Literary Terms

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loosely describes any writing in verse or prose that has a double meaning

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ALLEGORY

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A casual reference in literature to a person, place, event, or another passage of literature, often without explicit identification

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ALLUSION

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the character against whom the protagonist struggles or

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ANTAGONIST

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The emotional feelings inspired by a work

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ATMOSPHERE

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the process by which the personality of a fictitious character is revealed by the use of descriptive adjectives, phrases, or epithets.

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DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION

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An author or poet's use of description, dialogue, dialect, and action to create in the reader an emotional or intellectual reaction to a character or to make the character more vivid and realistic

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CHARACTERIZATION

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The moment in a play, novel, short story, or narrative poem at which the crisis reaches its point of greatest intensity and is thereafter resolved

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CLIMAX

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The opposition between two characters (such as a protagonist and an antagonist), between two large groups of people, or between the protagonist and a larger problem such as forces of nature, ideas, public mores, and so on

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CONFLICT

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The language of a particular district, class, or group of persons

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DIALECT

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conversation among characters

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DIALOGUE

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The choice of a particular word as opposed to others

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DICTION

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Also called a round character, and is one whose personality changes or evolves over the course of a narrative or appears to have the capacity for such change

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DYNAMIC CHARACTER

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the standard term for the sudden flare into revelation of an ordinary object or scene

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EPIPHANY

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The use of authorial discussion to explain or summarize background material rather than revealing this information through gradual narrative detail

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EXPOSITION

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the part of a literary plot that occurs after the climax has been reached and the conflict has been resolved.

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FALLING ACTION

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the grammatical person used by a speaker in statements referring to himself or herself or to a group including himself or herself

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FIRST PERSON NARRATOR

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A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events--usually in the form of a character's memories, dreams, narration, or even authorial commentary

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FLASHBACK

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Also called a static character, and is a simplified character who does not change or alter his or her personality over the course of a narrative, or one without extensive personality and characterization

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FLAT CHARACTER

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Suggesting, hinting, indicating, or showing what will occur later in a narrative

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FORESHADOWING

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The audience must induce for themselves what the character is like through the character’s thoughts, actions, speech

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INDIRECT CHARACTERZATION

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is a trope in which accidental events occur that seem oddly appropriate, such as the poetic justice of a pickpocket getting his own pocket picked

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IRONY, SITUATIONAL

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is a trope in which a speaker makes a statement in which its actual meaning differs sharply from the meaning that the words ostensibly express

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IRONY, VERBAL

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(the most important type for literature) involves a situation in a narrative in which the reader knows something about present or future circumstances that the character does not know

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IRONY, DRAMATIC

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say one thing and mean another OR CONTRAST

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IRONY

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A judgement based on reasoning rather than on direct or explicit statement. A conclusion based on facts or circumstances

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INFERENCE

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Potentially confusing words and phrases used in an occupation, trade, or field of study

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JARGON

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a feeling, emotional state, or disposition of mind--especially the predominating atmosphere or tone of a literary work

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MOOD

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An emotion, desire, physiological need, or similar impulse that acts as an incitement to action

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MOTIVE

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The "voice" that speaks or tells a story

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NARRATOR

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a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters in the story,

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OMNISCIENT POINT OF VIEW

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a writer or speaker's attempt to inspire an emotional reaction in an audience--usually a deep feeling of suffering, but sometimes joy, pride, anger, humor, patriotism, or any of a dozen other emotions

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PATHOS

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The structure and relationship of actions and events in a work of fiction

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PLOT

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The main character in a work, on whom the author focuses most of the narrative attention

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PROTAGONIST

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outcome or result of a complex situation or sequence of events, an aftermath that usually occurs near the final stages of the plot

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RESOLUTION

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The action in a play before the climax

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RISING ACTION

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is depicted with such psychological depth and detail that he or she seems like a "real" person

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ROUND CHARACTER

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is the manner in which the author tells the story

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STYLE

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A minor or subordinate secondary plot, often involving a deuterogamist's struggles, which takes place simultaneously with a larger plot

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SUBPLOT

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this term refers to a totally unexpected and unprepared-for turn of events, one which alters the action in a narrative

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SURPRISE ENDING NOT A FORM OF IRONY

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is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work

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SUSPENSE

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A word, place, character, or object that means something beyond what it is on a literal level

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SYMBOL

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A central idea or statement that unifies and controls an entire literary work

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THEME

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The means of creating a relationship or conveying an attitude or mood

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TONE

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talking and narrating the story is not identical with the author

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VOICE

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a character who contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) in order to highlight various features of that other character's personality, throwing these characteristics into sharper focus

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FOIL

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is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art (such as a novel, play, or film

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DYNAMIC CHARACTER

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are minor characters in a work of fiction who do not undergo substantial change or growth in the course of a story

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STATIC CHARACTER

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a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows only the thoughts and feelings of a single character, while other characters are presented only externally.

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THIRD PERSON LIMITED POINT OF VIEW

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includes the time, location, and everything in which a story takes place, and initiates the main backdrop and mood for a story.

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SETTING