Literary Terms

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alliteration

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beginning several consecutive or neighboring words with the same sound

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allusion

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reference to a mythological or historical person place or thing

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antithesis

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direct juxtaposition of structurally parrallel words, phrases, or clauses for the purpose of contras

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assonance

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repetition of accented volwel sounds in a series of words

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Consonance

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repetition of a consonant sound within a series of words

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Diction

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word choice intended to convey a certain effect

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figures of speech

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imaginative comparison to produce images in a reader's mind, most common are simile, metaphor and personification

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flashback

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scene that interrupts the action of a word to show a previous event

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foreshadowing

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use of hints or clues ina narrative to suggest future action

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hyperbole

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outrageous exaggeration

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imagery

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appealing to the senses

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irony

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verbal irony, speaker says one thing while meaning the opposite, situational irony, situation turns out differently from what one would expect, dramatic iron occurs when a character says something that has different meanings from what he thinks it means though the audience understands it

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setting

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time and place

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shift or turn

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change or movement ina piece resulting from an epiphany

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simile

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comparison with like or as

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sound devices

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stylistic techniques that convey meaning through sound

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structure

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literary framework or organization of a literary selection

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style

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writer's manner of employing language

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suspense

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reader or audience uncertain or tense

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symbol

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object, person, place , or actions that stands for something larger than itself

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syntax

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arrangement of words and order of grammatical elements

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theme

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central message

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tone

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writer's or speaker's attitude toward a subject

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understatement

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opposite of hyperbole

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slang

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recently coined words

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colloquial expressions

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nonstandard often regional ways of using language

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jargon

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words and expressions characteristic of a particular trade

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dialect

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nonstandard subgroup of a language

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concrete diction

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words that describe physical qualities or conditions

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abstract diction

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language that denotes ideas, emotions, conditions, or concepts that are intangible

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denotation

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exact literal definition of a word

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connotation

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implicit rather then explicit meaning of a word and consists of suggestions, associations and emotional overtones attached to a word

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parallel structure

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repeating grammatical or structural similarity

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rhetorical question

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question that requires no answer

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sentence patterns

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declarative, imperative, exclamatory, simple, compound, cdcx, inverted, natural order, balanced and periodic sentences

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omniscient pov

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narrator knows all

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limited omniscient pov

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author knows everything about one character

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objective pov

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allows reader to make inferences through observation of dialogue and external action

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first person pov

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story seen through eyes of one character

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metaphor

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not using like or as

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mood

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atmosphere or predominant emotion

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narration

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telling of story in writing or speakin

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onomatopeoia

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words that mimic sounds they describe

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oxymoron

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form of paradox pair of opposite terms into a single unusual expression

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paradox

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occurs when elements of statemnet contradict each other

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personification

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inanimate object human characteristics

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plot

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sequence of events

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point of view

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perpspective from which a narrative is told

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protagonist

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central character

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pun

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play on words

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repetition

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repeating element of language

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rhyme

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repetition of sounds

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sarcasm

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verbal irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it

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apostrophe

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dead or absent are spoken to as if present and inanimate as if animate