English 11 Literary Terms
Archetypes=Type
Hero/Heroine: The chief character in a work of literature.
Trickster
Faithful Companion
Outsider/Outcast
Rugged Individualist
Innocent
Villain
Caretaker
Earth Mother
Rebel
Misfit
Dramatic Conventions
Stage Directions: Written notes within plays which explain movements, gestures, and
appearance of actors or actresses in a play
Soliloquy: A character speaks directly to the audience (thinking aloud about
motives, feelings, and decisions)
Monologue:A single person speaking, with or without an audience
Aside:A character speaks in such a way that some of the characters on stage do not
hear what is said (while others do)
Verbal Irony:When someone states one thing and means another
Situational Irony: Contrast between what is expected to happen and what actually
does happen Ex. Someone who is loved commits suicide
Dramatic Irony: When readers know more about the situation than the characters do
Catharsis: Explains the effects of tragic drama on an audience
Caricature: A grotesque or foolish image of a character, achieved through the
exaggeration of personality traits
Foil: A minor character introduced in order to represent the abilities of a more
significant character (Ex.Millhouse serves as a foil to Bart Simpson.)
Tragedy: Traces the career and downfall of an individual
Voice: Clarifies the persona of the narrative
Figurative & Literal Language
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Figurative Language-an exaggeration
Literal Language-literally true
Imagery: All of the words which refer to the objects or qualities which appeal to the
senses and feelings
Apostrophe: A rhetorical (not requiring a response) term for a speech addresses to
someone or something in the beginning of a poem or essay
Metonymy: The substitution of the name of a thing by the name of an attribute of it,
(Ex.the “crown” =monarchy)
Synecdoche: A part is used to describe the whole (Ex.”All hands on deck”=sailors)
Language English 11 Literary Terms
Devices
Rhetorical Question: Not requiring a response
Tone: The manner or mood of a passage
Diction: Choice of words in a piece of work; the kind of vocabulary that is used
Dialect: The style and manner of speaking from one particular area. (Ex.New
Yorkers are from “New Yark”)
Sarcasm: An ironical statement intended to hurt or insult (ex. “Brilliant,” stated to a
student who is clearly wrong.)
Elevated Language/Style
Satire: Literature which represents something in a comical sense, making it appear
ridiculous
Parallelism: The building up of sentence or statement using repeated syntactic units
(repeated words and sounds)
Colloquialism/Vernacular: The use of the kinds of expression and grammar
associated with ordinary, everyday speech rather than formal language
Connotation/Denotation: Connotation-emotional response evoked by a word Ex.
Kitten=soft, warm, cuddly
•Denotation-literal meaning
Ex. Kitten=young cat
Pun: The use of a word in a way that plays on its different meanings. Ex. “The
hungry gorilla went ape.”
Irony: Contrast between appearance and actuality
Stream of Consciousness: Present the flow of a character’s seemingly unconnected
thoughts, responses, and sensations.
English 11 Literary Terms
Literary Forms
Gothic: Grotesque characters, bizarre situations, and violent events
Historical Fiction: Fiction that is loosely based on some historical period
Proverb: Short popular saying embodying a general truth. Ex. “Look before you
leap”
Aphorism: A generally accepted principle or truth expressed in a short, witty
manner. Ex. “Life is short, the art long, opportunity fleeting, experiment
treacherous, judgment difficult.”
Epigram: Originally an inscription on a monument…now used to describe a witty
saying or poem with a sharp, satiric, or amusing ending
Tall Tale: Humorous story characterized by exaggeration
English 11 Literary Terms
Poetry
Rhyme: Similarity of sound between two words
Meter: The repetition of a regular rhythmic unit in a line of poetry.
Foot: One stressed syllable indicated by a `
Two stressed syllables indicated by a
Iamb:An unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
Pentameter: Five feet
Stress: The accent is on a specific part of the word
Masculine Rhyme: The accent is on a specific part of the word, and stressed in a deep
voice.
Blank Verse: A poem written in blank verse consists of unrhymed lines of iambic
pentameter.
Free Verse: Poetry that does not have regular patterns of rhyme and meter
Scansion: The process of determining meter; when you scan a line of poetry, you
mark its stressed and unstressed syllables to identify the rhythm
Inversion: Departure from normal word order, common in poetry