Glossary of
100 Literary Terms
- Allegory- a literary work
in which characters, objects, or actions represent abstractions
- Alliteration- the
repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words
- Allusion- a reference to
something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes
the reader will recognize
- Ambiguity – Occurs when a
word, phrase, situation, or event can be interpreted in more than one way;
both interpretations must be supportable from the text.
- Analogy- a comparison of
two different things that are similar in some way
- Anecdote- a brief
narrative (story) that focuses on a particular incident or event
- Antagonist- a main character of a plot who is in
opposition or conflict with the protagonist. This person usually
complicates the conflict and plot.
- Archetype- a detail,
image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and
is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a
response
- Aside- when a
character is on stage with other characters, making side line comments
that those on stage do not appear to hear or react to.
- Assonance – repetition of
vowel sounds in the middle of words (NOT RHYME)
- Autobiography- a NONFICTION story written by an author
about themselves
- Character
(tragic) flaw- a habit, personality trait or practice that
causes a character problems in his/her life again and again and again.
- Characterization - the
introduction and development of the personalities of the individuals in a
piece of literature.
- Cliché- an expression that
has been overused to the extent that is freshness has worn off
- Climax- the point of
highest interest in a literary work
- Conflict- a problem, issue or challenge that must
be solved. This is the driving force for all the action and events
in the plot. Conflict may be either
internal or external.
- Connotation- the implied
or associative meaning of a word
- Couplet – two consecutive
lines with words at the end that rhyme
- Denotation- the literal
meaning of a word (dictionary definition)
- Dialect- a variety of
speech characterized by its own particular grammar or pronunciation, often
associated with a particular geographical region
- Dialogue- conversation
between two or more people
- Diction- the word choices
made by a writer
- Didactic- having the
primary purpose of teaching or instructing (This is often a words used to
describe tone.)
- Direct characterization –
when the narrator or a character in the story tells us what we need to
know about a character
- Drama- the formal
name for a play
- Dramatic
irony- when the audience or the reader knows details or
information that the characters within the story or drama don't know
- Dynamic character - an individual who changes from what they
have learned or experienced during the events of the story.
- Elegy- a formal poem
presenting a mediation on death or another solemn theme
- Epic- a long narrative
poem written in elevated style which presents the adventures of characters
of high position and episodes that are important to the history of a race
or nation
- Epigraph- a saying or
statement on the title page of a work, or used as a heading for a
character or other section of a work
- Epithet- A characterizing
word or phrase firmly associated with a person or thing and often used in
place of the actual name or title, such as “man's best friend” for
“dog”.
- Exposition – the part of
the plot that introduces the setting, characters, conflict, etc.
- External conflict- a struggle or problem coming from outside
a character. (person vs. person OR person vs. nature OR person vs.
society)
- Fable- a brief story that
leads to a moral, often using animals as characters
- Fiction- stories that include (1) characters, (2)
settings and/or (3) events that have been created in the imagination of
the writer. If any of these three are invented, the entire story is
deemed fiction.
- Figurative language-
language employing one or more figures of speech (simile, metaphor,
imagery, etc.)
- Flashback- the insertion
of an earlier event into the normal chronological order of a narrative
- Flat character- a
character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the
course of a story
- Foil - A character who
contrasts with another character in order to highlight various features of
the characters' personalities, throwing these characteristics into focus.
- Foreshadowing- hints or clues that give subtle hints or
clues about what may happen later in the plot. This can be achieved
through symbolism, dialogue, imagery or other literary devices.
- Frame tale- a story within
a story. An example is Chaucer’s Canterbury
Tales, in which the primary tales are told within the “frame story” of
the pilgrimage to Canterbury.
- Genre- a major category or
type of literature
- Hubris- excessive pride or
arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy
- Hyperbole- intentional
exaggeration to create an effect
- Idiom- an expression in a
given language that cannot be understood from the literal meaning of the
words in the expression. EX: “It’s raining cats and dogs.”
- Imagery- the use of
figures of speech to create vivid images that appeal to one of the senses
- Indirect characterization
– when we find out about characters indirectly through thoughts, comments,
or actions of the characters
- Inference- a conclusion
one draws (infers) based on premises or evidence
- Internal conflict- a struggle or problem within a
character. (person vs. self)
- Irony- the use of words to
convey the opposite of their literal meaning; or, incongruity between what
is expected and what actually occurs
- Legend- a narrative handed
down from the past, containing historical elements and usually
supernatural elements
- Limited narrator- a
narrator who presents the story as it is seen and understood by a single
character and restricts information to what is seen, heard, thought, or
felt by that one character
- Lyric poem – a poem
written to express feelings or emotions. Most poems fall into this
category.
- Memoir- a nonfiction story about certain moments
or parts of an author's life about themselves
- Metaphor- a direct
comparison of two different things
- Meter- the rhythm or syllable pattern
in lines of poetry. The beat of the words.
- Minor character- a character who has few lines or is in
limited scenes but who is still important to the plot events
- Monologue: one character
speaking to self or directly to the audience
- Mood- The emotional quality the reader
experiences from the words, images and descriptions created by the writer.
- Motif- a standard theme,
element, or dramatic situation that recurs in various works
- Motivation- a character’s
incentive or reason for behaving in a certain manner; that which impels a
character to act
- Myth- a traditional story
presenting supernatural characters and episodes that help explain natural
events
- Narrative- a story or
narrated account
- Narrative poem – a poem
that tells a story
- Narrator- the one who
tells the story; may be first- or third-person, limited or omniscient
- Nonfiction- stories that include characters, settings
AND events that are based on fact. All three must be accurate and
true for a piece to be considered nonfiction.
- Omniscient narrator- a
narrator who is able to know, see, and tell all, including the inner
thoughts and feelings of the characters
- Onomatopoeia- a word
formed from the imitation of natural sounds
- Oxymoron- an expression in
which two words that contradict each other are joined
- Parable- a simple story
that illustrates a moral or religious lesson
- Paradox- an apparently
contradictory statement that actually contains some truth
- Parody- a humorous imitation
of a serious work
- Personification- giving
non-human objects or creatures with human qualities or characteristics
- Plot- the sequence or order of events
75. Point of view-
the position from which the story is told.
1st person- the voice is that of
a character who is part of the story
3rd person- the voice is that of
a narrator who is watching the story
- Prose – non-poetry, most
writing falls into this category (short stories, novels, nonfiction, etc.)
- Protagonist- A main character of the plot who is usually considered the hero or
positive individual
- Pun- a play on words,
often achieved through the use of words with similar sounds but different
meanings EX: In Romeo and Juliet,
Mercutio uses the following pun: “Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find
me a grave man.” (Grave means serious/sad as well as dead.)
- Resolution- the part of
the story's plot line in which the problem of the story is resolved or
worked out. This occurs after the falling action and is typically where
the story ends.
- Rhyme scheme- a set pattern of rhyming words found at
the ends of lines of poetry. The rhyme scheme is indicated by
assigning capital letters to pinpoint the pattern.
- Round character – a character that, like a
real person, has many different character traits that sometimes contradict
each other.
- Satire: ridicule intended
to expose truth
- Setting- the location, time period, season,
holiday during which the events of a plot take place
- Simile- the comparison of two or more related
objects or events using the words "like' or "as" in the
phrasing.
- Situational irony - a mismatch between what the reader
thinks may happen and how the event or story actually is resolved; a
surprise ending with a real twist.
- Soliloquy- when a
character is ALONE (solo) on stage, speaking aloud their thoughts or
emotions. Soliloquies often reveal motivation and/or foreshadowing.
- Sonnet – a 14-line poem with a
specific rhyme scheme.
- Speaker – the “narrator” of a poem; in
poetry, we use the term “speaker” instead of “narrator”
- Stanza – the division of a poem similar to
a “paragraph” in a work of prose
- Static character – a character that does
not change through the course of a story
- Suspense- a building or rising sense of concern or
interest in what will happen in a plot.
- Symbol- an object that is
used to represent something else
- Symbolism- the use of objects, animals (especially
birds), colors, etc. that have a greater or universal meaning beyond
their simple existence. The symbols can offer information and even
create foreshadowing if the reader understands or notes their meaning.
- Theme- the
message, advice or warning about life and/or relationships the author
shares through their characters' experiences. This message is often
inferred; it is more than just a simple "moral to the story".
- Thesis- the primary
position taken by a writer or speaker
- Tone- the attitude of a
writer, usually implied, toward the subject or audience
- Tragedy- a work in which
the protagonist, a person of high degree, is engaged in a significant
struggle and which ends in ruin or destruction.
- Turning point- the point
in a work in which a very significant change occurs
- Unreliable narrator – a
narrator (often first person) who cannot be trusted or lacks believability
for some reason
- Verbal irony- a type of dialogue in which what is being
said has a hidden or secondary meaning to what is meant. This can be
a device used to achieve foreshadowing.
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