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Hourigan 11 Lit
Literary Terminology
Term | Definition |
---|---|
allusion | reference to a piece of art or history the author expects readers to be familiar with |
symbolism | marks, signs, or words that represent an idea |
characterization | the development of a character |
alliteration | repetition of initial consonant sounds |
anaphora | repetition of words, phrases, or clauses @ beginning of lines or sentences |
simile | a comparison of unlike objects using "like" or "as" |
irony | when what appears to be the case differs radically from reality |
verbal irony | occurs when what is said/written differs from what is intended |
dramatic irony | occurs when the character lacks vital information but the reader or audience has it |
situational irony | occurs when someone's expectations have been violated--either the reader's/viewer's or the character's |
point of view | vantage point from which a story is told |
first person point of view | narrator is a character in the story; uses "I" and "me" |
second person point of view | narrator speaks directly to reader; uses "you" |
third person point of view | narrator is an outsider; uses "she/he/they" |
limited point of view | narrator reveals a limited perspective--only the private thoughts of themselves or a single character |
omniscient point of view | "all-knowing" point of view; narrator reveals private, internal thoughts of all characters |
metaphor | a comparison of unlike objects not using "like" or "as" |
setting | where, when a story takes place; includes era, architecture, weather, setting . . . |
foreshadowing | hints about what is to come in a story |
purpose of foreshadowing | builds suspense |
mood | feeling created in readers by a passage |
tone | the author's attitude toward the topic |
diction | author's word choice |
denotation | meaning of words as they are in the dictionary |
connotation | an emotion or idea that a word invokes in addition to its meaning |
theme | a message or lesson conveyed by a passage |
apostrophe | refers to a speech or address to a person who isn't present |
personification | giving human attributes or abilities to non-human objects or things |
paradox | the juxtaposition of a set of seemingly contradictory concepts that reveal a hidden and/or unexpected truth |
enjambment | the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line in poetry |
free verse | unrhymed poetry |
passive voice | occurs when the true subject of the sentence is acted upon; literally speaking, the true subject of the sentence is missing from the sentence |
stanza | a grouped set of lines in poetry |
syntax | the arrangement of words into a sentence that makes sense in a given language |
stream of consciousness | a literary style in which a character's thoughts, feelings, and reactions seem to flow in the order in which s/he thinks of them |