A Glossary of Literary Terms Special: Just for You Oh No!!! I've got to know all these???
1. allusion: a reference to some person, place, or event with literary, historical or geographical significance. 2. analogy: a comparison of ideas or objects which are essentially different but which are alike in one significant way. Ex. a bird s wing and an aircraft s wing are analogous. 3. antagonist: the force (usually a person) that opposes the main character (the protagonist) in his attempt to solve a problem and thus to resolve the conflict in which he is involved. 4. anticlimax: an outcome of a situation or series of events that, by contrast to what was anticipated, is ludicrous (ridiculous) or disappointing. The anticlimax can often create a humorous effect. 5. atmosphere: the general over-all feeling of a story conveyed in a large part by the setting and the mood. (see # 40) 6. archaic: language of the past 7. autobiography: the life story written by the subject himself. 8. ballad: a narrative (or story) poem with many specific characteristics. 9. biography: non-fiction that records the life of an individual. 10. blank verse: poetry that has rhythm (5 beats [stressed, not stressed] to a line) but has no rhyme. 11. characterization: the portrayal in a story of an imaginary person by what she says or does, by what others say about her or how they react to her, and by what the author reveals directly or through a narrator. 12. cliché: an expression so often used that it has lost its freshness and effectiveness. 13. climax: the point of highest interest or dramatic intensity. Usually it marks a turning point in the action, since the reader is no longer in doubt about the outcome. 14. coincidence: the chance occurrence of two events which take place at the same time. A possible way to start a story but never to end it. 2
15. conflict: the struggle between two opposing forces, ideas, or beliefs which form the basis of the plot. The conflict is resolved when one force usually the protagonist (main character) succeeds or fails in overcoming the opposing force or gives up trying. 16. connotation: the implied or suggested meaning of a word or expression (see #19 denotation) 17. context: the whole sentence or paragraph surrounding a word and showing the author's purpose or intent. 18. couplet: a pair of lines in a poem which rhyme. 19. denotation: the precise, literal meaning of a word or expression, the dictionary meaning. 20. denouement: the unraveling of the plot, following the climax, in which the writer explains how and why everything turned out as it did. 21. dialect: the language used in a particular region. The vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation differ from other regions. 22. drama: a story with a plot and conflict, acted upon a stage, in front of a camera or over the radio. Common types: comedy, tragedy, horror, melodrama, and fantasy. 23. episode: a related group of incidents, or a major event, that comprises all or part of the main plot or, in a long work, is related to the main plot. 24. essay: a short non-fiction work on one topic. Types: Personal and Informational (see #25 for more on Informational essay) 25. exposition: non-fiction with the purpose of explaining or giving information. Expository, Persuasive and Argumentative are the three forms of Informational essays. 26. fantasy: a tale involving unreal characters and impossibility. Some fantasies are intended merely to entertain; others have a serious purpose. 27. figurative language: language which calls on the reader to use his imagination to complete the author's meaning (some examples listed in # 28) 3
28. figures of speech: (not an exhaustive list) a. simile: comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as". Ex. She was like a bear with a sore paw. b. metaphor: comparison of two unlike things without using "like" or "as". Ex. The fog was a gray veil through which I viewed the city. c. personification: a comparison in which human characteristics (physical or mental) are given to non-human objects. Ex. The sun smiled on him. d. alliteration: the repetition of the same consonant in two or more words. Ex. a fatuous (silly, idiotic) smile of self-satisfaction. e. onomatopoeia: the use of words to imitate sounds. Ex. buzz, murmur. f. hyperbole: a figure of speech using exaggeration. Ex. These books weigh a ton. 29. flashback: a device by which a writer interrupts the main action of a story to recreate a situation or incident of an earlier time as though it were occurring in the present. 30. flat character: a character presented by one or two traits, easy to describe. Not a stereotype. (see # 59) 31. foreshadowing: the dropping of important hints by the author to prepare the reader for what is to come and to help him to anticipate the outcome. 32. free verse: poetry which has neither rhythm or rhyme. 33. hackneyed: statements or words which are worn out as an expression or comment. (see # 12 cliché) 34. image: a general term for any representation of a particular thing with its attendant and evocative detail. It may be a metaphor, a simile, or a straight-forward description. An image may have a symbolic meaning. 35. incident: one of the events (usually minor) that make up the total action or plot of a work of fiction. 36. internal rhyme: a line of poetry in which a word in the middle rhymes with a word at the end of the line. Ex. The Arctic nights have seen queer sights. 37. irony: a mode of expression in which the author says one thing and means the opposite. The unexpected occurs. 38. locale: the particular place in which the action in a work of fiction takes place. 39. masculine rhyme: any last syllable of a line of poetry which rhymes with the last syllable of another line. Ex. pale/tale 4
40. mood: the frame of mind or state of feeling created in the reader by a piece of writing. Ex. An author may create a mood of mystery around a character or setting but may treat that character or setting in an ironic, serious or humorous tone. (see # 64 tone) 41. moral: the lesson taught by a literary work; morals are commonly found in parables (fables) and escape fiction. Interpretive fiction observes a theme not a moral. (see # 63) 42. motivation: reason(s) given in a narrative for characters behaving the way they do. 43. narration: an account of an event, or series of events, whether true or imaginary. 44. narrative poetry: a poem which tells a story. Types: ballad, epic, saga, etc. 45. narrator: the person in a poem, short fiction or novel who relates the story. 46. paradox: a statement which seems on the surface to be contradictory; yet if interpreted figuratively, it involves an element of truth. Ex. The country mobilized for peace. 47. paraphrase: a restatement of a poem or piece of prose in your own words. 48. pathos: that quality in prose that evokes (draws forth) in the reader a feeling of pity and compassion. 49. plot: the series of events or episodes that make up the action in a work of fiction. 50. protagonist: usually the main character in a fiction, who faces a problem and, in his attempt to solve it, becomes involved in a conflict with an opposing force. (see # 3 antagonist) 51. quatrain: a four-line stanza usually with alternate rhymes. 52. realism: the faithful portrayal of people, scenes, and events as they are, not as the writer would like them to be. (see # 66 verisimilitude) 53. resolution: the events following the climax in a work of fiction; sometimes called the falling action. 54. rising action: the series of incidents in a story which provide suspense. (see # 61) 5
55. round character: a complex character, like a human being good and bad not stereotyped. Needs an essay for analysis. 56. satire: a piece of writing that criticizes manners, individuals, or political and social institutions by holding them up to ridicule. 57. sentimentality: a superabundance of emotion in a story. Sentimental stories manipulate the reader s feelings. 58. setting: the time and place in which the events in a work of fiction occur. 59. stereotype: a character in a story who is presented according to certain widely accepted ideas of how such a person should look, think, or act. Ex. the villain in a story needs no explanation. 60. style: the distinctive manner in which the writer uses language, his choice and arrangement of words. 61. suspense: a feeling of excitement, curiosity, or expectation about the outcome of a work of fiction. 62. symbol: an object that stands for, or represents an idea, belief, superstition, social or political institution, etc. Ex. a pair of scales is often used as a symbol for justice. 63. theme: the idea, general truth, or commentary on life or people brought out through an interpretive story. 64. tone: the author's attitude toward his subject and the particular way in which he writes about it. Some possible attitudes are pessimism, optimism, seriousness, bitterness, humorous, joyful etc. An author s tone is revealed through word choice and detail. 65. unity: an arrangement of parts of material that will produce a single, harmonious design or effect in a literary work, also referred to as artistic unity. 66. verisimilitude: the state of being true to life. Any specific details that are realistic and help to make a story seem true. Yes, you have to know all these... 6