THEME
• The central idea or universal message
implicitly stated in a piece of literature. It is
the author’s assertion of what is true about
the world.
• What the author is trying to show about the
world, people, or society.
• Ex: A theme of Shakespeare’s Romeo and
Juliet is that romantic love can be stronger
than the love of one’s family.
GENRE
• A category or type of literature based on its
style, form, and content. (novel, poetry, short
story, etc.)
• Ex: The genre of The Chocolate War is novel.
METAPHOR
A metaphor is a figure of speech that expresses an
idea through direct comparison with another
object. Metaphor is the general term for a
comparison made between two elements. For
example, a simile is a type of metaphor, much like
sarcasm is a type of irony. Personification,
analogies, similes are all types of metaphors.
Ex: After standing outside in the cold for hours,
Carrie’s cheeks were two red apples.
IMPLIED METAPHOR
A type of metaphor that compares two unlike things, but it
does so without mentioning one of them. Instead, it implies
the comparison by using a word or phrase that describes
the unmentioned term and makes the comparison in that
way.
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Angrily Sonia barked commands at her child. (Compares Sonia to a dog)
Andy’s wife asked him to fetch their dinner. (Compares Andy to a dog)
Tony tucked his tail and ran. (Compares Tony to a scared dog)
Beth was drowning in love. (Compares Beth to someone drowning and compares love to
water)
Jennifer purred over the lavish present. (Compares Mary to a cat)
The Porsche crouched before the race, growling in anticipation. (Compares the Porsche
to a big cat)
Alex was chomping at the bit to have his turn. (Compares Alex to a horse)
Harry squawked when the teacher ordered him to detention. (Compares Harry to a bird)
SIMILE
• Figure of speech comparing two unlike things,
using the words “like” or “as.”
• Ex: Receiving an F on my test was like getting
the death sentence from a jury.
HYPERBOLE
• Figure of speech in which the truth is
exaggerated for emphasis or humor.
• Ex: Tim said he was so hungry he could eat an
entire cow.
PERSONIFICATION
• A figure of speech in which something nonhuman is given human characteristics.
• Ex: When the extremely obese man sat on the
old chair, it creaked in pain.
TONE
• The narrator’s attitude toward the subject or
audience.
• Ex: Sarcastic, sincere, empathetic, etc.
• Ex: Nostalgic tone: “I remember when you
could find bears in every state.”
• Ex: Unemotional tone: “The little bird was
only a baby, but nature is unsentimental.”
• Ex: Sarcastic tone: “The men so brilliantly
charged straight into enemy lines.”
MOOD
• The feeling(s) the text arouses in the reader.
• Ex: Ominous, foreboding, hope, etc.
• Sympathetic: “The little bird chirped
helplessly, alone.”
CHARACTERIZATION
• DIRECT: When the writer makes direct statements
about a character’s personality.
Example: The mean teacher told the class that
everyone was going to fail.
• INDIRECT: When a writer makes statements about a
character’s personality through his or her actions or
statements.
Example: With a scowl on his face, the teacher told the
students that he didn’t want anyone to pass his class.
CONNOTATION
• All of the emotions and associations that a
word evokes (brings to mind).
Example: the word HOUSE vs. the word HOME
DENOTATION
• The dictionary definition of a word.
SYMBOL
• An object, person, or place that stands for
something larger than itself.
Examples:
An American eagle is a symbol of freedom,
liberty, strength…etc.
A dove is a symbol of peace.
PROTAGONIST vs.
ANTAGONIST
• PROTAGONIST: every story has one; the main
or central character. The leading figure whose
problem sets the plot in motion.
• ANTAGONIST: The opponent or adversary; the
character who acts in opposition to the central
character/protagonist.
Round vs. Flat Characters
• Round Character: Three dimensional
character –the reader sees all sides of the
character
• Flat Character: One-sided character –the
reader sees only one aspect of the character’s
personality
DYNAMIC vs. STATIC
• DYNAMIC CHARACTER: A character whose
outlook on life CHANGES over the span of the
story.
• STATIC CHARACTER: A character whose
outlook on life does NOT change over the
span of the story.
CONFLICT
• Man vs. Man: external struggle between two
or more individuals.
• Man vs. Himself: internal struggle between a
character and him or herself.
• Man vs. Nature: external struggle between
one or more character(s) and the elements.
• Man vs. Society: external struggle between a
character and the greater society/group.
Zeitgeist
• the spirit of the time; general trend of
thought, feeling, or outlook characteristic of a
particular period of time, especially as it is
reflected in literature, philosophy, etc.
Setting
• The physical and social context in which the
action of a story occurs. The main elements of
setting are time and location.
Point of View
• Who tells a story and how it is told.
• Point-of-view may be categorized as firstperson, third-person limited, or third-person
omniscient.
First-person
• A point of view category that uses I. The
narrator is a participant in the story.
Third-Person Limited
• A point of view category that uses the thirdperson he/she/they. The narrator does not
participate in the action of the story. The
narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of
only a single character.
Third-Person Omniscient
• A point of view category that uses the thirdperson he/she/they. The narrator does not
participate in the action of the story. The
narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of
all characters.
Plot
• The selection and arrangement of events in a story
that shape the action and focus.
Climax
Exposition
Resolution
Exposition
• The introduction of the characters and
background setting in a piece of literature.
Climax
• The turning point of a story when the conflict
is resolved. Often it is considered the highest
point of tension in a piece of literature.
Resolution
• Characterized by diminishing tension and the
conclusion of the story’s conflict.
Allusion
An allusion is an implied or indirect, brief
reference to a famous historical or literary figure
or event usually used as an analogy to help
explain something that may be difficult to
comprehend.
Examples:
1. If you take his parking place, you can expect World War II all over again.
2. “Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds, or memorise another
Golgotha, I cannot tell---“ (Macbeth, I.ii.43-45).
3. “Will history repeat itself? Will David once again defeat Goliath?”
(Courtenay 91).
Euphemism
The substitution of a mild or less negative word or
phrase for a harsh or blunt one. The goal is to put
something bad or embarrassing in a positive or
neutral light. Many terms referring to death, sex,
crime, and excremental functions are euphemisms.
Examples:
1. “pass away” instead of “die”
2. “hatless snake” instead of “circumcised genitalia”
3. “relieve oneself” etc. instead of “sh*t”
Motif
A recurring/dominant element, theme, image,
idea, or pattern in a work of art.
Bildungsroman
A German term for a genre of literature that
concentrates on the spiritual, moral,
psychological, or social development and growth
of the protagonist usually from childhood to
maturity. Sometimes it is referred to as a
"Coming of Age Story."
Litotes
A kind of understatement, where the speaker or
writer uses a negative of a word ironically, to
mean the opposite.
Examples:
1. She's not the friendliest person I know.
(= she's an unfriendly person)
2. He’s not a bad singer. (= pretty good singer)
3. “She asked, not unkindly” (Courtenay 33).
(=nicely –Mevrou -almost concerned?)
Juxtaposition
The arrangement of two or more ideas,
characters, actions, settings, phrases, or words
side-by-side or in similar narrative moments for
the purpose of comparison, contrast, effect,
suspense, or character development.
Microcosm vs. Macrocosm
• Microcosm: A small, representative system
having analogies to a larger system in
constitution, configuration, or development
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• Macrocosm: a complex structure, such as the
universe, the whole world, or society,
regarded as a whole unit
Diction
The writer’s choice of words and ways of
arranging the words
Example:
1. Courtenay’s use of music terminology, boxing
parlance, and litotes
Oxymoron
A combination of words that have opposite or
very different meanings
Examples:
jumbo shrimp
alone in a crowd
awfully nice
act naturally
random order
Onomatopoeia
The naming of a thing or action by a vocal
imitation of the sound associated with it
Examples:
buzz, hiss, hiccup, splash, drip, bam, plop, etc.
Apostrophe
Rhetoric. A digression in the form of an address
to someone not present, or to a personified
object or idea
Examples: “O Death, where is thy sting?”
“Poor Father! Of what then did you
die?” (Wiesel 11).
Analogy
•A similarity between like
features of two things, on which
a comparison may be logically
based.
•example:
heart : pump
Dichotomy
paired or polar opposites
Imagery
The author’s use of sensory details to
create “mental images” for the reader.
Imagery helps the reader see, hear, taste,
smell, and/or feel the details of the story
either through direct description or
through the indirect use of metaphors,
allusions, and other figurative language.
Parallelism
similarity in the structure in a pair or series
of related words, phrases, or sentences.
Also called parallel structure
Idiom
an expression that cannot be understood
from the meanings of its separate words but
that has a separate meaning of its own
Examples: He keeps tabs on his girlfriend.
Why do you have a chip on your shoulder?
Stop pulling my leg.
Rodney spilled the beans.
Foreshadowing
an advance sign or warning of what is to come in
the future. Many mysteries employ
foreshadowing to indicate a murder is about to
occur.
EX: When the man came home from work, he heard a
loud, grumbling noise coming from his basement.
Irony
Three Types of Irony:
Verbal: the use of words that mean the opposite of what you
really think especially in order to be funny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiR-bnCHIYo--
Dramatic: irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a
drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the
characters in the play. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZFYuX84n1U--
Situational: a situation that is strange or funny because things
happen in a way that seems to be the opposite of what you
expected http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqg6RO8c_W0--
Paradox
a statement or proposition that seems
self-contradictory or absurd but in reality
expresses a possible truth
Examples: “I must be cruel to be kind.”
Nobody goes to that restaurant; it is
too crowded.
“Child is the father of man” (Wordsworth).
Satire
-A literary tone used to make fun of human vice or
weakness, often with the intent of correcting or changing
the subject of the attack.
-the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose
and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the
context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Example: Jonathan Swift’s “ A Modest Proposal,” in which he suggests
resolving the issues of overpopulation and undernourishment by having
people eat babies.
Mark Twain’s attack on slavery with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”
Allegory
A story in which people, things, and actions
represent an idea or a generalization about life;
allegories often have a strong moral or lesson.
Examples: In Tim O’Brien’s “The Sweetheart of the
Song Tra Bong,” Mary Anne Bell’s changing from a high
school sweetheart to a savage killer is an allegory for
the death of the 1950s All-American boy and girl.
Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, The Hunger Games, etc.
Epic
a long poem, typically one derived from ancient
oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures
of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a
nation.
Examples: Beowulf
The Iliad
The Odyssey
Metonymy
A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is
substituted for another with which it is closely
associated (such as "crown" for "royalty").
Examples:
-The White House has decided to create more
public service jobs. “White House is substituted
for “president.”
-“suits” for “business people”
Synecdoche
Rhetoric. A figure of speech that names part of
something to represent the whole.
Examples:
ten sail for ten ships
“I was nothing but a body. Perhaps even less: a
famished stomach” (Wiesel 52).
“Take thy face hence” (Macbeth).
Ed’s buddy was in the market for a new set of wheels.
Malapropism
an act or habit of misusing words
ridiculously, especially by the confusion
of words that are similar in sound.
Examples:
• Good punctuation means not to be late. (punctuality)
• Having one wife is called monotony. (monogamy)
• The flood damage was so bad they had to evaporate
the city. (evacuate)