Download LITERARY TERMS

Literary Terms
Alliteration: repetition of the same sound beginning several words in sequence. For
example, in his inaugural address, J.F.K. said: “Let us go forth to lead the land
we love.”
Allusion: a reference to a familiar literary, historical, or religious person or event, used to
make an idea more easily understood. For example, describing someone as a "Romeo"
makes an allusion to William Shakespeare's famous young lover in Romeo and Juliet.
Anecdote: a brief account, sometimes biographical, or an interesting or entertaining
incident.
Aside: in a play, a comment made by a character that others on stage are not supposed to hear.
Blank Verse: Unrhymed iambic pentameter. Used by Shakespeare for most of his plays.
Caesura: a pause in a line of poetry, usually occurring near the middle. It typically
corresponds to a break in the natural rhythm or sense of the line but is sometimes
shifted to create special meanings or rhythmic effects.
Character: a person or animal responsible for the thoughts and actions within a story,
poem, or other literature.
Characterization: the process by which an author creates vivid, believable
characters in a work of art. There are generally two types: DIRECT, where the
narrator tells you explicitly what a character is like, and INDIRECT, where the
actions or words of the characters give you an idea of what a character is like.
Chorus: While in classical drama the chorus is a group of people who provide
commentary on a play, often through song and dance, in Shakespeare’s Romeo and
Juliet the chorus is a single character who serves as a narrator.
Cliché: A tired, overused expression. A cliché is usually a figure of speech that has lost
its effectiveness because it has been used so much that it no longer creates the effect
it once did. “Tomorrow is another day” and “Been there, done that” are examples.
Conflict: the problem or struggle in the story.
More specifically, conflict is the opposition
between characters (such as a protagonist and an antagonist), or between the protagonist and a larger
force, such as nature or society. Conflict may also be completely internal, such as the protagonist
struggling with his psychological tendencies (self doubt, greed, fear, self-destructive behavior).
William Faulkner famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of "the
human heart in conflict with itself." Conflict is the engine that drives a plot.
Conflict is often classified as Man vs. Self (a.k.a. “internal conflict”); Man vs. Man; Man vs. Nature; and Man vs. Machine
or Supernatural.
Couplet: two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry.
Details: the facts revealed by the author that support the attitude, mood, and tone of a
piece of writing.
Dialect: a nonstandard subgroup of a language with its own vocabulary and
grammatical features (e.g.: Southern, rural, New England, ).
Dialogue: any conversation between characters in a literary work.
Epic: a long narrative poem about a hero who embodies the ideals and values of a
society. An EPIC HERO is a larger than life character who embodies the same
ideals. Odysseus is an epic hero in the epic poem the Odyssey.
Epithet: a brief descriptive phrase that points out traits associated with a person or
thing. Very common in the Odyssey.
Figure of Speech or Figurative Language: use of language that deviates from
the literal (denotative) meanings of words in order to suggest additional meanings
or effects. Figures of speech say one thing in terms of something else. Examples
include ALLUSION, METAPHOR, IDIOM, and IRONY.
Flashback: a device used in literature to present action that occurred before the
beginning of the story. Flashbacks are often introduced as the dreams or
recollections of one or more characters.
Foil: a character in a work of literature whose physical or psychological qualities contrast
strongly with, and therefore highlight, the corresponding qualities of another character.
Foreshadowing: a device used to create expectation or to set up an explanation of
later developments. (a.k.a. “hints or clues”)
Genre: a category of literary work. Genre may refer to both the content of a given work
— tragedy, comedy, satire — and to its form, such as poetry, novel, or drama. This
term also refers to types of popular literature, as in the genres of science fiction, the
detective story, or the MEMOIR.
Hubris: Excessive pride; arrogance. In traditional tragedy, the main character’s hubris
lead to his downfall.
Iambic Pentameter: poetic rhythm consisting of FIVE stressed syllables, each
preceded by an unstressed syllable. Used by Shakespeare in most of his work.
Idiom: an expression in one language that cannot be matched or directly translated
word-for-word in another language. For example, "a piece of cake" is sometimes
used to describe a task that is easily done.
Imagery: a word, phrase, or FIGURE OF SPEECH (especially a SIMILE or a
METAPHOR) that addresses the senses. Imagery creates mental pictures of sights,
sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, or actions. Images also can (and should) convey
emotions and moods through their verbal pictures.
Irony: a contrast between what is expected and what really happens. There are three types:
Dramatic: When the audience knows something that a character (or characters) does not.
Verbal: A contrast between what is said and what is actually meant (“sarcasm” is the lowest form).
Situational (sometimes called “cosmic irony”): The events of a story do not turn out as the reader
might have expected them to. (If the events are especially tragic and seem as if some cosmic force
has caused them to happen, we might call this “cosmic irony.”)
Memoir(s): an autobiographical form of writing in which the author gives his or her
personal impressions of significant events. This form is similar to “autobiography,” but it
usually does not center on the author's life story, though it may detail a specific part of the author’s life.
Meter: the repetition of sound patterns that creates a rhythm in poetry. The patterns are
based on the number of syllables and the presence and absence of accents.
Metaphor: a comparison of two things NOT using “like” or “as.” The metaphor is
more implicit (or implied) than the simile. For example, compare Forrest Gump’s
famous simile to Shakespeare’s Macbeth, who describes life using this metaphor:
“Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage.”
Monologue: a speech delivered by one character alone on stage.
Mood: the overall atmosphere of a piece of literature. (See Tone.)
Motif: an element in a story—such as a character type, image, metaphor, or other verbal
element—that recurs throughout a work of literature (or in a number of different works
over a period of time). Think of this as a “mini-theme”; something that repeats
throughout a story that helps the author explain his or her theme and give the work
more depth.
Narrator: one who tells a story, the speaker or the “voice” of an oral or written work.
Other than a non-fiction piece (such as a “personal narrative” or MEMOIR), the
narrator is not usually the same person as the author. A narrator can be described as
RELIABLE or UNRELIABLE, especially in a story with a first person narrator.
Oxymoron: A phrase combining two contradictory terms, from the Greek words for
"sharp" and "foolish." Everybody's favorite examples are sarcastic ("military
intelligence"), but poets can often use oxymoron for striking effects (such as
Milton's "darkness visible"). Think of an oxymoron as a two-word PARADOX.
Paradox: A statement that appears illogical or contradictory at first, but may actually
point to an underlying truth. "Less is more" is an example of a paradox.
Personification: giving human qualities to abstract ideas, animals, and inanimate
objects. Shakespeare uses personification in Romeo and Juliet in the lines "Arise, fair sun, and kill
the envious moon,/ Who is already sick and pale with grief." Here, the moon is portrayed as being
envious, sick, and pale with grief — all of which are clearly human qualities.
Plot: the series of events that make up a story
Exposition: readers are introduced (or “exposed”) to the SETTING and CHARACTERS
Rising Action: the action intensifies, and COMPLICATIONS are introduced
Climax: the turning point; the moment when the conflict is at its most intense.
Falling Action: the conflict is resolved; loose ends are tied up. See Denouement.
Resolution: the conflict is resolved, loose ends are tied up. See Denouement.
Denouement:
A French word meaning "the unknotting," the denouement follows the climax and
provides an outcome to the primary plot. This term is often used in place of FALLING ACTION and
RESOLUTION. Pronounced day-noo-MAWN
Point of view: the perspective used to tell the story, or the “vantage point” from which
the narrative is passed from the author to the reader. It can be described as FIRST
PERSON (the narrator is inside the story) or THIRD PERSON (the narrator is
outside the story). A THIRD PERSON NARRATOR can have a LIMITED or
OMNISCIENT (all knowing) point of view.
Protagonist: the main character or lead figure in a novel, play, story, or poem. This
person is not necessarily the “good guy.” See “Cask of Amontillado.”
Pun: a play on two words similar in sound but different in meaning. For example: “The
scuba diving student was in over his head.” “His plan to manufacture pencils just
didn't draw attention.”
Satire: a literary technique that mocks or ridicules something in order to make a point.
Usually, the satirist is trying to make a political statement or to improve society in some
way. Animal Farm is a classic example.
Setting: Where and when a story takes place.
More generally, the setting details the environment in which a
story takes place, which can include a specific time (1954) or historical period (the Industrial Revolution), a real or
fictional place (Narnia), and the cultural background of the story or characters (immigrants in an urban neighborhood).
Simile: a comparison between two things using “like” or “as.” The simile is more
explicit (or direct) than the metaphor. The most famous modern example comes
to us from Forrest Gump: “Life is like a…
Soliloquy (a.k.a. Shakespearean monologue) when a character, alone onstage, utters his or her
thoughts aloud. Playwrights use soliloquies as a convenient way to inform the audience about a
character’s motivations and state of mind. Shakespeare’s Hamlet delivers perhaps the best known of
all soliloquies, which begins: "To be or not to be."
Sonnet: a 14 line poem with a regular rhyme scheme, ending in a rhyming couplet. A
Shakespearean sonnet has a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG and a
“turning point,” usually near the 8th line.
Stanza: a subdivision of a poem consisting of lines grouped together, often in recurring
patterns of rhyme, line length, and meter. Stanzas may also serve as units of thought
in a poem, much like paragraphs in prose.
Symbol: a concrete object that stands for an abstract idea. In literature, symbols
combine their literal meaning with the suggestion of an abstract concept. Examples
include a flag that stands for a nation, or a heart that represents the abstract and
difficult to define concept of love.
Theme: a thought or idea that the author presents to the reader that tends to be complex
and often “moralistic.” Think of this as the author’s “message” on “big picture.”
Tone: the speaker’s attitude toward a subject or character. While mood is the overall
feeling or atmosphere of an entire piece, tone can change throughout a story. The
author’s tone helps to establish the story’s mood.
Terms preceded by this image will be used extensively in our study of William
Shakespeare. Many other terms in this packet will also apply to him, and these terms may
be relevant to other works, but these marked terms are especially relevant to Shakespeare
and are often associated with his work.
POETIC SOUNDS
alliteration
assonance
consonance
connotation/denotation
diction