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Act |
A major unit of action in a play |
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Allegory |
Story in which characters stand for qualities/multiple levels of meaning |
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Alliteration |
Initial consonant repetition (Liver Loving Leprechauns) |
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Allusion |
Indirect reference to a well known person, place, thing, character, which adds meaning |
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Ambiguity |
>1 possible meaning |
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Analogy |
Relationship comparison |
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Anecdote |
Brief story based on single incident, usually humorous |
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Animation |
Giving animal characteristics to non-living things |
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Antagonist |
Person or force that opposes the main character |
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Antihero |
Protagonist with negative qualities |
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Aphorism |
A brief statement of truth about life |
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Arabesque |
Psychology horror created by situation |
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Aside |
In a play, a statement other characters do not hear/directed at audience |
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Assonance |
Repetition of vowel sounds (Cook Book) |
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Audience |
Those for whom a work is intended: different audiences = different approaches |
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Author’s Purpose |
Why was it written? Inform, entertain, persuade, express—may not be same as reader’s understanding |
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Autobiography |
Person’s own account of author's own life |
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Ballad |
Narrative poem meant to be sung or recited in cadence |
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Biography |
Account of someone else’s life |
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Blank Verse |
Unrhymed iambic pentameter (5 feet/ di-dah) |
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Cast of Characters |
List of characters in a play |
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Character |
Physical, emotional, intellectual elements-dynamic characters grow, static don’t. Interacts with others. |
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Characterization |
Description (Direct) or demonstration (indirect) to develop character |
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Cliché |
An overused saying |
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Climax |
Point where forces in conflict meet; turning point |
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Comedy |
A literary work which is intended to amuse; happy ending. Opposite of tragedy |
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Comic Relief |
Humor juxtaposed within a serious work |
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Conceit |
The author’s idea behind a metaphor, especially if highly individual |
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Conflict |
Struggle between two or more forces. Can be internal or external. |
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Connotation |
Meaning of a word beyond exact definition—shades of meaning or idiom |
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Consonance |
Repetition of consonant sound not first letter of word (Billy rolled away) |
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Contrast |
Difference between items |
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Creation Myth |
A story of how the world was formed |
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Demonstration |
To show |
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Denotation |
Exact meaning of a word |
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Denouement |
Unwinding/falling action |
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Description |
To tell/explain |
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Dialect |
Dialogue or monologue with an accent (Howdy Y'all!) |
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Dialogue |
Conversation |
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Diary |
Day to day account of personal feelings, actions |
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Diction |
Choice of words |
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Drama |
Dialogue and action are staged/presented |
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Echoing |
Repetition of words or phrases |
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Elegy |
Poem of tribute usually after a recent death |
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Epic |
Long, narrative poem on serious subject or legend |
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Epitaph |
Written tribute upon a death |
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Essay |
Short non-fiction on a single subject |
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Eulogy |
Tribute at death for the deceased |
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Everyman |
Occupies the role of protagonist without being a 'hero' and without the depth which usually defines main characters. A Normal person in extraordinary circumstances |
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Exposition |
Background of a story usually presented at the beginning |
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Extended metaphor |
A metaphor that continues through/overall a work with numerous references to it |
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External conflict |
Individual against outside force |
| Fable | Brief imaginary tale that ends with lesson or moral |
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Falling action |
Unwinding; that which tumbles down from climax / Denouement |
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Farce |
Exaggerated comedy with absurd elements |
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Fiction |
Hasn’t happened in real life but might |
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Figurative language |
Meaning beyond the literal-appeals to senses-figures of speech-metaphor, etc. |
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First person |
Where story is told by one character form their Point of View (I, me, we, us language) |
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Flashback |
Describes an earlier event within current ones |
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Foil |
A character who contrasts with another, major one |
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Folk Tale |
Short, simple story transmitted orally at first |
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Foreshadowing |
Hints or clues of future events/plot elements |
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Freitag’s Pyramid |
Classical story structure where Rising Action and falling action are equal |
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Free verse |
Poem with no set rhyme or structure |
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Genre |
Sub-type of literature-science-fiction-horror-mystery etc. |
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Gothic literature |
Grotesque and arabesque elements |
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Grotesque |
Physical grossness/horror |
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Haiku |
Japanese poetry, aims at response, nature based, 5,7,5 |
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Humor |
Literature with main purpose of creating laughter |
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Hyperbole |
Exaggeration (usually extreme) |
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Idiom |
Word or word group with a meaning different than simple definition |
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Imagery |
Appeals to the senses |
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Impressionism |
To captures sense impressions in writing or art |
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Internal Conflict |
Opposing forces within character |
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Irony |
Unexpected idea |
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Irony, dramatic |
Readers know more about character or situation than the characters |
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Irony, situational |
Contrast between appearance/actuality regarding events |
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Irony, verbal |
States one thing, means another |
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Legend |
Mythic story with historical bias |
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Light verse |
Humorous, or simple idea expressed in poetry |
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Literary letter |
Correspondence regarded as being important for its art, language, or device |
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Local color |
Regional details that come alive, adds verisimilitude |
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Magical Realism |
Combines fantasy with reality and matter of fact tone |
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Memoir |
A personal reminiscence/autobiographical |
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Metaphor |
Milk-white snow- a direct comparison (without stating "like" or "as") |
| Meter | Regular rhythm in a poem, measured in feet; ex. Iambic Pentameter, etc. |
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Microcosm |
A small world that is like a bigger one |
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Monologue |
One person speaking |
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Mood |
Emotional atmosphere |
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Moral |
A stated lesson |
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Motivation |
Stated or implied reason behind a behavior |
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Myth |
A traditional story that is not entirely real |
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Narrative |
Relates an event- to tell- has plot, character; usually conflict & climax |
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Narrator |
Voice that relates the events, sometimes removed form action |
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Naturalism |
Accurate picture of life’s details with attention to environment, instinct |
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Nature writing |
Person experience nature written down-relates humanity to nature |
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Non-fiction |
Has happened |
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Novel |
Fiction; a series of small climaxes (usually chapters) leading to one major climax |
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Onomatopoeia |
Woof, woof, attempt to duplicate a sound with a word or expression |
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Oxymoron |
Two related, seemingly opposite words |
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Parable |
A simple lesson story where every aspect corresponds to part of a bigger issue |
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Paradox |
A “true” statement that seems to contradict itself |
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Parallelism |
Repeated grammatical form for related ideas |
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Parody |
Imitation as criticism or humor |
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Personification |
Assigning human traits to non-human objects |
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Persuasive Writing |
Arguments to convince, educate, or inform |
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Plot |
Sequence of events |
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Poetry |
1+1>2 |
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Point of View |
Narrative perspective-who tells 1st ="I"; 2nd = "you", 3rd =he, she, they |
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Primary sources |
Direct, firsthand accounts |
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Prose |
Writing without regular rhythmic pattern |
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Protagonist |
Usually the hero, but always main character of story, doer of action |
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Protest writing |
Aimed at expressing discontent with events, organizations, etc. |
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Realism |
Accurate account, unsentimental |
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Refrain |
A repeated portion of a poem, usually at the end of a stanza |
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Repetition |
Repeating sounds or words |
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Resolution |
Falling action unwinds to conclusion—all ends are tied |
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Rhetorical Question |
Question posed for effect rather than an answer |
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Rhyme |
Similarity or match of sound |
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Rhyme scheme |
Analysis of end rhyme using ABCD, etc. |
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Rhyme, end |
Rhyme at the end of a line |
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Rhyme feminine |
Multiple matching syllables |
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Rhyme, internal |
Rhyme within a line (can we go to the show) |
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Rhyme, masculine |
Last syllable rhyme |
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Rhyme, slant |
Inexact or off-rhymes; half rhyme |
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Rhythm |
The metric structure of a line of poetry-beats and feet |
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Rising action |
Events in conflict that lead to a climax |
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Romanticism |
Emotional. Larger than life, heroic characters mixed in great events |
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Sarcasm |
Verbal irony-mocks with the opposite of literal meaning |
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Satire |
Ridicule to bring about improvement-can be witty to abrasive |
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Science fiction |
Scientific basis of fictional story |
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Setting |
Time, place, mood |
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Short Story |
One major conflict, limited characters, limited setting |
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Soliloquy |
One person speaking only for audience |
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Simile |
Comparison using like/as |
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Sonnet |
14 line poem/ 8 and 6 with specific rhyme scheme |
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Sound devices |
Assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, etc. –can be heard |
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Speaker |
Voice that talks to the reader |
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Stanza |
Group of lines in a poem |
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Stereotype |
Untrue generalization of a group or person |
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Stream of consciousness |
Written as a series of thoughts tumbled together |
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Structure |
Arrangement of parts-verses, stanzas, paragraphs, chapters, order of thoughts, etc. |
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Style |
How words, sentences are organized, how plain or rich with devices |
| Suspense | Nervous uncertainty; tension |
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Surprise ending |
Unexpected twist at the end |