Literary Terms & Devices

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Allegory

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A story/poem/picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one

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Literal (concrete) language

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You say or write exactly what you mean. No figurative language or underestimating the situation.

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Figurative language

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Language that describes something in new and interesting ways.

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Allusion

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An expression to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly

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Analogy

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A comparison

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Protagonist

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Main character

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Antagonist

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Force against protagonist

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Aphorism

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A concise/memorable expression of a general truth or principle

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Aside

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A remark or passage in a play for the audience but not for characters

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Character foil

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Characters in striking opposition to one another

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Characterization

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Used step-by-step in literature to highlight and explain the details of a character in a story

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Conflict

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A struggle between opposing forces

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Denotation

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Word’s dictionary definition

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Connotation

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Emotions linked with words

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Important when selecting word choices to describing things

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Dialect

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A particular language specific to a group of people

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Dialogue

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Conversation between people in a play/book

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Never quote a dialogue

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Diction

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Author’s choice of words

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Irony: Situational, Dramatic, Verbal

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(Situational) a situation or event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects

(Dramatic) audience/reader knows something characters don’t

(Verbal) speaker’s intention is opposite of what they say

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Metaphor

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An implied comparison

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Mood

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The emotional response that the writer wishes to evoke in the reader through a story

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Narrative

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A story

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Instead of “in the book” use “in the narrative”

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Onomatopoeia

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Formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named

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Hyperbole

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Non-literal or exaggerated claims

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Alliteration

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Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of multiple words in a sentence

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Euphemism

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Mild/indirect word/expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or referring to something unpleasant/embarrassing

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Flashback

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(Fiction) author takes reader out of story’s present and jumps to earlier time period

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Foreshadowing

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Hints provided by author for what will happen later on

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Plot

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Sequence of events in a story

Main events of a work devised and presented by author as an interrelated sequence

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Instead of “in the book” use “in the play”

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Genre

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“Form”/category of literature

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Hyperbile

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Non-literal or exaggerated claims

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Idiom

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Expression typically represents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to phrase; a weird saying

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Differs in different regions of places

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Imagery

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Visual symbolism or figurative language that evokes a mental image or other kinds of sense impressions

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Inference

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A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence or reasoning

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Personification

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A non-human thing is given human characteristics

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Point of view

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A story’s method of narration

1st person

3rd person limited

3rd person omniscient

2nd person

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Prose

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Any type of writing that is not poetry

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Satire (genre)

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A literary work holding up human vices or fallacies to ridicule or scorn

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Setting

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Time and place of narrative

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Setting

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Time and place of narrative

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Simile

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Using like/as to form a comparison

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Slang

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Non-standard and informal English

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Soliloquy (drama)

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A character is alone on stage and expresses thoughts verbally

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Symbolism

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Using words, objects, people, locations, and other abstract ideas to represent something beyond the literal meaning

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Synopsis

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Summary

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Theme

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Underlying lesson about life or human nature

It is also a complete sentence/thought

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Tone

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Author’s attitude towards a particular topic

Author’s intention behind narrative

NOT how you feel

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Paradox

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A seemingly contradictory statement that actually reveals a truth

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CONJUNCTION JUNCTION, WHAT’S YOUR FUNCTION?

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Hookin’ up words, phrases, and clauses