Literary Terms:
Ambiguity: (1) a statement, which has two or
more possible meanings; (2) a statement whose
meaning is unclear.
Analogy: a similarity between like features of two
things, on which a comparison may be based: the
analogy between the heart and a pump.
Anaphora: the repetition of a word or phrase at
the beginning of successive phrases, clauses or
lines.
Anecdote: a little story used to explain an idea.
Conflict: conflict is a problem one deals with
outside forces (External) or within themselves
(Internal).
External:
Man vs. man
Man vs. nature
Man vs. society
Internal:
Man vs. himself
Connotation: the emotional response suggested
by a word that creates a personal definition rather
than a dictionary definition. Ex. Home vs. House
Antagonist: a character that goes against the
main character and tries to stop him/her from
achieving their goal.
Contrast: differences
Audience: person reading or viewing the story or
writing.
Denouement: the unraveling and resolution of a
problem in a story.
Autobiography: The story of a person's life written
by himself or herself.
Dialogue: conversation between two or more
people.
Cacophony/Euphony: Cacophony is an
unpleasant combination of sounds. Euphony, the
opposite, is a pleasant combination of sounds.
These sound effects can be used intentionally to
create an effect, or they may appear
unintentionally.
Diction: author’s choice of words. (Ex. Consume
vs. eat).
Characterization: the way an author presents
characters. 1. In direct presentation, a character is
described by the author, the narrator or the other
characters. 2. In indirect presentation, a
character's traits are revealed by action and
speech.
Denotation: the “dictionary” definition of a word.
Essay: writing that attempts to explain something
from a personal point of view.
Euphemism: A mild word of phrase, which
substitutes for another, which would be
undesirable because it is too direct, unpleasant, or
offensive.
Exposition: In drama, the presentation of
essential information regarding what has
occurred prior to the beginning of the play.
Chronological order: time order.
Cliché: an overused phrase.
External conflict: a struggle that exists outside of
the body.
Climax: turning point in the story. Determines
the outcome of the conflict.
Falling Action: The falling action is the series of
events, which take place after the climax.
Compare: to tell similarities.
Fiction: prose narrative based on imagination,
usually the novel or the short story.
Flashback: A reference to an event, which took
place prior to the beginning of a story or play.
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Literary Terms:
Foreboding: hints that something bad will
happen.
Foreshadowing: In drama, a method used to
build suspense by providing hints of what is to
come.
Genre: a literary species or form, e.g., tragedy,
epic, comedy, novel, essay, biography, lyric poem.
Imagery: A word or group of words in a literary
work, which appeal to one or more of the senses:
sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell.
Inference: A judgment based on reasoning rather
than on direct or explicit statement.
Irony: the discrepancy between what is said and
what is meant, what is said and what is done, what
is expected or intended and what happens, what is
meant or said and what others understand.
3. Limited omniscient narrator, the
material is presented from the point of
view of a character, in third person.
4. Objective point of view presents the
action and the characters' speech, without
comment or emotion. The reader has to
interpret them and uncover their meaning.
Protagonist: The hero or central character of a
literary work
Resolution: The part of a story or drama which
occurs after the climax and which establishes a
new norm, a new state of affairs-the way things
are going to be from then on.
Rising Action: The part of a drama, which begins
with the exposition and sets the stage for the
climax.
Setting: The time and place in which a story unfolds.
Mood: The atmosphere or feeling created by a
literary work, partly by a description of the
objects or by the style of the descriptions.
Style: Many things enter into the style of a work:
the author's use of figurative language, diction,
sound effects and other literary devices.
Non-fiction: a story that is real.
Symbol: in general terms, anything that stands for
something else.
Novel: A fictional prose work of substantial
length.
Parallel Structure: A repetition of sentences using
the same structure. Ex. punctuation, imagery, listing
of idea, redundant phrases, etc…
Personification: A figure of speech in which
something nonhuman is given human characteristics.
Plot: The structure of a story. The sequence in which
the author arranges events in a story.
Point of view: the perspective from which the
story is told.
Symbolism: A device in literature where an object
represents an idea.
Theme: An ingredient of a literary work, which
gives the work unity. The theme provides an
answer to the question What is the work about?
Tone: Tone expresses the author's attitude
toward his or her subject.
Transitions: connecting words needed between
paragraphs in writing.
1. First person or "I."
2. Omniscient narrator knows everything,
may reveal the motivations, thoughts and
feelings of the characters, and gives the
reader information.
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