Literary Terms
Characters: People, animals that take part in
story
ANTAGONIST-
STATIC - character who
character working against
the main character;
usually evil, can be force
of nature
does NOT change
throughout story
ROUND- character who
character of story, hero
has many traits; we get to
know this charac. indepth
DYNAMIC- character
FLAT- character who is
who changes throughout
story
described more simply
PROTAGONIST- main
Characterization
There are four ways that an author
develops characters:
– Through their actions
– Through their speech
– Through their thoughts
– Through what others say about them
Conflict
Struggle between two opposing forces
6 main types of conflict
– man vs. man
– man vs. self
– (man vs. technology)
man vs. nature
man vs. society
(man vs. supernatural)
Each type falls into one of two categories:
– external- conflict between an outside force and the
main character
– internal- one occurs within a character
Theme
Main ideas in a work of literature
Usually about life or human nature
A message, meaning, or moral the author
wants you to learn
– Examples: Loyalty, friendship, overcoming
obstacles
Point of View
First Person
3rd Person
– character in story is
telling the story
– Storyteller is NOT one
of the characters
– I, me, my
– He, she, they
– reader only knows
what the narrator is
thinking
– Reader gets to know
the thoughts of many
characters
FLASHBACK
Something that
happened before
the beginning of a
story
FORESHADOWING
use of clues to hint at
events that will occur
later in the plot
Imagery
Imagery:
– The use of detailed descriptions to paint a
picture.
– Imagery appeals to the five senses.
– Authors usually use sight imagery, but can be
sound, taste, touch, or smell imagery.
Irony
Situational Irony: A contrast between what
is expected to happen and what actually
does.
Verbal Irony: A contrast between what is
said and what is meant.
Dramatic Irony: When the reader knows
something that other characters do not.
Setting
Time and Place of action of the story
It is important to the events and outcomes
of the story.
The setting is both large and small in
scope
Metaphor
A comparison without the use of like or
as.
e.g., Life is but a dream.
Personification
When an author gives human qualities to
nonhuman things.
e.g., The wind cried in the dark.
Simile
A comparison of two different things or
ideas through the use of the words “like” or
“as.”
e.g., The warrior fought like a lion.
Tone
Attitude a writer takes towards a subject
Reflects the feelings of a writer
Can be sarcastic, humorous, serious,etc.
Tone
The atmosphere in a literary work or the
attitude the author puts in a literary work.
Ex. The gloom and representation of
decay is the main tone of Poe’s The Fall of
the House of Usher.
Mood
The feeling or atmosphere that the author
creates for the reader.
Do not confuse Mood with Tone.
The mood is the feeling you are supposed
to get when reading the story.
Subject
The general topic, content, and ideas
contained in the text.
Ask: “What topics are addressed?” There
is always more than one topic.
Sometimes the topics are inferred (not
clearly stated).
Speaker
The speaker is the voice that tells the
story. The narrator and the author are
usually not the same.
Audience
The audience is the group of readers to
whom the piece is directed. The audience
may be one person, a small group or a
large group; it may be a certain person or
people.
Occasion
The time and place of the piece; the
current situation. It is the context that
encouraged the writing to happen.
Ask: “Why here? Why now?” Sometimes it
is not obvious.
Purpose
The purpose is the reason behind the text.
For example: to inform, to persuade, to
entertain, to gain sympathy, to encourage,
to gain support, etc.
to + a strong verb
Allusion
When an author refers to characters or
events from history or other pieces of
literature
e.g., She was beautiful like Venus, the
Goddess of love.
Symbol
Person
Place
Event or
Object that stands for something beyond
itself
Example: a bird in a cage would symbolize lost
freedom
Anaphora
Repetition of a word or group of words
within a short section of writing.
Ex. “A time to be born, and a time to die; a
time to plant, and a time to pluck up that
which is planted.” – Ecclesiastes 3:2
Euphemism
Substituting a milder word or phrase for
one that might be offensive or harsh.
Ex. “passed away” for “died”; “previously
owned” for “used.”
Pun
A play on words which are identical or
similar in sound but which have sharply
diverse meanings.
Puns may have serious or humorous uses.
E.g., In Romeo and Juliet as Mercutio is
dying, he says, “Ask for me tomorrow and
you shall find me a grave man.”
Apostrophe
A form of personification in which the
absent or dead are spoken to as if present
Or
The inanimate is spoken to as if it is
animate (alive).
e.g., The answer, my friend, is blowing in
the wind.
Asyndeton
A style that omits conjunctions between
words, phrases, or clauses (opposite of
polysyndeton).
"They dove, splashed, floated, splashed,
swam, snorted."
(James T. Farrell, Young Lonigan)
Polysyndeton
A style that employs many conjunctions :
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
Ex. "We lived and laughed and loved and
left."
(James Joyce, Finnegans Wake)
Diction (contributes to Tone)
An author's choice of words. Since words have
specific meanings, and since one's choice of
words can affect feelings, a writer's choice of
words can have great impact in a literary work.
Ex. Discussing his novel "A Farewell to Arms"
during an interview, Ernest Hemingway stated
that he had to rewrite the ending thirty-nine
times. When asked what the most difficult thing
about finishing the novel was, Hemingway
answered, "Getting the words right."
Inference
The act of drawing a conclusion that is not
actually stated by the author.
Ex. In the Pigman, John and Lorraine are
writing a “memorial epic” about Mr.
Pignati. Therefore, the reader may
logically assume that Mr. Pignati dies in
the book.
Parallelism
The repetition of similarly constructed
phrases, clauses, or sentences within a
short section.
Ex. “Government of the people, by the
people, and for the people…”; “when I was
a child, I spake as a child, I understood as
a child, I thought as a child…” I
Corinthians 13:11
Repetition
Repeating of a word or phrase for stylistic
effect.
Ex. “When I was a child, I spake as a
child, I understood as a child, I thought as
a child…” I Corinthians 13:11
Style (Diction and Syntax)
The way an author chooses and uses words,
phrases, and sentences to tell the story.
Ex. In an action/adventure story, the author may
use simple words and short choppy sentences,
because this style moves the story along quickly.
In a story about a college professor, the same
author may choose to use polysyllabic,
unfamiliar words, and long, convoluted
sentences.
How it looks on the page and how it is read.
Syntax
The ordering of words into meaningful verbal
patterns such as phrases, clauses, and
sentences.
Poets often manipulate syntax, changing
conventional word order, to place certain
emphasis on particular words. Emily Dickinson,
for instance, writes about being surprised by a
snake in her poem "A narrow Fellow in the
Grass," and includes this line: "His notice sudden
is." In addition to the alliterative hissing s-sounds
here, Dickinson also effectively manipulates the
line’s syntax so that the verb is appears
unexpectedly at the end, making the snake’s
hissing presence all the more "sudden."