English Lit Terms

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Adaptation

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Alteration of an existing text, giving it a new purpose

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Autobiography

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Book about writers own life or history, usually a genre

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Characterization

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Creation of a personality for a literary work

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Cliffhanger

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An open ending that adds dramatic tension, leaves reader wanting to know more

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Dialogue

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Speech

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Dramatic irony

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Information given to reader but not character

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Dramatic tension

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Build up of suspense, leaves reader concerned for characters or plot

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Dystopia

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Fictional world where things have gone wrong

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Foreshadowing

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The suggestion of future events

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Graphic novel

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Book written and illustrated with a plot and narrative arc, comic book style

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Illustration

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Pictorial images that accompany a text

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Implied reader

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The reader who the author has in mind will be reading the text

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Satire vs Parody

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Satire- Humor that ridicules (often political or social in nature) without imitating it

Parody- humor that ridicules while relying on imitation

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Science fiction

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Genre of fiction that is set in the future, often includes imagined scientific advancements

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Simile

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Comparison using like or as

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Staging

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Instructions in a play, example: lighting, set design

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Structure

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How a text is divided into parts, sometimes through formatting (chapter's, headings), sometimes subtle through characters and plot

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Symbolism

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When something has a deeper meaning than its literal form

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Theme

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Topic of reoccurring importance

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TORI

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Translation

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A text being presented in a different language than the one it was originally written in. A form of adaptation

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Memoir

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A record of history that can be biographical, usually written by someone who has a close connection to the person it's about

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Metafiction

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Literature that draws attention to its own artificiality through satire or direct statements from author to reader

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Metaphor

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Figure of speech figuratively describing an object or person as something else

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Multimedia

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Literature that is displayed in multiple forms (online poetry and book). Or literature that has multiple forms of media within it (text and image)

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Orality

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The spoken word (performative poetry versus written)

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Personification

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The attribution of human characteristics to an object or animal

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Realism

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Aspects of work that are portrayed as closely to real life counterparts as possible

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Repetition

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A phrase or word that notably recurs and adds significance to the text or rhythm

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Narration

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The story is told by the narrator, sometimes seperate from the author and characters. Can be omniscient, first person (I) second person (you) third person (he/she)

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Metre

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The rhythm in poetry, focuses on the stresses in a line. Free verse does not have a metre