Literary Term Glossary: English I Academic

Name________________________Period____ Literary Term Glossary:
English I Academic NOTE: You will need to keep and use this glossary for the
ENTIRE

YEAR
. You MUST keep it in your English notebook at all times. Basic Literary Terms ● Allusion:
a reference to something literary, mythological, Biblical, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize ● Alliteration:
the repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of a series of words or phrases
● Hyperbole:
an exaggeration that creates an unusual image ● Imagery:
language that is used to vividly conveys the five physical senses ● Metaphor:
A DIRECT comparison between two unlike objects ● Mood:
the emotional atmosphere of a literary work ● Oxymoron:
an expression in which two words that contradict each other are joined ● Paradox:
a statement that seems to contradict itself, but actually contains some truth ● Personification:
When inanimate objects are given human qualities ● Point of view:
the perspective from which a narrative is told ● Setting:
The time, place, or weather in which a story takes place ● Simile:
An INDIRECT comparison between two unlike objects; usually uses “like” or “as” ● Structure:
the framework or organization of a literary selection ● Style:
the writer’s characteristic manner of employing language ● Symbol:
An object or name that stands for itself as well as for something else ● Theme:
The central idea in a work of literature; the author’s message Characterization ● Antagonist:
the character or force in conflict with the protagonist ● Characterization:
how the authors reveals the personality of a character o Direct Characterization:
the author
tells
the reader about the character directly o Indirect Characterization:
the author
shows
a character’s personality through the character’s words, thoughts, actions, appearance, and interactions with other characters o Dynamic Character:
a character who changes attitude in the course of the story by gaining new understanding or insight o Static Character:
a character who stays the same throughout the story ● Foil:
two characters with opposite traits ● Protagonist:
the main character Conflict ● Conflict:
a struggle between opposing forces o External Conflict:
a character’s struggle with an outside force ● Man vs. man
(character vs. another character) ● Man vs. society ● Man vs. nature
(physical) ● Man vs. supernatural being o Internal Conflict:
a character’s struggle within himself; a character is torn between opposing feelings or different courses of action Drama Terms ● Aside:
a comment made by a character that is heard by the audience or another character, but is not heard by other characters onstage ● Catastrophe:
the tragic resolution of the conflict; often involves the death of one or more major characters ● Monologue:
a long speech by one character to other characters ●
Prologue:
the introduction to a literary work, OR the opening speech of a play that provides background information ● Soliloquy:
a long speech by a character speaking to himself or the audience; often reveals the private thoughts and emotions of that character Genres ● Allegory:
a literary work on which characters, objects, or actions represent abstract ideas ● ComingofAge

Novel:
a novel in which the protagonist grows from a childlike view to an adult understanding of the world. These novels deal with a character’s loss of innocence. ● Epic:
A long narrative poem which presents the adventures of a national or legendary hero ● Fable:
a brief story that leads to a moral, often using animals as characters ● Satire:
the use of humor to emphasize human weaknesses or imperfections ● Short Story:
a brief fictional narrative in prose ● Tragedy:
a serious piece of literature (usually a play) that comes to a disastrous conclusion, usually with the death of one or more main characters Irony ● Irony:
the difference between what appears to be real and what is actually real in a story o Dramatic Irony:
the difference between what the reader knows and what a character knows. The reader has more or better information than the character. o Situational Irony:
the difference between what the reader expects to happen and what actually happens o Verbal Irony:
the difference between what a speaker says and what he means,
Sarcasm:
the use of verbal irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it Language Usage ● Antonym:
a word that is opposite in meaning to another word ● Connotation:
meanings or associations suggested by a word ● Denotation:
the dictionary definition of a word ● Diction:
the author’s word choices ● Figure of Speech:
a phrase that is not meant to be understood at a literal level ● Pun:
a play on words, often achieved through the use of words with similar sounds but different meanings ● Syntax:
the arrangement of words and the order of grammatical elements in a sentence ● Synonym:
a word that is similar in meaning to another word ● Tone:
the author’s attitude toward the subject
or
toward the reader Plot Structure ● Flashback:
interrupts the plot and tells of an earlier time ● Foreshadowing: c
lues that hint toward what will happen later in the story ● Plot:
the

sequence of related events that make up a story o Exposition:
the introduction of characters, setting, and situation o Rising Action:
the conflict and complications of a story o Climax:
the emotional high point of a story o Falling Action:
the events that follow the climax of a story o Resolution:
the final outcome of a story ● Suspense:
the quality that makes the reader uncertain or tense about the outcome of events Poetry and Sound Devices ● Alliteration:
the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words ● Onomatopoeia:
words that imitate sounds ● Poetry:
language arranged in lines with regular rhythm ● Prosody:
the study of sound and rhythm in poetry ● Rhyme:
the repetition of similar sounds in a line (internal rhyme) or at the end of two or more lines (end rhyme) Rhetorical Terms ● Ad hominem fallacy:
“to the individual,” the target person’s characteristics are attacked, instead of the argument: e.g., Nick Jacobson is not a worthy candidate for vice president of the senior class because he is short and frowns too much. ● Ad populum fallacy:
“to the crowd,” a misconception that a widespread occurrence of something is assumed to make an idea true or right: e.g., The parents of Sylvia’s friends allow their daughters to stay out until 2:00am on a school night, so Sylvia’s parents should allow her to stay out until 2:00am, as well. ● Anaphora:
the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses: e.g., “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landinggrounds, we shall fight in the fields and the in the streets, we shall fight in the hills.” Winston Churchill. ● Antithesis:
a direct juxtaposition of structurally parallel words, phrases, or clauses for the purpoese of contrast; e.g., “Sink or swim.” ● Assonance:
the repetition of accented vowel sounds in a series of words: e.g., The words “cry” and “side” have the same vowel sound and so are said to be in assonance. ● Chiasmus:
a sentence strategy in which the arrangement of ideas in the second clause is a reversal of the first: e.g., “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy ● Consonance:
the repetition of a consonant sound within a series of words to produce a harmonious effect: e.g., “And each slow dusk a drawingdown of blinds.” The “d” sound is in consonance. The “s” sound is also in consonance. ● Nonsequitur:
“it does not follow,” an inference or conclusion that does not follow established premises or evidence: e.g., “He is certainly sincere; he must be right.” Or “He’s the most popular; he should be president.” ● Post hoc, ergo propter hoc:
“after this, therefore because of this,” assuming that an incident that precedes another is the cause of the second incident: e.g., “Antonietta worked on her written argument longer than she had for any other essay; therefore, she felt she must earn an “A’.” ● Repetition:
the deliberate use of any element of language more than once sound, word, phrase, sentence, grammatical pattern, or rhythmical pattern. ● Sarcasm:
the use of verbal irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it: e.g., “As I fell down the stairs headfirst, I heard her say, ‘Look at that coordination.’” ● Shift or turn:
a change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization, or insight gained by the speaker, a character, or the reader. ● Synecdoche (metonymy):
a form of metaphor. In synecdoche, a part of something is used to signify the whole: e.g., “All hands on deck.” Also, the reverse, whereby the whole can represent a part: e.g., “Canada played the United States in the Olympic hockey finals.” Another form involves the container representing the thing being contained: e.g,, “The pot is boiling.” In one last for of synecdoche, the material from which an object is made stands for the object itself: e.g., “ The quarterback tossed the pigskin.” In
metonymy,
the name of one thing is applied to another thing with which it is closely associated: e.g., “I love Shakespeare.” ● Understatement (meiosis, litotes):
the opposite of hyperbole. It is the kind of irony that deliberately represents something as being much less than it really is: e.g., “I could probably manage to survive on a salary of tow million dollars per year.”

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Literary Term Glossary: English I Academic