English Literary Terms

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Comedy

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literature in which human errors or problems appear funny.

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Narrator

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the person who is telling the story

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Understatement

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way of emphasizing an idea by talking about it in a restrained manner

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Novel

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a lengthy fictional story with a plot that is revealed by the speech, action, and thoughts of the characters.

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Foil

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someone who serves as a contrast or challenge to another character

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Allegory

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a story in which people, things, and actions represent an idea or a generalization about life; often have a strong moral or lesson

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Hubris

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excessive pride; flaw that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero

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Local color

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the use of language and details that are common in a certain region of the country

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Antithesis

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an opposition or contrast of ideas

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Metaphor

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a comparison of two unlike things in which no word of comparison is used

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Motif

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the term for an often repeated idea or theme in literature

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Pathos

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suffering or passionate part in a play or story

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Parable

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a short descriptive story that illustrates a particular belief or moral.

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Irony

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using a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or normal meaning.

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Moral

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the particular value or lesson the author is trying to get across to the reader

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Pathetic fallacy

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form of personification giving human traits to nature

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Myth

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traditional story that attempts to justify a certain practice or belief.

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Figure of speech

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literary device used to create a special effect or feeling by making some type of interesting or creative comparison

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Imagery

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use of words to create a certain picture in the reader's mind.

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Genre

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refers to a category or type of literature based on its style, form, and content.

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Impressionism

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the recording of events or situations as they have been impressed upon the mind.

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Parody

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Form of literature that intentionally uses comic effect to mock a literary work or style

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Plot

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action or sequence of events in a story

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Picaresque novel

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work of fiction consisting of a lengthy string of loosely connected events.

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Plot line

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the graphic display of the action or events in a story

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Melodrama

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an exaggerated form of drama characterized by heavy use of romance, suspense, and emotion

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Foreshadowing

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giving hints or clues of what is to come later in a story

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Fable

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short fictional narrative that teaches a lesson

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Characterization

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the method an author uses to reveal characters and their personalities

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Gothic novel

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type of fiction that is characterized by gloomy castles or characters.

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Narration

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writing that relates an event or a series of events: a story

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Allusion

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a literary reference to a familiar person, place, thing or event

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Novella

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a prose work longer than the standard short story, but shorter and less complex than a full novel

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Hyperbole

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an exaggeration or overstatement

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Essay

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a piece of prose that expresses an individual's point view; usually, it is a series of closely related paragraphs that combine to make a complete piece of writing.

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Epithet

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a word or phrase used in place of a person's name; it is a characteristic of that person

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Dialogue

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the conversation carried on by the characters in a literary work.

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Metonymy

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the substituting of one word for another related word

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Malapropism

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type of pun, or play on words, that results when two words become jumbled in the speaker's mind.

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Exaggeration

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overstating or stretching the truth for special effect

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Poetic justice

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"getting what he deserves"

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Point of view

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vantage point from which the story is told.

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Mood

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the feeling a text arouses in the reader

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Climax

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the most intense point in a story

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Conflict

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the problem or struggle in a story that triggers the action.

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Personification

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literary device in which the author speaks of or describes an animal, object, or idea as if it were a person

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Memoir

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writing based on the writer's memory if a particular time, place, or incident.

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Farce

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literature based on a humorous and improbable plot

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Character sketch

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a short piece of writing that reveals or shows something important about a person or fictional character

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Content

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the set of facts or circumstances surrounding an event or a situation in a piece of literature

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Flashback

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returning to an earlier time for the purpose of making something in the present more clear.

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Falling action

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the part of a play or story that works out the decision arrived at during the climax

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Epigram

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a brief, witty saying or poem often dealing with its subject in a satirical manner

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Empathy

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putting yourself in someone's place and imagining how the person must feel.

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Caricature

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a picture or an imitation of a person's features or mannerisms exaggerated in a comic or absurd way.

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Diction

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an author's choice of words based on their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness

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Exposition

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writing that is intended to explain something that might otherwise be difficult to understand. In a play or novel, it would be the portion that gives the backround or situation surrounding the story

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Figurative language

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language used to create a special effect or feeling.

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Dramamtic monologue

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literary work in which a character is speaking about himself as if another person were present.

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Analogy

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a comparison of two or more similar objects, suggesting that if they are alike in certain respects, they will probably be alike in other ways as well

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Epitaph

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a short poem or verse written in memory of someone

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Denouement

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the final resolution or outcome of a play or story

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Paradox

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a statement that seems contrary to common sense, yet may, in fact, be true.

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Didactic

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literature instructs or presents a moral or religious statement

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Epic

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a long narrative poem that tells of the deads and adventures of a hero.

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Biography

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the story of a person's life written by another person.

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Oxymoron

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combination of contradictory terms such as jumbo shrimp, tough love, or cruel kindess

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Drama

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the form of literature known as plays; but a drama also refers to the type of serious play that is often concerned with the leading character's relationship to society.

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Simile

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comparison of two unlike things using the words LIKE or AS.

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Naturalism

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an extreme form of realism in which the author tries to show the relation of a person to the environment or surroundings.

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Epiphany

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a sudden perception that causes a character to change or act in a certain way

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Autobiography

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an author's account or story of her or his own life.

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Anecdote

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a short summary of a humorous event used to make a point.

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Antagonist

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the person or thing working against the protagonist, or hero, of the work.