Download Literary Terminology

Literary Terminology
English 10
Mr. LoNigro
Elements of the Story
• Plot – the sequence of events in a literary
work
– Made up of a series of events that presents the:
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Exposition – introduces, setting, character background
Inciting moment – introduces conflict
Rising action – conflict builds
Climax – point of most intensity
Falling action
Resolution – conflict is resolved
Elements of the Story
• Protagonist – the main character (or
most important character) in a piece of
literature
– usually presented as good, respectable, just, or
upright; however, not always this way
• Antagonist – the adversary
who opposes the protagonist
– Provides the main conflict
for the protagonist
– Characters, weather,
societies, fate, etc.
Elements of the Story
• Setting – the time a location of a story
– Can also include the social conditions present in a
story
– Purposes:
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to establish time and place
to make certain events seem probable
to reveal character
to create atmosphere
to communicate ideas
• Characterization – the technique a writer uses to
create and reveal the personalities of the
characters in a work
– Used to create realistic, lifelike characters
Elements of the Story
• Direct characterization – the author describes
characters with direct statements
• Indirect characterization – character is
developed through his or her:
– Speech
– Thoughts
– Effects on other characters
– Actions
– Looks
Elements of the Story
• Dynamic character – complex character that
cannot be summed up by only one or two traits
– “Round”
– Influenced by events to the extent that the events
cause change in their characters
• Static – recognized by one or
two traits
– “Flat”
– Will not change through the story, even if conflict
intensifies and plot moves forward
Elements of the Story
• Theme – the main idea or underlying meaning in
a literary work
– Not the topic or subject of a work, but the statement,
interpretation, or opinion related to the topic.
– “Lesson learned from the work”
• Stated theme – presented directly in the work
• Implied theme – never presented directly, the reader must
ascertain it through careful reading
• Motif – a recurring theme, image, or idea in a
story. Motifs serve to reinforce primary themes;
they can be obvious or subtle
Elements of the Story
• Point of View – the relationship between the
narrator and the story or the perspective in
which a story is told
– Established through the use of characters,
dialogue, actions, setting, and events
– First person
• Narrator is a character
• Story is told using the first person “I”
through thoughts and feelings of the
narrator
• Reader is only permitted insight into
the thoughts and feelings of the
narrator
Elements of the Story
• Third Person – there are 3 third person points of view
– Third person omniscient
• Narrator knows everything about all characters
• Narrator may give reader access into thoughts and feelings of any
character
• “Omniscient” = “all-knowing”
– Third person limited
• Narrator knows and presents thoughts and feelings of only one
character
– Third person objective
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Narrator does not enter the mind of any character
Narrator does not reveal thoughts and feelings of any character
Narrator objectively describes events from the outside
Presents only that which can be seen
Literary Devices and Techniques
• Symbol – something concrete (person, place, object) that
represents something abstract (idea, quality, condition)
– Symbolism – refers to the use of such symbols to suggest a
larger meaning within a particular text
• Tone – the writer’s attitude toward his or her audience and
subject
– Often, tone can be described as a single adjective (e.g., cheerful,
bitter, neutral, etc.)
• Foreshadowing – a hint given to the reader of what is to
come
– Helps create suspense and convince the reader of the
inevitability of the story’s outcome
– Sets the stage for future events; makes the events seem more
reasonable and believable
Literary Devices and Techniques
• Mood – refers to the feeling that a writer creates
in a particular story
– “Atmosphere”
– Developed through setting, imagery, characterization,
details, dialogue, descriptions, and many other literary
elements
• Flashback – an interruption of the narrative to
show an episode (or series of episodes) that
happened before that particular point in a story
– Provide background information to help reader
understand characters and events better
Literary Devices and Techniques
• Irony – a contradiction between appearance and
reality
a. Verbal irony – contrast between what a speaker says and
what the speaker actually means (“sarcasm”)
b. Dramatic irony – when the reader knows more about a
situation than characters do
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The character is not aware of the “real situation” but the reader is
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Situational irony – when events turn out contrary to
what is expected or what seems appropriate; defies logic
and justifiable expectations
d. Socratic irony – when someone feigns ignorance in order
to expose a flaw or weakness in another’s position on an
issue
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Usually exposes a flaw in the position through a series of “innocent”
questions designed to illuminate the illogical or unreasonable
elements of the position
Literary Devices and Techniques
• Allusion – a reference to a well-known person, place,
event, literary work, or work of art used in another work of
literature
– The bible, or stories derived from it, are referenced in another
work of literature
• Allegory – a story which is entirely symbolic
– Has two or more levels of meaning; a literal level and one or
more symbolic levels
– The events, setting, and characters in an allegory are symbols
for ideas and qualities
• Epiphany – a character’s sudden insight into a conflict
situation
– A character’s “aha” moment
Elements of the story
• Conflict – the struggle between two opposing
forces
– In literature, conflict is what drives the plot through its
stages.
– Internal conflict – a character’s struggle within
himself
– External conflict – a character’s struggle with an
outside force
• There are 4 major types of conflict:
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Person vs. Person (external)
Person vs. Nature (external)
Person vs. Society (external)
Person vs. Self (internal)
Literary Devices and Techniques
• Paradox – a statement that seems contradictory
but that actually may express a deeper truth
– Because a paradox is surprising (often illogical), it
draws the reader’s attention to a particular idea
• “I am a compulsive liar.”
• “All men are equal, but some are more equal than others.”
• Dues ex Machina – (“god from the machine”) the
use of some unexpected or improbable incident
to make things turn out right in the plot of a text
– The author solves a complex obstacle in the text by
forced intervention
Elements of the Story
• Imagery – the descriptive or figurative language
used in literature to create word pictures for the
reader
– Author’s use imagery as a tool to create pictures that
will help them form a connection to literature
– “Language that appeals to the readers’ senses”
• Sight, sound, taste, smell, movement
Elements of Writing
• Style – an author’s unique way of writing
– Made up of diction, tone, characteristic use of figurative
language, dialect, or rhythmic devices, and typical
grammatical structure and patterns
• Diction – an author’s choice of words, especially with
regard to a range of vocabulary, use of slang, and
colloquial language
• Syntax – the particular arrangement of the words in a
sentence
• Dialogue – conversation between characters that may
reveal their traits and advance the action of a narrative
Elements of Writing
• Denotation and Connotation
– Denotation – dictionary meaning independent of
other associations that the word may have
– Connotation – the set of ideas associated with it
in addition to its explicit meaning (denotation)
Figurative Language
• Simile – compares to unlike things with the use of a comparison
word such as “like” or “as”
o Her skin was white as leprosy.
• Metaphor – compares two unlike things without using “like” or “as”
o All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
• Personification – gives human traits to something that is
nonhuman
o Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me.
• Hyperbole – an exaggerated statement for emphasis, often
humorous
o I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
• Onomatopoeia – words that sound like what they name
o Buzz, snap, crash, murmur
• Oxymoron – combines contradictory terms
o Jumbo shrimp, White chocolate, Down escalator
Figurative Language
• Alliteration – repetition of consonant sounds
at the beginning of words
– Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
• Assonance – the repetition of vowel sounds
anywhere in words
– Hear the swells of the mellow wedding bells.
• Consonance – the repetition of consonant
sounds anywhere in words
– The dove moved above the waves.