Terms : Hide Images
| 5752071163 | allegory | story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities EX: Animal Farm; Dante's Inferno; Lord of the Flies | 0 | |
| 5752086134 | allusion | -reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture. -an indirect reference to something (usually from literature, etc.) | 1 | |
| 5752104737 | ambiguity | deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work | 2 | |
| 5752174693 | analogy | comparison made between two things to show how they are alike | 3 | |
| 5752176455 | antagonist | opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story | 4 | |
| 5752190819 | antihero | central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes, may lack courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples | 5 | |
| 5752196879 | balance | constructing a sentence so that both halves are about the same length and importance (sentences can be unbalanced to serve a special effect as well) | 6 | |
| 5752201627 | characterization | the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character | 7 | |
| 5752217755 | indirect characterization | the author reveals to the reader what the character is like by describing how the character looks and dresses, by letting the reader hear what the character says, by revealing the character's private thoughts and feelings, by revealing the characters effect on other people, or by showing the character in action | 8 | |
| 5752272027 | direct characterization | the author tells us directly what the character is like: sneaky, generous, mean to pets and so on (romantic style literature relied more heavily on this form) | 9 | |
| 5752278678 | static character | is one who does not change much in the course of a story | 10 | |
| 5752282427 | dynamic character | is one who changes in some important way as a result of the story's action | 11 | |
| 5752284821 | flat character | has only one or two personality traits (only one-dimensional) | 12 | |
| 5752289243 | round character | has more dimensions to their personalities---they are complex, just a real people are | 13 | |
| 5752302813 | cliche | is a word or phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because of overuse | 14 | |
| 5752306297 | comedy | in general, a story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters | 15 | |
| 5752326438 | conflict | the struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story | 16 | |
| 5752329379 | external conflict | conflicts can exist between two people, between a person and nature or a machine or between a person a whole society | 17 | |
| 5752336505 | internal conflict | a conflict can be internal, involving opposing forces within a person's mind | 18 | |
| 5752343211 | connotation | the associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition | 19 | |
| 5752354132 | dialect | a way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain social group or of the inhabitant of a certain geographical area | 20 | |
| 5752359076 | diction | a speaker or writer's choice of words | 21 | |
| 5752359077 | epic | a long narrative poem, written in heightened language, which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society | 22 | |
| 5752379504 | fable | a very short story told in prose or poetry that teaches a practical lesson about how to succeed in life | 23 | |
| 5752381457 | farce | a style of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved in silly, far-fetched situations | 24 | |
| 5752389876 | foil | a character who acts as contrast to another character | 25 | |
| 5752392322 | foreshadowing | the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot | 26 | |
| 5752394284 | hyperbole | a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect | 27 | |
| 5752396435 | imagery | the use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, a thing, a place, or an experience | 28 | |
| 5752415041 | irony | a discrepancy between appearances and reality | 29 | |
| 5752418595 | verbal irony | occurs when someone says one thing but really means something else | 30 | |
| 5752419625 | situational irony | takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen, or what be appropriate to happen, and what really does happen | 31 | |
| 5752433129 | dramatic irony | a character in the play or story thinks one thing is true, but the audience or reader knows better (called this because it is often used on stage) | 32 | |
| 5752528960 | juxtaposition | poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit | 33 | |
| 5752534088 | metaphor | a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as, than, or resembles | 34 | |
| 5752541359 | implied metaphor | does not state explicitly the two terms of the comparison | 35 | |
| 5752555494 | extended metaphor | is a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it | 36 | |
| 5752557518 | dead metaphor | is a metaphor that has been used so often that the comparison is no longer vivid | 37 | |
| 5752559304 | mixed metaphor | is a metaphor that has gotten out of control and mixes its terms so that they are visually or imaginatively incompatible | 38 | |
| 5752610450 | mood | an atmosphere created by a writer's diction and the details selected | 39 | |
| 5752611528 | motif | a recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work, unifying the work by tying current situation to previous ones, or new ideas to the theme | 40 | |
| 5752617271 | motivation | the reasons for a character's behavior | 41 | |
| 5752618403 | parable | a relatively short story that teaches a moral, or lesson about how to lead a good life | 42 | |
| 5752623681 | paradox | a statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of truth | 43 | |
| 5752649495 | parody | a work that makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of the writer's style | 44 | |
| 5752653112 | plot | series of related events in a story or play, sometimes called the storyline | 45 | |
| 5752655713 | exposition | introduced characters, situation, and setting | 46 | |
| 5752657048 | rising action | complications in conflict and situations | 47 | |
| 5752660770 | climax | that point in a plot that creates the greatest intensity, suspense, or interest | 48 | |
| 5752666667 | resolution | the conclusion of a story, when all or most of the conflicts have been settled | 49 | |
| 5752669073 | point of view | the vantage point from which the writer tells the story | 50 | |
| 5752677023 | first person point of view | one of the characters tells the story | 51 | |
| 5752678173 | third person point of view | an unknown narrator, tells the story, but this narrator zooms in to focus on the thoughts and feelings of only one character | 52 | |
| 5752685243 | omniscient point of view | an omniscient or all knowing narrator tells the story, also using the third person pronouns; instead of focusing on one character only, often tells us everything about many characters | 53 | |
| 5752694036 | objective point of view | a narrator who is totally impersonal and objective tells the story, with no comment on any characters or events | 54 | |
| 5752696901 | protagonist | the central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action | 55 | |
| 5752699649 | pun | a "play on words" based on the multiple meanings of a single word or on words that sound alike but mean different things | 56 | |
| 5752704298 | romance | in general, a story in which an idealized hero or heroine undertakes a quest and is successful | 57 | |
| 5752707703 | satire | a type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an attempt to bring about a change | 58 | |
| 5752729303 | simile | a figure of speech that makes an explicitly comparison between two unlike things, using words such as like, as, than, or resembles | 59 | |
| 5752756414 | stereotype | a fixed idea or conception of a character or an idea which does not allow for any individuality, often based on religious, social, or racial prejudices | 60 | |
| 5752761970 | stream of consciousness | a style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character's mind | 61 | |
| 5752770104 | style | the distinctive way in which a writer uses language: a writer's distinctive use of diction, tone, and syntax | 62 | |
| 5752773069 | symbol | a person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something more than itself | 63 | |
| 5752795256 | tall tale | an outrageously exaggerated, humorous story that is obviously unbelievable | 64 | |
| 5752799973 | theme | the insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work | 65 | |
| 5752801359 | tone | the attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in it, or the audience, revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization | 66 | |
| 5752805641 | tragedy | in general, a story in which a heroic character either dies or comes to some other unhappy end | 67 | |
| 5752808452 | understatement | a statement that says less than what is meant | 68 |
