Reaman Lit Terms

Front 1

flashback

Back 1

going back to an earlier time (in a story) for the purpose of making something in the present clearer

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metaphor

Back 2

compares two ideas without using "like" or "as"

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symbol

Back 3

a person, place, thing, or event used to represent something else in literature

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personification

Back 4

a literary device in which the author speaks of or describes an animal, object, or idea as if it were a person

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simile

Back 5

compares two ideas using "like" or "as"

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satire

Back 6

a literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice of weakness, often with the intent of correcting, or changing, the subject of the satiric attack

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foreshadow

Back 7

to give hints of what is to come later in a story

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irony

Back 8

using a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of it's literal or normal meaning

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verbal irony

Back 9

the writer say one thing and means another

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dramatic irony

Back 10

the reader or audience sees the mistakes of misunderstandings of the character, but he character does not

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irony of situation

Back 11

there is a great difference between the purpose of an action and the result

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theme

Back 12

statement about life a particular work is trying to get across to the reader

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protagonist

Back 13

hero of the story, main character

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antagonist

Back 14

person or thing working against the protagonist of the work

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narration

Back 15

writing that relates an event or a series of events: a story

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static character

Back 16

character who doesn't change

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dynamic character

Back 17

character that changes

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round character

Back 18

complex character

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flat character

Back 19

simple character

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climax

Back 20

the turning point, and usually the most intense point, of a story

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point of view

Back 21

the vantage point from which a story is told

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omniscient point of view

Back 22

the storyteller's knowledge extends to the internal states of all of the characters

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first person point of view

Back 23

told by one of the characters

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third person point of view

Back 24

toldy by someone outside of the story

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setting

Back 25

the time and place in which the action of a literary work occurs

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exposition

Back 26

writing intended ot make clear, or explain, something that might otherwise be difficuolt to understand; may be background info in a play or novel

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alliteration

Back 27

the repetition of initial consonant sounds

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characterization

Back 28

the method an author uses to reveal or describe characters and their various personalities

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direct characterization

Back 29

when the author states a character's traits explicitly

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indirect characterization

Back 30

when the author reveals a character's traits by other means

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conflict

Back 31

the problem or struggle in a story that triggers the action

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internal conflict

Back 32

the struggle is within a character

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external conflict

Back 33

the struggle is between a character and an other force

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connotation

Back 34

the sense suggested or implied beyond a word's literal meaning

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denotation

Back 35

the exact, specific meaning, independent of other associations the word calls to mind

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epiphany

Back 36

describes a moment of revelation or insight in which a characterrecognizes some truth

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imagery

Back 37

the words or phrases a writer selects to create a certain picture in the reader's mind...usually based on sensory details

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oxymoron

Back 38

a combination of contradictory terms

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persona

Back 39

the voice or personality an author assumes for a particular purpose. It is the character who speaks to the readers (and who may or may not be anything like the author)

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tone

Back 40

the overall feeling, or effect, created by a writer's use of words