Literary Terms

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Word
Definition
alliteration  use of the same letter in a sentence(Shelly sells sea shells saturday)  
allusion  reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person,place,or thing.  
anaphora  repetition of the same word or group of words, and ideas. (ex: i will rock, i will roll, i will win.)  
archetype  character, actionm or situation that is a prototype or pattern of hunman life generally  
assonance  esemblance of sound, especially of the vowel sounds in words  
asyndeton  deliberate omission of conjunctions in a series of related clauses (ex:I came, i saw, i conquered")  
polysyndeton  device in which words, sounds, and ideas are used more than once to enhance rhythem and to create emphasis.  
conflict  term that describes the tension between opposing forces in a work of literature.  
detail  facts revealed by the author or speaker that support the attitude or tone in a piece of poetry or prose.  
diction  word choice intended to convey a certain effect.  
Flashback  scene that interrupts the action of a work to show a previous event.  
Imagery  consists of words or phrases a writer uses to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and ideas descriptively by appealing scenes  
personification  giving an animal, or object human-like qualities  
direct characterization  in literature and drama, the method of character development in which the author simply tells what the character is like  
Juxtaposition  poetic and rhetorical device in which normally device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are place next to one another, often creating an effect of suprise and wit.  
Metaphor  explicit comparison between2 unlike things  
Motif  term that describes a pattern or strand if imagery or symbolism in a work of literature.  
Symbol  use of any object, person, place, or action that both hasa meaning in itself and that stands for something larger than itself.  
Simile  explicit comparison between2 unlike things signaled by the use LIKE or ASS  
Onomatopeoia  refers to the use of words whose sound reinforces their meaning.  
Point of View  perspective from which a narrative is told.  
Pun  play on meaning of words  
Repetition  device in which words, sounds, and ideas are used more thaan once to enhance rhythemand create emphasis.  
Rhetorical shift/turn  a change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization, or insight gained by the speaker, character, or the reader.  
Setting  time & place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem take place.  
Situational irony  occurs when a situtation turns out differently fomr what one would normally expect.  
dramatic irony  occurs when a character/speaker says or does something that has different meanings from what he thinks it means.  
verbal irony  occurs when a speaker/narrator says one thing while meaning the opposite  
theme  central message of literary work.  
tone  the writer's or speaker's attitude toward a subject, character, or audience, and it is conveyed through the author's choice of words and detail.  


   

 
 

 
 

 

 
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