Literary Terms to Remember
Definition
Example
Allusion
Term
An allusion is an indirect reference to
a person, place, event, or artistic work.
Analysis
Analysis is a detailed examination of
the elements or structure of
something, typically as a basis for
discussion or interpretation.
Annotation
Annotating a text, or marking the
pages with notes, is an excellent, if
not essential, way to make the
most out of the reading you do.
Annotations make it easy to find
important information quickly when
you look back and review a text. In
these ways, annotating a text makes
the reading process an active one, not
just background for writing
assignments, but an integral first step
in the writing process.
When someone makes a statement
investing his strong belief in it, as if it
is true though it may not be, he is
making an assertion.
“Don’t act like a Romeo in front of her.” – “Romeo” is a
reference to Shakespeare’s Romeo, a passionate lover
of Juliet, in “Romeo and Juliet”.
The rise in poverty will unlock the Pandora’s box of
crimes. – This is an allusion to one of Greek
Mythology’s origin myth, “Pandora’s box”.
“This place is like a Garden of Eden.” – This is a
biblical allusion to the “garden of God” in the Book of
Genesis.
Example #1: (Robin Hood)
The use of a monarchy or kingdom setting in Robin
Hood allowed the author to portray the abuses of
power that often occur among the wealthiest members
of a community.
Example #2: (Snow White)
The use of certain plot elements in Snow White, such
as the poisoned apple and resulting slumber, help
readers understand that being too trusting can lead to
dire consequences.
Example #3: (Cinderella)
The author of Cinderella paired lazy female characters
with a hard–working female protagonist to show that
hard work leads to love and happiness.
Annotating text includes the following components:
(a) writing brief summaries in the text margins in the
students' own words;
(b) enumerating multiple ideas (e.g., cause-and-effect
relations, characteristics);
(c) noting examples in the margins;
(d) putting information on graphics and charts if
appropriate;
(e) marking possible test questions;
(f) noting confusing ideas with a question mark in the
margins; and
(g) selectively underlining key words or phrases
Assertion
From George Orwell’s Animal Farm:
In, Animal Farm, pigs make use of assertion as a tool
for making propaganda in the entire novel in order to
weaken the position of other animals from having
contradiction with their rules and leadership. In the
chapter seven, Squealer informs other animals that
they need not to sing original anthem of the Old Major,
Beasts of England — a song they used to inspire the
revolution in the chapter one. Squealer asserts, saying,
“It’s no longer needed, comrade…In Beasts of England
we expressed our longing for a better society in days
to come. However, that society has now been
established. Clearly this song has no longer any
purpose.”
Characterization is a literary device
that is used step by step in literature to
highlight and explain the details about a
character in a story.

Direct characterization takes a
direct approach towards building
the character. It uses another
character, narrator or the
protagonist himself to tell the
readers or audience about the
subject.

Indirect characterization is a
more subtle way of introducing the
character to the audience. The
audience has to deduce for
themselves the characteristics of
the character by observing his/her
thought process, behavior,
speech, way of talking,
appearance, and way of
communication with other
characters and also by discerning
the response of other characters.
Here are some examples of direct characterization:
1. Karen is bright, energetic, and helpful.
Here, the writer uses adjectives to describe
who
Karen is as a character.
Diction
 connotation
 denotation
Diction can be defined as style of
speaking or writing determined by the
choice of words by a speaker or a
writer.

A connotation is a meaning that
is implied by a word apart from
the thing which it describes
explicitly.

A denotation generally defined
as literal or dictionary meanings
of a word in contrast to its
connotative or associated
meanings.
Generalization
A generalization is a general
statement or concept obtained by
inference from specific cases.
Imagery
Imagery means to use figurative
language to represent objects, actions
and ideas in such a way that it
appeals to our physical senses.
Inference
Inference is a literary device used
commonly in literature and in daily life
where logical deductions are made
based on premises assumed to be
true.
Examples of connotation:
 A dog connotes shamelessness or an ugly face.
 A dove implies peace or gentility.
 Home suggests family, comfort and security.
 Politician has a negative connotation of wickedness
and insincerity while statesperson connotes
sincerity.
 Pushy refers to someone loud-mouthed and
irritating.
 Mom and Dad when used in place of mother and
father connote loving parents.
Example of denotation:
If you search for meaning of the word “dove” in a
dictionary, you will see that its meaning is “a type of
pigeon, a wild and domesticated bird having a heavy
body and short legs.”
Examples of generalization:
 Cats are nicer than dogs.
 Dogs are smarter than cats.
 Only a fool would believe what that commercial
says.
 Learning to drive isn’t difficult.
 College is the only way a person can be properly
educated.
 It was dark and dim in the forest. – The words
“dark” and “dim” are visual images.
 The children were screaming and shouting in the
fields. – “Screaming” and “shouting” appeal to our
sense of hearing or auditory sense.
 He whiffed the aroma of brewed coffee. – “whiff”
and “aroma” evoke our sense of smell or olfactory
sense.
Sheldon Cooper: I took another look at the board, and I
realized you were right.
Raj Koothrappali: So you were wrong.
Sheldon Cooper: I’m not saying that.
Raj Koothrappali: That’s the only logical inference.
Sheldon Cooper: I’m still not saying it.
Characterization
 direct
 indirect
2. Joe was motivated by money. He had no use for
love or family.
The sentence above directly states the character of
Joe by telling us what motivates him: money.
Here is an example of indirect characterization:
If a mother calmly tells her son it's time for bed and he
responds by saying, 'No, I don't have to do what you
say! I'm staying up all night!' then we can infer that this
young boy is angry, obstinate and may have authority
issues. The author is not telling us directly what kind
of personality the little boy has; instead, we must
decide this based on the author’s use of speech.
(Jim Parsons and Kunal Nayyar, “The Pirate Solution.”
The Big Bang Theory, 2009)
Juxtaposition
Juxtaposition is a literary technique
in which two or more ideas, places,
characters and their actions are
placed side by side in a narrative or a
poem for the purpose of developing
comparisons and contrasts.
Main Idea
The main idea is the most important or
central thought of a paragraph or
larger section of text, which tells the
reader what the text is about.
Mood
In literature, mood is a literary element
that evokes certain feelings or vibes in
readers through words and
descriptions.
Paraphrase
To paraphrase is to express an idea
or somebody’s message in our own
words by maintaining the meaning of
original material.
Juxtaposition is a literary device that William
Shakespeare uses most commonly in his play “Romeo
and Juliet”. We notice the juxtaposition of “light and
“darkness” repeatedly. Consider an example from Act
I, Scene V:
“O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear;”
Here, the radiant face of Juliet is juxtaposed with a
black African’s dark skin. Romeo admires Juliet by
saying that her face seems brighter than brightly lit
torches in the hall. He says that at night her face glows
like a bright jewel that shines against the dark skin of
an African.
Example #1:
It is often said that lightning never strikes twice in the
same place, but this isn’t true. Go ask the forest
rangers. Rangers who spend their summers as firefighters will tell you that every thundershower brings
several bolts of lightning to their lookout stations.
(Notice that the first sentence tells what the paragraph
is about; the sentences that follow support the
idea stated in the first sentence.)
Example #2:
Costs were low that year and the output high. There
was a good person for each job and the market
remained firm. There were no losses from fire. All in all
it was the best years in the history of the company.
(Note that the first three sentences give details to
explain why it was the best year in the company’s
history.)
Charles Dickens creates a calm and peaceful mood in
his novel “Pickwick Papers”:
“The river, reflecting the clear blue of the sky, glistened
and sparkled as it flowed noiselessly on.”
The depiction of idyllic scenery imparts a serene and
non-violent mood to the readers.
Example #1:
Original: Her life spanned years of incredible change
for women.
Paraphrase: Mary lived through an era of liberating
reform for women.
Example #2:
Original: Giraffes like Acacia leaves and hay and they
can consume 75 pounds of food a day.
Paraphrase: A giraffe can eat up to 75 pounds of
Acacia leaves and hay everyday.
Point of View
Point of view is the angle of
considering things, which shows us
the opinion, or feelings of the
individuals involved in a situation. In
literature, point of view is the mode of
narration that an author employs to let
the readers “hear” and “see” what
takes place in a story, poem, essay
etc
First Person Point of View:
Notice how William Wordsworth uses the first person
point of view to express his subjective feelings about the
scene of daffodils in his famous poem “Daffodils”.
“I gazed–and gazed–but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought.”
The use of the pronoun “I” gives a special quality to the
feelings expressed in these lines. The reader can see that
the poet has employed first person point of view to
share with us his own personal emotions.
Second Person Point of View:
Read the following lines from “Bright Lights, Big City” by
Jay Mclnemey:
“You are not the kind of guy who would be at a place like
this at this time of the morning. But here you are, and you
cannot say that the terrain is entirely unfamiliar, although
the details are fuzzy.”
The writer illustrates the use of second person point of
view by using the pronoun “you”. This technique may be a
little rare but you can realize that it has its own strength of
hooking the reader right from the start.
Third Person Point of View:
Have a look at the following lines from “Pride and
Prejudice” by Jane Austen:
“When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who
had been cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before,
expressed to her sister how very much she admired him.”
“He is just what a young man ought to be,” said she,
“sensible, good humoured, lively; and I never saw such
happy manners! — so much ease, with such perfect good
breeding!”
Summary
A summary is a brief statement or
account of the main points of
something.
Syntax
Syntax is a set of rules in a language.
It dictates how words from different
parts of speech are put together in
order to convey a complete thought.
Theme
Theme is defined as a main idea or
an underlying meaning of a literary
work that may be stated directly or
indirectly.
Tone, in written composition, is an
attitude of a writer toward a subject or
an audience. Tone is generally
conveyed through the choice of words
or the viewpoint of a writer on a
particular subject.
Tone
These lines demonstrate a fine use of the third person
point of view. The excerpt shows the reader two different
ways of the use of the third person point of view. Jane
Austen first presents two leading characters Jane and
Elizabeth, from the third person point of view and then
shows us that the two characters are talking about Bingley
from their own third person point of view.
Summary of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”:
It's the story of a young prince of Denmark who discovers
that his uncle and his mother have killed his father, the
former king. He plots to get revenge, but in his obsession
with revenge he drives his sweetheart to madness and
suicide, kills her innocent father, and in the final scene
poisons and is poisoned by her brother in a duel, causes
his mother's death, and kills the guilty king, his uncle.
In casual conversations, we can simply say, “I cannot go
out” to convey our inability to go out. P J Kavanagh’s in his
poem Beyond Decoration does not rely on merely stating
a prosaic “I cannot go out”. Rather, he shifts the syntax
and says “Go out I cannot”, which lays a much stronger
emphasis on the inability to go out conveyed by the word
“cannot”.
Examples of various themes:
 Love and Friendship – as seen in works such as
“Romeo and Juliet” or “Frog and Toad are Friends”
 War – as seen in works like “The Iliad and Odyssey”
Example #1:
Father: “We are going on a vacation.”
Son: “That’s great!!!”
– The tone of son’s response is very cheerful.
Example #2:
Father: “We can’t go on vacation this summer.”
Son: “Oh, great! Just what I expected.”
– The son’s tone is sarcastic in the given response.