English Final Exam Literary Terms
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35 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 allusion | a brief reference to a person, place, thing, event, or idea in history or literature |
| connotation | associations and implications that go beyond the literal meaning of a word, which derive from how the word has been commonly used and the associations people make it |
| denotation | the dictionary meaning of a word |
| genre | a French word meaning kind or type; the major ______ in literature are poetry, fiction, drama, essays; can also refer to more specific types of literature such as comedy, tragedy, epic poetry, detective fiction, or science fiction |
| irony | when the unexpected occurs in a literary work |
| verbal irony | the use of words to convey something other than, and especially the opposite of the literal meaning of the words, to emphasize, aggrandize, or make light or a circumstance or subject |
| dramatic irony | Employed to heighten the suspense in a given situation. In this form of irony the words and actions of the characters, unbeknownst to them, betray the real situation, which the spectators fully realize. The character speaking may realize the irony of his words while the rest of the actors may not; or he or she may be unconscious while the other actors share the knowledge with the spectators; or the audience may alone realize the irony. |
| situational irony | occurs in literature and in drama when persons and events come together in improbable situations, creating a tension between expected and real results |
| metaphor | a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, without using the word like or as |
| simile | a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things using the words like, as, than, appears, and seems |
| image | a word, phrase, or figure of speech that addresses the senses, suggesting mental pictures of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, or actions; offer sensory impressions to the reader and also convey emotions and moods through their verbal pictures |
| motif | a repeated pattern, word, or image in literature |
| personification | a form of metaphor in which human characteristics are attributed to nonhuman things |
| persona | a speaker created by a writer to tell a story or to speak in a poem — it is not a character in a story of narrative, nor does it necessarily directly reflect the author's personal voice; it is a separate self, created by and distinct from the author, through which he or she speaks |
| symbol | a person, object, image, word, or event that evokes a range of additional meaning beyond and usually more abstract than its literal meaning |
| ambiguity | allows for two or more simultaneous interpretations of a word, phrase, action, or situation, all of which can be supported by the context of a work |
| antagonist | the character, force, or collection of forces that opposes the protagonist and gives rise to the conflict of the story |
| character | a person presented in a dramatic or narrative work |
| characterization | the process by which a writer makes a character seem real to the reader |
| climax | the high point (or the turning point) in the action of a story |
| conflict | a struggle between opposing forces, people, or ideas in a story, novel, play, or narrative poem; can be external or internal, and can take one of these forms: a person against another person, a person against society, a person against nature, and two elements or ideas struggling for mastery within a person |
| epiphany | in fiction, when a character suddenly experiences a deep realization about himself or herself; a truth which is grasped in an ordinary rather than a melodramatic moment |
| exposition | the part of a story or play in which the author provides background material about the lives of characters and about events that have taken place before the story opens |
| foil | a character in a work whose behavior and values contrast with those of another character in order to highlight the distinctive temperament of that character (usually the protagonist) |
| foreshadowing | the introduction early in a story of verbal and/or dramatic hints that suggest what is to come later |
| image | a word, phrase, or figure of speech (especially a simile or a metaphor) that addresses the senses, suggesting mental pictures of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, or actions; it offers sensory impressions to the reader and also conveys emotions and moods through its verbal pictures |
| mood | the prevailing feeling or emotional climate of a literary work; it is often developed, at least in part, through descriptions of setting and by the author's tone |
| narrator | the voice of the person telling the story, not to be confused with the author's voice |
| plot | an author's selection and arrangement of incidents in a story to shape the action and give the story a particular focus; discussions of it include not just what happens, but also how and why things happen the way they do; usually divided into the following stages: conflict, complications, rising action, climax, and denouement |
| point of view | refers to who tells us a story and how it is told (e.g. first person, second person, and third person) |
| protagonist | the main character of a narrative; the central character who engages the reader's interest and empathy |
| setting | the physical and social context in which the action of a story occurs; the major elements of this are the time, the place, and the social environment that frames the characters |
| theme | the central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work; it provides a unifying point around which the plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and other elements of a work are organized |
| tone | the author's implicit attitude toward the reader or the people, places, and events in a work as revealed by the elements of the author's style; it may be characterized as serious or ironic, sad or happy, private or public, angry or affectionate, bitter or nostalgic, or any other attitudes and feelings that human beings experience |
| tragic flaw | an error or defect in the tragic hero that leads to his downfall, such as greed, pride, or ambition; this may be a result of bad character, bad judgment, an inherited weakness, or any other defect of character |
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