Literary Terminology for Sophomore Honors English
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nika_bo_bika on March 29, 2010
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For Montgomery's Honors English
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64 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Alliteration | use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse |
| Allusion | an indirect reference to another work of literature, person, or event |
| Analogy | drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect |
| Antagonist | the character who works against the protagonist in the story |
| Aside | a line spoken by an actor to the audience but not intended for others on the stage |
| Assonance | the repetition of similar vowels in the stressed syllables of successive words |
| Bias | a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation |
| Blank Verse | unrhymed verse (usually in iambic pentameter) |
| Characterization | achieved through description, thoughts, words, actions, and reactions of characters |
| Climax | high point of interest or suspense |
| Colloquialism | spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech |
| Conflict | opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially an opposition that motivates the development of the plot) |
| Consonance | repetition of consonant sounds in succsesive words |
| Dialect | a variety of speech characterized by its own particular grammar or pronunciation, often associated with a particular geographical region |
| Diction | style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words |
| Elizabethan Sonnet | a sonnet consisting three quatrains and a concluding couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab cdcd efef gg |
| Epic Simile | A simile developed over several lines of verse, esp. one used in an epic poem. |
| Epithet | any word or phrase applied to a person or thing to describe an actual or attributed quality |
| Exposition | introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation (the beginning of a story) |
| Falling Action | events after the climax, leading to the resolution |
| Figurative Language | Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid. |
| Flashback | a scene or event from the past that appears in a narrative out of chronological order, to fill in information or explain something in the present |
| Flat Character | a character who is not very well developed; has few identifiable characteristics |
| Foil | a character whose personality and attitude contrast sharply with those of another |
| Foreshadowing | the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot |
| Free Verse | Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme |
| Genre | particular variety of art or literature |
| Heroic Couplet | a couplet consisting of two rhymed lines of iambic pentamenter and written in an elevated style |
| Hyperbole | a figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor |
| Iambic Pentameter | a common meter in poetry consisting of an unrhymed line with five feet or accents, each foot containing an unaccented syllable and an accented syllable |
| Imagery | description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) and creates a specific image in the mind. |
| Irony | The use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning |
| Dramatic Irony | (theater) irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play |
| Situational Irony | an outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected |
| Verbal Irony | A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant |
| Jargon | vocabulary distinctive to a particular group of people |
| Literal Language | A form of language in which writers and speakers mean exactly what their words denote. |
| Magic Realism | genre of meticulously realistic painting of imaginary scenes and fantastic images |
| Metaphor | a comparison without using like or as |
| Metonymy | substituting the name of an attribute or feature for the name of the thing itself (as in 'head-count' instead of 'people-count) |
| Mood | the overall emotion created by a work of literature |
| Motif | a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work |
| Onomatopoeia | using words that imitate the sound they denote |
| Oxymoron | conjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence') |
| Paradox | apparently contradictory statement |
| Personification | A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes |
| Plot | the story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc. |
| Poetic Devices | terms used to describe features of a poem |
| Point of View | a mental position from which things are viewed |
| Protagonist | the principal character in a work of fiction. the main character. |
| Pun | a humorous play on words |
| Resolution | End of the story where loose ends are tied up |
| Rising Action | events leading up to the climax |
| Round Character | a character who is well developed by the author and who many characteristics. complex, many sided. |
| Setting | arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a play or movie is enacted |
| Simile | comparison using like or as |
| Soliloquy | speech you make to yourself |
| Style | the arrangement of words in a way that best expresses the author's individuality, idea, intent |
| Symbol | anything that stands for or represents something else |
| Synechdoche | A figure of speech in which a part of something stands for the whole (or less frequently the whole stands for one of its parts.) |
| Syntax | the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences. sentence structure. |
| Theme | a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work |
| Tone | the quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author |
| Understatement | a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said |
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