Literary Devices

Front 1

Antagonist

Back 1

The character that causes conflict. Not always the "bad guy"

Front 2

Alliteration

Back 2

The repitition of a sound at the beginning of multiple words in a sentence or phrase.

Front 3

Allegory

Back 3

A figurative work in which a surface narrative carries a secondary, symbolic or metaphorical meaning

Front 4

Autobiographical Novel

Back 4

A novel based on an authors life experiences.

Front 5

Blank Verse

Back 5

Unrhymed poetry

Front 6

Burlesque

Back 6

A work designed to ridicule a style, literary form, or subject matter by either treating the exalted in a trivial way or by discussing the trivial in exalted terms.

Front 7

Canon

Back 7

Applied to "great works"

Front 8

Coming of Age Story

Back 8

The protagonist is initiated into adulthood through knowledge, experience, or both, often through a process of disillusionment.

Front 9

Characterization

Back 9

How the character is developed throughout the story.

Front 10

Climax

Back 10

The turning point in a story, at which the end result becomes inevitable usually where something suddenly goes terribly wrong: the "dramatic high point" of a story

Front 11

Creative License

Back 11

Creative License; exaggeration or alterration of objective facts or reality, for the purpose of enhancing meaning in a ficitonal context.

Front 12

Denovement

Back 12

Leads to the final resolution or outcome of a play or story.

Front 13

Distopian Novel

Back 13

Anti-Utopian novel; every has gone wrong in the attempt to create a utopia.

Front 14

Epic

Back 14

An extended narrative poem recounting actions, travels, adventures and heroic episodes written in verse.

Front 15

Fable

Back 15

Short functional narrative that teaches a lesson.

Front 16

Epistolary Novel

Back 16

A novel consisting of letters

Front 17

Euphemism

Back 17

The substitution of a mild or less negative word or phrase for a harsh or blunt one as in the use of "pass away" for die.

Front 18

Existential Novel

Back 18

Absurdity; meaninglessness. Questioning. Atheistic.

Front 19

Farce

Back 19

Literature based on a humorous plot.

Front 20

Figurative Language

Back 20

Creates a special effect or feeling. Saying something but it could mean another thing. Play on words

Front 21

Frame

Back 21

Shows narrators prespective at the time. Controls readers perception.

Front 22

Foil

Back 22

Someone who serves as a contrast or challenge to another character.

Front 23

Gothic Literature

Back 23

Supernatural horror. Unknown terror. Dark and mysterious.

Front 24

Humanism

Back 24

Emphasis on human culture, education and reason. People are inherently good.

Front 25

Hypertext Novel

Back 25

Stream of concepts. Not in a sequential order.

Front 26

Irony

Back 26

Conveys reality different from and usually opposite to appearance or expectation.

Front 27

Motif

Back 27

An often repeated theme in literature.

Front 28

Novella

Back 28

Longer than a short story, shorter than a novel.

Front 29

oxymoron

Back 29

Combination of contradictory words.

Front 30

Parody

Back 30

A satiric imitation of a work or of an author with the idea of ridiculing the author, his ideas or work.

Front 31

Parellelism

Back 31

Use of similar or identical language, structures, events or ideas in different parts of a text.

Front 32

Personification

Back 32

Giving a non-human thing human qualities.

Front 33

Pulp Fiction

Back 33

Novels written for the mass market intended to be a "good read". Often exciting or thrilling.

Front 34

Realism

Back 34

Shows life how it really is.

Front 35

Regional Novel

Back 35

Faithful to a geographic region, including people, behavior, customs, speech and history.

Front 36

Sarcasm

Back 36

A form of sneering criticism in which disapproval is often expressed as ironic praise.

Front 37

Resolution

Back 37

The loose ends of a story are tied up. Does not mean a happy ending.

Front 38

Setting

Back 38

Where the story takes place.

Front 39

Transcendentalism

Back 39

A philosophy that requires human beings to go beyond reason in their search for truth.

Front 40

Satire

Back 40

A literary mode based on Criticism of people and society through ridicule. The satirist aims to reduce that practices attacked by laughing scornfully at them and being witty enough to allow the reader to laugh as well.

Front 41

Subplot

Back 41

A subordinate or minor collection of events in a novel or drama. most have a connection with the main plot.

Front 42

Symbolism

Back 42

An object takes the place of (or represents) an idea or theme in a piece of literature.

Front 43

Tone/Voice

Back 43

Writers attitude towards his/her readers or subject. His/her mood or moral view.

Front 44

Versimilitude

Back 44

How fully the characters and actions in a novel conform to our sense of reality. Is it true to life?