Literary Analysis Terms
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jamielauren97 on September 4, 2011
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Mrs. Laffin Class 2011
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64 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Genre | the type or class of a work, usually categorized by form, technique, or content |
| Literary Text | text created with a purpose of being read for pleasure or fulfillment rather that strictly for ingormation: characterized by use of artistic techniques and devices not generallly found in informational texts |
| inference | reasonable and intelligent conclusion drqwn from limited details or hints supplied by the author |
| theme | central or universal idea of a literary work; the underlying, universal truth about life or human nature that a peice of literature reveals-expressed as a statement or sentence |
| expicit theme | presented word for word in the text of the literary work |
| implicit theme | reader ingers it based on evidence presented in the literary work |
| summary | captures the main ideas and elements of a text, a factual, concise eginning-middle-end synopsis of content, an objective response for to a text that presents no subjective ideas |
| critique | response to a text that takes a position and expresses an opinion about the text; differnet from a summary because it expresses the writer's own subjective ideas and analysis |
| objective | expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations |
| subjective | modified or affected by personal views, experience, or background |
| tone | author's particular attitude toward his subjet or audience, either stated or implied in the writing; revealed through language devices |
| plot | what happens in a story; a series of related events which present and resolve a conflict |
| exposition | first part of the plot structure that introduces character, setting, point of view, and basic situation, establishes the mood by setting tone |
| complications | part of the plot structure in which the protagonist takes some action to resolve the conflict and meets with some conflict such as danger, indecision, or hostility |
| climax | the key scene; the point at which the main conflict must be resolved |
| resolution | what happens after the conflict is solved; the loose ends are resolved |
| plot summary | states the key biginnig, middle, and end points in a brief form; always includes the title and author of the literary selection, and events are stated in the orderin which they ocurred |
| setting | where and when the narrative takes place |
| point of view | vantage point from which the writer has chosen to tell the story |
| first person | one of the characters tells the story as a participant or an observer |
| third person limited | narrator is not a chacter in the story reveals only one character's inner thoughts |
| third person limited | narrator is not a character, reveals only 1 characters inner thoughts |
| third person omniscient | narrator is not a character in the story, reveals more than one character's inner thoughts |
| conflict | opposition of persons or forces that brings about dramatic action central to the plot of a story |
| internal conflict | problem or struggle is within the character himself |
| external conflict | conflict that pits character against character, character against nature, or character against the forces of society |
| dialogue | conversation between 2 or more characters |
| character | people, animals, and creatures in a fictional story |
| protagonist | leading character of a short story, play, or novel |
| antagonist | adversary that opposes the protagonist |
| characterzation | methods used by a writer to reveal the nature or personality of a character |
| direct characterzation | writer tells us directly what kind of person the character is |
| indirect characterzation | reader has to take the evidence given about the character's physical description, thoughts, actions, words and other's reactions to the character to use his or her own judgment to decide what the character is like |
| character foil | secondary character who contrasts with the protagonist in order to highlight aspects of the main character's personality |
| viewpoint | narrator's persona, his perspective |
| diction | stylistic device which refers to an author's word choice; used to create a personal style of writing |
| evocative words | words and language that conjure emotion, fellings, and language |
| connotation | emotions or set of associations attached to a word that is implied rather than literal |
| denotation | dictionary definition of a word; the literal or cognitive |
| dialect | regional way of speaking a particular language |
| idiom | expression that has a meaning different from the meaning of its individual words; an expression that cannot be translated literally |
| colloquialism | use of slang or informality in speech or writing |
| syntax | arrangement and sequence of words in sentences clauses and phrases |
| symbol | something concrete, but stands for something beyond itself as well |
| imagery | sensory details or figurative language used to descibe, arouse emotion, or represent abstraction |
| sensory details | details of sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch |
| simile | comparison of two or more things using like or as |
| metaphor | implied comparison of two or more things without using ike or as |
| personification | giving human qualities to inanimate objects, animals, or ideas |
| figurative languate | language that is not meant to be taken literally |
| motif | recurring theme, idea, word, phrase, or subject in a literary work |
| mood | atmosphere or feeling or emotional aura that the writer creates |
| flashback | presentation of material that occurred prior to the opening scene |
| foreshadowing | hints given by the author about what will occur later |
| suspense | condition of not knowing what will happen next |
| epiphany | intuitive grasp of reality achieved in a quick flash of recognition in which something usually simple and commonplace is seen in a new light |
| allusion | reference within a literary work to another work of literature, art, or real event |
| irony | difference between what is expected and what actually happencs |
| verbal irony | writer or speaker says one thing but really means something completely different |
| dramatic irony | teader or audience know something that the character does not know |
| situational irony | what is expected to happen is opposite of really does |
| comic relief | humorous scene, incident, or speech, in the course fiction or drama intended to provide relief from tension |
| satire | kind of writing that ridicules or pokes fun at a person, a goup of people, humanity, or a social institution in order to reveal a weakness or bring about a change |
| allegory | story that has both a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning, in which characters or objects often embody abstract ideas |
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