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Literary Terms
ELA 9
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Exposition | introductory material; setting, tone, characters, and other facts |
Rising Action | a series of events that builds from the conflict |
Climax | the result of the crisis; high point of the story; moment of highest interest and greatest emotion |
Falling Action | events after the climax which closes the story |
Resolution (Denouement) | rounds out and concludes the action |
Conflict | dramatic struggle between two forces in a story; it creates the plot |
Conflict: Character vs. Character | protagonist vs. antagonist; good guy vs. bad guy |
Conflict: Character vs. Self | struggle takes place inside his or her mind; choosing between right and wrong |
Conflict: Character vs. Nature | struggle with the forces of nature; struggle for survival |
Conflict: Character vs. Society | struggle against social traditions or rules (fight for freedom, rights, or a cause) |
External conflict | character vs. an outside source |
Internal conflict | Character vs. self |
Flat character | two-dimensional; uncomplicated; do not change during the course of a work |
Round character | complex; undergo development sometimes to the surprise of the reader |
Static character | undergoes little or no change; does not grow or develop |
Dynamic character | undergoes an important inner change, sometimes in personality or attitude |
Direct characterization | process by which the character is revealed by the use of descriptive adjectives or phrases |
Indirect characterization | process by which the character is revealed through speech, actions, or appearance |
Protagonist | the leading character, hero, or heroine |
Antagonist | the adversary (opponent) of the hero |
Author's Point of view | the angle of considering things which shows us the opinion or feelings of the individuals involved in a situation |
First person point of view | involves the use of either of the two pronouns "I "or "we"; narrator is character in the story who can reveal only personal thoughts and feelings; can't tell us thoughts of other characters |
Third-person objective | narrator is an "outsider" who can report only what he or she sees and hears; can't tell us the thoughts of other characters |
Third-person limited | narrator is an "outsider" who sees into the minds of one of the characters |
Third-person Omniscient | narrator is an all-knowing "outsider" who can enter the minds of more than one of the characters |
Irony | the contrast between what is expected and what actually is |
Verbal irony | the contrast between what is said and what is actually meant |
Situational irony | a happening that is the opposite of what is expected |
Dramatic irony | when the audience or reader knows more than the characters know |
Tone | the author's attitude (stated or implied); examples include optimism, seriousness, humorous |
Mood | the atmosphere of a literary piece; evokes certain feelings or vibes in readers through words and descriptions |
Symbolism | a person, place, or thing which has a meaning in itself but suggests other meanings as well; suggesting a meaning beyond the obvious |
Theme | the main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work; may be stated or implied; expresses some opinion on the main topic |
Imagery | descriptions of people or objects stated in terms of our senses |
Simile | figure of speech which involves a comparison between two unlike things |
Metaphor | figure of speech which involves an implied comparison between two relatively unlike things |
Foil | character who provides a contrast to the protagonist |
Allusion | a brief or indirect reference to a person, place, or passage in a work of literature that should be well known to the reader |
Personification | a figure of speech in which a thing, an idea, or an animal is given human qualities |
Allegory | a story or poem that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one |
Rhetoric | the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing |
Logos Appeal | Rhetorical strategy that appeals to reason in am measured logical way (citing statistics, research, etc...) |
Ethos Appeal | Rhetorical strategy that appeals to an audience's values |
Pathos Appeal | Rhetorical strategy that appeals to an audience's emotions |
Satire | Use of ridicule, sarcasm, or irony to expose vices or abuses |
Fable | A literary device whereby a brief story is used to provide a moral at the end |
Stanza | In poetry, a division of four or more lines having a fixed length, meter, or rhyming scheme...similar to a paragraph |
Rhyming Couplet | two lines of the same length that rhyme and complete one thought |
Rhyme Scheme | refers to the order in which particular words rhyme in a poem |
Sonnet | In poetry, a small song or lyric that has 14 lines, is written in iambic pentameter (each line has 10 syllables) |
Quatrain | a stanza of four lines, especially ones having alternate rhymes |
Line Break | a poetic device which is used at the end of a line and the beginning of the next line of a poem |
Enjambment | in poetry...moving from one line to another without a terminating punctuation mark |
Diction | Word choice |
Denotation | The literal meaning of a word |
Connotation | Feelings and ideas that are associated with a word (something suggested or implied) |
Foreshadowing | The use of a hint or clue to suggest a larger event that occurs later in the work |