| Term | Definition |
|---|
| plot | the sequence of events in which each event comes from a previous one and causes the next. Usually involves both characters in a central conflict |
| exposition | the introduction; part of work that introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation |
| Protagonist | the main character in a literary work. Often person, sometimes animal. |
| Antagonist | A character or force in conflict with a main character. |
| point of view | the perspective or vantage point, from which a story is told |
| third person limited | narrator relates to inner thoughts and feelings of only one character, and viewed from this character's perspective |
| third person omniscient (Omnipotent Narrator) | point of view when narrator knows and tells about what each character feels and thinks |
| Irony | the general name giving to literary techniques involving surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions |
| Style | verbal identity of a writer, often based on author's use of diction |
| foreshadowing | the author's use of rythmical pattern, or meter. |
| imagery | words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses. |
| hyperbole | obvious and intentional exaggeration |
| personification | a type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics |
| tone | the writer's attitude toward his or her audience and subject |
| repetition/rhythm | the use, more than once, or any element of language |
| sensory language | the writing or speech that appeals to one or more of the five senses. |
| verb tense | shows the time of an action or a state of being |
| inference/subtext | implicit meaning or theme of a literary text |
| motive | a reason that explains or partially explains a character's thoughts, feelings, actions, or speech. |
| voice | the implied attitude toward its subject |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace