Literary Terms

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anecdote

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very brief account of a particular incident.
(commonly used in biographies and autobiographies)

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dramatic irony

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when the reader or audience knows something important that a character does not know

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irony

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contrast or discrepancy between expectation and reality

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direct characterization

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writer tells us directly what the character is like

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blank verse

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poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

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atmosphere

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mood or feeling in a work of literature

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external conflict

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a character struggles against an outside force

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flat character

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has only one or two personality traits and can be summed up in a single phrase

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dynamic character

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changes in some important ways as a result of the story's action

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static character

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does not change much in the course of the story.

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dialect

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way of speaking that is characteristic of a particular region or group of people

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internal conflict

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a struggle between opposing needs, desires, or emotions within a single character

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allusion

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reference to a statement, a person, a place, or an event from literature, history, religion, myth, politics, sports, science, or the arts

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conflict

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struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions

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imagery

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language that appeals to the senses, smell, sound, touch, and taste

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flashback

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scene in a movie, play,short story, novel, or narrative poem that interrupts the present action of the plot to show events that happened at an earlier time.

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indirect characterization

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reader has to put the clues together to figure out what a character is like

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free verse

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poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme

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foreshadowing

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the use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in the plot (arouses readers curiosity and increases suspense)

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hyperbole

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figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion or create a comic effect.

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situational irony

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what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate

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verbal irony

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a speaker says one thing but means the opposite

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metaphor

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figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using like or as

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connotations

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all the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests

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assonance

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repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds in words that are close together.
ex.I lie down by the side, of my darling, my darling, my life, my bride. E. A. POE

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onomatopeia

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use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning

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round characters

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are complex and have many different traits

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alliteration

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repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together.
ex. Where the quail is whistling betwix the woods and the wheat-lot.

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anachronism

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event or detail that is inappropriate for the time period

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character

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individual in a story, poem, or play. (always has human traits even if it is an animal)