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literary elements
terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| allusion | is a reference to a well known person,event,place,literary work, or work of art |
| alliteration | is the repetition of initial consonant sound |
| symbol | is anything that stands for or represents something else |
| dynamic character | see character |
| metaphor | is a figure of speech in which something is described as though it were something else |
| static character | see character |
| idiom | An expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its individual words. For example, “it’s raining cats and dogs” is an idiom that means it’s raining really hard—but there is no way to know that from the meanings of its individual words. See |
| protagonist | is the main character in the literary work |
| conflict | conflict (KAHN-flikt): A struggle between opposing forces. A conflict may be external (between the character and another person, society, nature, or technology) or internal (a struggle within the character). |
| antagonist | antagonist (an-TA G-uh-nist): The opponent or enemy of the main character, or protagonist. See also: protagonist |
| theme | A story’s main message or moral. |
| point of view | where the narrator is not a character in the story but the narrator can describe the experiences and thoughts of only one character in the story; (3) third-person omniscient point of view, where the narrator is not one of the characters and is able to d |
| mood | mood (mood): The feeling the reader gets from a work of literature. Another way to describe a story’s mood is atmosphere. When you walk into a place, it has an atmosphere that makes you feel a certain way; when you “walk into” a story, it too has an atm |
| repetition for effect | is the use, more than one, of any element of language-a sound, word, phrase, clause, or sentence |
| setting | where the story takes place |
| foreshadowing | (for-SHAD-oh-ing): Clues or hints about something that is going to happen later in the story. Authors use foreshadowing to build suspense and to prepare the reader for what happens later. |
| imagery | Language that portrays sensory experiences, or experiences of the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Authors use imagery to describe actions, characters, objects, and ideas, and to heighten the emotional effect of their writing. One w |
| oxymoron | is a figure of speech that links two opposite or contradictory words, to point out an idea or situation that seems contradictory or inconsistent but on closer inspective and turns out to be somehow true |
| diction | is a writers or speakers word choice |
| figurative language | figurative language (FI G-yer-uh-tiv LAN G-gwidj): The literal meaning of a word is its definition as you would find it in a dictionary. Figurative language uses words in some way other than for their literal meanings to make a comparison, add emphasis, |
| hyperbole | Extreme exaggeration used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement that is not meant to be taken literally. For example: “I almost died of boredom.” Hyperbole is frequently used in humorous writing. See also: figurative language. |
| simile | When two unlike things are compared—using like or as—in order to illuminate a particular quality or aspect of one of those things. For example, “Randy’s voice is like melted chocolate” is a simile in which Randy’s voice is compared to melted chocolate. |
| characterization | The means through which an author reveals a character’s personality. Characterization may be direct or indirect. |
| personification | (per-son-uh-fih-KAY-shun): Describing nonhuman animals, objects, or ideas as though they possess human qualities or emotions. For example: “The moon smiled down at her,” “I felt the cold hand of death on my shoulder,” “There is a battle being fought in |
| tone | The author’s attitude toward the subject matter or toward the reader or audience. Words that could describe tone include doubtful, humorous, gleeful, serious, and questioning. Tone is conveyed through the author’s word choices and the details that he or |
| humor | is writing intended to evoke laughter. |
| denotation | the denotation of a word is its dictionary meaning, independent of other association that the word may have |
| understatement | An understatement is a figure of speech employed by writers or speakers to intentionally make a situation seem less important than it really is. |
| suspense | is a feeling of anxious uncertainty about the outcome of events in literary work |
| connotation | the connotation of a word is the set of ideas associated with it in addition |
| flashback | is a scene within a story that interrupts the sequence of events to relate events that occurred in the past |
| irony | is a contradiction between what happens and what is expected |
| voice | is an authors or narrators distinctive style of manner of expression |
| motif | a distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition |
| sarcasm | the use of irony to mock or convey contempt. |
Created by:
bradley shutter
Popular English Verbs sets