Literature Genres And Terms

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Ballad

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narrative poem passed by word of mouth

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Fables

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story with animal characters with a moral in it

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Legends

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story based on real events

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Myths

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story that explains events in the natural world

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Parables

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brief stories the teach a moral lesson

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Tall tales

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humor stories containing exaggerated elements

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Lyric poetry

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musical verse that express emotions of the speaker

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Narrative Poetry

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verse that tells a story

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Dramatic Poetry

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verse that uses monolog and dialog

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Free verse

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poetry that avoids rhyme and rhythm

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Meter

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a poems rhythmic pattern

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Stanza

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group of lines in a poem

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Rhyme

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repetition of sounds at the ends of words

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Alliteration

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repetition of initial consonant sounds

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Onomotopoieia

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use of words that sounds like the things to which they refer

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Simile

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comparison using "like" or "as"

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Metaphor

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one thing written about as if it were another

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Personification

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idea, animal, thing described as if it were a person

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Parallelism

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when a writer emphasizes ideas by expressing them in the same grammatical form

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Hyperbole

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an exaggeration made for effect

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Playwright

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author of a play

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Script

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written form of a drama

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Act

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major division of a drama

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Scene

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division within an act

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Dialouge

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speech of actors in a play

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Monologue

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long speech given by one character in a play

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Soliloquy

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speech given alone on stage

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Aside

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statement intended to be heard by audience but not by other character on stage

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Spectacle

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all the elements of the drama presented to the senses

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Histories

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accounts of past events

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Public Records

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Speeches, sermons, contracts, constitutions, and laws

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Autobiography

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the story of a persons life written by that person

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Biography

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the story of a persons life written by someone else

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Memoir

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a mostly autobiographical story based on a persons experience and reactions to historical events

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Essay

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a brief work on non-fiction that explores a subject

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Protagonist

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central figure of the story

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Antagonist

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figure pitted against the protagonist

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Flat Character

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one who shows one dominant trait

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Full Character

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one who shows complex human traits

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Stock Character

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found again and again in literature

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1st Person Point of View

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narrator as a participant in the story using "I" or "we."

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2nd Person Point of View

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narrator speaks directly to the reader

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3rd Person Point of View

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narrator stands outside the action using "He," "She," "It," or "They."

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Limited

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reveals only one characters thoughts and feelings

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Omniscient

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reveals thoughts of all characters

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Exposition

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sets tone and mood, introduces characters and setting

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Inciting Incident

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even that introduces central conflict

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Rising Action

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develops the conflict to a high point of intensity

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Climax

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the high point of interest or suspence

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Falling Action

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all events that follow the climax

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Resolution

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point at which the central conflict is ended or resolved

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Denouement

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any material following the resolution typing up loose ends