verbal irony – saying one thing and meaning another; not openly aggressive
sarcasm – verbal irony that is calculated to hurt someone by false praise
situational irony – incongruity between what is expected and what actually happens; creates a distinction between
appearances and reality
dramatic irony – creates a discrepancy between what a character believes or says and what the reader understands
to be true; an effective way for an author to have a character unwittingly reveal him or herself
Word Choice, Word Order, and Tone (715-730)
diction – word choice
“A few inappropriate words in a 200-page novel (which would have about 100,000 words) create fewer problems
than they would in a 100-word poem.”
colloquial language – conversation language including slang
denotation – dictionary definition
connotation – associations and implications that go beyond a word’s literal meaning; allow poets to be economical
and suggestive simultaneously
“Words written in other times and places may have unexpected connotations. Poets rely on widely shared
associations.”
Connotation in Action
“Nearly three decades of increasing interest in nutrition and general fitness have created a collective consciousness
that advertisers have capitalized on successfully. Knowing that we want to be slender or lean or slim (not spare or
scrawny and certainly not gaunt), advertisers have created a new word to describe … products that tend to overload
what used to be called sweat-clothes and sneakers. The word is lite. The assumed denotative meaning of lite is
“low in calories,” but as close readers of ingredient labels know, some lites are heavier than regularly prepared
products. There can be no doubt about the connotative meaning of lite, however. Whatever is lite cannot hurt you;
less is more. Even the word is lighter than light; there is no unnecessary droopy g or plump h. Lite is a brilliantly
manufactured use of connotation.”
ambiguity – allows for two or more simultaneous interpretations of a word, phrase, action, or situation, all of which
can be supported within the context of the work
syntax – can be manipulated to place emphasis on a word
allusion – brief reference to a person, place, thing, event, or idea in history or literature; both suggestive and
economical; imply reading and cultural experiences shared by the writer and the reader
Symbol (220-222) – a person, object, or event that suggests more than its literal meaning
 embedded within the text of the story; carefully placed, not “hidden” – requires careful consideration of the




elements of the story, a sensitivity to its language, and common sense (and usually a second or third read)
similar to the kinds of perceptions and interpretations that allow us to make sense of our daily lives
allow a writer to say more with less
cannot be restricted to a single meaning; suggestive rather than definitive
need not be repeated to have an important purpose
conventional symbol – widely recognized by a society or culture (Star of David, nation’s flag, etc.)
Note: individual cultures have their own conventions; some Eastern cultures associate white rather than black with
death and mourning, etc.
literary symbol – can include traditional, conventional, or public meanings, but it may also be established internally
by the total context of the work in which it appears; can be a setting, character, action, object, name, or anything
else in a work that maintains its literal significance while suggesting other meanings
allegory – the primary focus is on the abstract idea that is called forth by the concrete object
 the characters, actions, and setting have no existence beyond their abstract meanings
 tend to be definitive rather than suggestive
Theme (247-250) – the central meaning or idea of a story; not the subject
It is so important that you understand the intricacies of this term, which is commonly misinterpreted, that you need
to see the separate handout.