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59. THEME*the message, main idea, or insight about life orhuman nature that the writer
presents to the reader through the characters and plot. Often the theme is a generalization
about lifeor a lesson thecharacters learn. Themes are usually implied and are rarely
expressed directly. Atheme is very different from a moral lesson; a moral lesson isa
warning about right and wrong behavior, but atheme is not a lesson: it is arevelation ofwhat
all ths efcme**: in'the story taken together tell us about human life. Theme isunderstood
when a student writes "This is a story about loneliness," instead of"This is a story about a
man who goes to live by himself in the country."
60. TONE: the attitude orfeeling that comes across ma piece ofliterature, revealed by the
characters, the worC choice, and the general writing style. The tone can be serious, funny,
satiric, sarcastic, objective, etc.
.,61. TURNING POINT or Crisis: a moment in a literary work when an important change
occurs.
62. VERSE: consists ofa metric line ofpoetry that has some formal structure to it Used also to
distinguish poetry from prose.
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¥HJRD-PERS0N^JQ8&: the narrator is someone outside, or "above," the story;
the narrator refers to all the characters in the story as "he," "she," or "they"—or else by
name. ["She grew up ona dairy farm."] There are two common forms of third-person
point ofview:
• fclMTTED THIRD-PERSON P.O.V.: this point of view allows the narrator,
. - who is outside the story, to sharethe thoughts and feelings of only one
character
•
tMdNISCIENT (ALL-KNOWING) P.O.V.: a third-person narrator who is
able to see into the minds ofall the characters in a hterary work, narrating the
story from multiplepoints of view, thereby sharing the thoughts and feelings
of multiple characters.
47. PROSE: writingthat is not composed according to the rules and forms of poetry.
48. PUN: a word or phrase that achieves emphasis or humor because it is used in such a way as
to imply otherpossible meanings; also referred to as "a play on words". Shakespeare's works
are often not understood unless his puns are recognized and understood.
49. RHYME: the identity of sounds betweensyllables or paired groups of syllables. Although
rhyme is most often used at the ends of verse lines, internal rhyme betweensyllables within
the same line is also found.
50. RHYTHM: the ordered occurrence of sound used in a poem (perceived as its beat)
51. SATIRE: used to make fun of or ridicule a human vice or weakness or individual fails:
classic example is found in Animal Farm, which satirizes politics and human nature.
52. SENSORY LANGUAGE: language ihat appeals to the five senses: sight, sound, taste,
smell, and touch; it is the basis of imagery/visualization
53. SETTING: the where and when of a literary work, placing it in a historical and physical
time and space.
54. SONNET: poem consisting of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter, most commonly
encountered in Shakespeare's works.
55. STANZA: a group oflines thatareset offto form a division in poetry; the number of lines a
poetic "paragraph" contains: couplet (two-line stanza), quatrain (four-line stanza), etc.
56. STYLE: how a writer uses words, images, phrases to create a feeling or convey a thought to
the reader.
57. SUSPENSE: the quality in a literary work that makes the reader or audience uncertain or
tense aboutwhat is to come next(exciting curiosity). Suspense usually begins to build as
soon as conflict begins. Foreshadowing often increases suspense.
58. SYMBOL/SYMBOLISM: any person, place, thing, oraction that has a meaning in itself and
also represents something else—often larger than itself(i.e., a quality, belief, value, or
attitude). Examples: a flag or banner, dove, elephant, ordonkey; the allegory Animal Farm is
filled with symbolism.
0
38. MOOD: refers to the feeling atext arouses in its reader; examples: happy, peaceful, sad.
39. NARRATOR: the writer or speaker who tells the story (in amemoir or autobiography, it is the author
who narrates the story)
40. ONOMATOPOEIA: use ofwords whose sound defines its meaning; examples: plop, crash, hum, h'-s
41. OXYMORON: two words with opposite meanings are put together for a special effect
(jumbo shrimp, bittersweet, Romeo's "loving hate, heavy lightness, cold fire...").
42. PARABLE: ashort story that illustrates a particular belief ormoral
43. PARADY: form ofliterature that mocks aliterary work or its style (example: Sleeping Ugly or The
RealStory of the Three Little Pigs)
44 PLOT: the "what: ofthe story: what happens or the action; the sequence ofevents (the plot line) in a
' literary work. Almost all plots center on at least one conflict that the characters) struggles to resolve.
Plots traditionally follow a specific pattern, made up ofthe following five parts:
A- EXPOSITION: that part ofthe story in which the characters are introduced, the background
is explained, and thesetting isdescribed.
B. RISING ACTION: the central part ofthe story during which various conflicts arise.
Suspense begins to build as the main characters struggle to resolve problems.
C. CLIMAX: the most intense orimportant point ofaction ofa story, the mam character comes
fece-to-fece with his or her problem. This part issometimes called the turning point.
D. FALLING ACTION: the action and dialogue that lead the reader into the story's end. The
suspense is over, but the results ofthe decision or action that caused the climax are worked out.
E. RESOLUTION (also called Denueraent}: the part ofthe story in which the problems are
solved and the action comes toa satisfying end; ittells how the conflict ends and ties up any
loose ends ofthe plot. The Falling Action and Resolution are often very closely related.
Climax
Falling
Actio a
Exposition
/ V /
\
Resolation/Denuement
45. POETRY: an imaginative kind ofwriting that tells astory, describes an experience, or
reflects on an idea. Itis usually characterized by stanzas rather than paragraphs; it uses
rhythm, figurative language, sensory language, and sometimes rhyme.
%46-iTOINTOFVIE\¥: the perspective, angle, or vantage point from which awork is told. The
angle depends upon the narrator, orperson telling the story.
FIRST-PERSON P.O.V.: this means that one ofthe characters is telling the story; it is
told from the "I/men vantage point. Readers are restricted to that particular character's
partial knowledge and experience [UI grew up on afarm."]
SECOND-PERSON P.OtY.: [uWhen you grow up on a form..."].
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27. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE or Figures of Speech: language that intentionally departs from a
standard literal interpretation ofwords inorder to achieve some special meaning oreffect. Figurative
language helps readers picture ordinary things innew ways; it always makes useofcomparisons
between different things.
SIMILE: a comparison of two unlikethings using "like" or "as"
"His blue eyes danced like the sea."
"He fought like a tiger."
"You are as wild as the wind."
METAPHOR: a comparison oftwo unlike things in which noword ofcomparison is used (like
or as)
"You're nothing but a twig."
"The m iser had a heart of stone."
'""My old car was a lemon."
"...the river of life..."
PERSONIFICATION: the giving of human characteristics to something
non-human—an object, animal, or idea.
"His blue eyes danced with joy."
"Grandfather leans against the courtyard wall, chin en his chest, his turban
nodding in rhythm to his snores."
"The trees reached toward the sky."
28. FLASHBACK: a techniquein which a writer interrupts a story to go back and explain an
earlier event.
29. FREE VERSE: poetry that does not conformto the traditional rules that govern metrical verse; most
free verse has irregular line lengths and lacks rhyme.
30. FORESHADOWING: use of clues or hints in a narrativeto suggest events that will occur later in the
plot.
31. GENRE: refers to the type or category of literature: for example: mystery novels, poetry, drama,
biography, autobiography, realistic fiction, opinion, etc. Tne major genres arc fiction, non-fiction,
drama, and poetry.
32. HYPERBOLE: an extreme exaggeration or overstatement that a writer uses for emphasis
(i.e., "My shoes are killing me").
33. IAMBIC PENTAMETER: since roughly 90% of all verse is written in iambic pentameter, it is
helpful to carefully define it. An iamb is five iambic feet strungtogether (e.g.. upon). Pentameter
means that the line has five feet (or ten syllables) which may or may not rhyme
34. IDIOM: words used in a special way that is usually different from theirliteral meaning
(tomove at "a snail'space" means very slowly, to takeinmoney "handover fist" means
to take in a great quantity at a rapid pace).
35. IMAGERY: a description, or image, thatappeals to anyone or anycombination of the fivesenses
(see, touch, taste, hear, smell) utilizing either literal or figurative language. One example: In A
Christmas Carol Ebenezer Scrooge hears "a clanking noise, deep down below, as if some person were
dragging a heavy chain over the casks in thewind merchant's cellar." Imagery helps readers to
visualize.
36. INFERENCE: a reasonable guess based upon information provided ina piece ofwriting
37. IRONY: a contrast between what is stated andwhat is really meant or between what is expected to
happen and what actually does happen. In irony the author uses a word orphrase tomean the opposite
of its literal or normal meaning.
;^"CONFLICT: aMniggrebetwe^opposlHfeifiarces;mejSrimaiysoultooftensio*wilhm
v:2^Conflia usually arises from ablocking ofcharacters' desires; it is the primary source oftension within
'
a story, and it forms thebasis oftheplot ofastory.
- ^BXEKi*AB,€XWFlJET---a conflict between acharacter and an outsideforce
• Person versusperson* A conflict between individuals.
•
'Perso^j^ersjds^fl^gQd^ Aconflict/struggle between a character and fate.
•
Person versus nature. A -^anict between a character and someelementof nature, like a bear,
mountain climb, or a hurricane.
•
Person versus society. A conflict between" acharacter and society; school, the law, orsome
tradition.
^©niae^AJ^CeNFLICI—a conflict within the mind ofa character...between opposing needs,
desires, oremotions, orwith atroub'esome aspect ofhisorherpersonality (individual vs.
themselves conflict).
14. CONNOTATION: the range offurther associations that a word orphrase suggests in addition
to the primary dictionary meaning (its denotation); example: we have many associated ideas regarding
the word motherother than its denotation, a female parent
15. CONSONANCE: the repetition ofconsonant sounds across syllables or words; the repeated sound
can be in the beginning, middle, orend ofthe word. Consonance is a characteristic ofpoetry.
Example: ".. .andhigh school girlswith clear skin smiles..."
16. COUPLET: a pair of lines in versethat form a unit
17. DENOTATION: the exact or accepted "dictionary" meaning of a word
18. DLALECT: variation ofpronunciation and usage within standard form ofspeech; typically
based onregional, cultural, orsocial class differences. Dialects often include colloquialisms.
19. DIALOGUE: The conversations that cha, -cters have with one another.
20. DRAMA: a genre of literature meant tobeperformed byactors before an audience (also known as
plays). Drama tellsits story through action anddialogue.
21. EPIGRAPH: short poem orverse placed atthe beginning ofa book that bears some relation to the
book's themes or subject
22. EPILOGUE: concludingsection of a literarywork
23. EPITAPH: words or poem suited for inscription on a tomb or gravestone
24. ESSAY: a piece offactual writing in which ideas on a single topic are presented, explained, argued, or
described inaninteresting way. There are various forms (or modes) for the essay: analytical,
reflective, cause-effect, personal narrative, persuasive, compare-contrast....
25. EXPOSITION: writing that informs, makes clear, orexplains something explains (asharing of
knowledge); in aplay or novel oressay ithelps the reader to understand the larger action or subject of
the text
26. FICTION: stories created from thewriter'simagination or invented. Novels and short stories are
fiction. As novelist Tim O'Brien says, however, justbecause it didn't happen doesn't mean it isn't
true
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ELEMENTS OF A LITERARY WORK
1.
ACTION: what happens in the story
2. ALLITERATION: therepetition of the samesounds in nearby words—usually inHial consonants of
words. Example:
"So if, my dear, therejometimes seemto be
Old bridges breaking between you and me..."
3. ALLUSION: indirect reference to an event, person, place,orartistic workthat the writerassumes the
readerknowsabout (a text-to-text connection included that the author incorporates within a literary
work)
4. ASSONANCE: the repetition of vowel sounds across syllables or words—without the repetition of
consonants. Assonance is a characteristic of poetry. Example: "And the starsnever rise but I see the
bright eves / Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; / And so, all the night-tide. I lie down by the side..."
5.
AUDIENCE: those people who read or hear what a writerhas written
6.
AUTHOR'S PURPOSE: the reason why an author writes. Authors write to entertain, to inform or
explain, to persuade or argue, or to express personal thoughts or feelings.
7. AUTOBIOGRAPHY: personal remembrance in which the writer tells the story ofhis or herown life
or a particularevent duringthat life (see Memoir)
8.
BIOGRAPHY: book or story written about the life of someone else
9.
BLANK VERSE: unrhymed form of poetry; each line composed oflO syllables in which every other
syllable, beginning with the second one is stressed (iambic pentameter)
10. CHARACTER(S): wjiathestory is about (people, animals, orimaginary chreatures); characters are
endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that areexpressed in what they sayand do.
•
Protagonist: also called the Main Character or Hero/Heroine
•
Antagonist: the most prominentof the characterswho oppose the hero
•
Secondary Character(s)
11. CHARACTERIZATION: dieways, ortechniques, in which authors create, develop, and
present the personality ofa character andmake her/him seem real. A writer reveals a
character through directmethods (telling), as well as through indirect methods (showing).
Indirect methods invite readers to infer the qualities, motives, and disposition from the
"Characters actions,'speech, orappearance. Thus, characterization is accomplished in the
following ways:
By showinghow the characteracts or speaks
Bydescribing howthe character looks (physical description)
By explaining whatthe character is thinking and/orfeeling
By telling how others respond to the character
By commenting directly onthe character-directly telling readers what thecharacter is like
12. COLLOQUIALISM: a common word of phrase that is used when people talk informally to
one another (i.e., "I was sore atray mom" meaning I was angry orresentful. "Zup?" meaning
"What's up?" or"What's going onT). Colloquialisms are usually not used in a formal speech or in
most assigned writing.