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Literary Terms I
vocab
34
English
Undergraduate 1
09/12/2007

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Term
Allegory
Definition
is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself.
Term
Allusion
Definition
is a brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or ficticious, or to a work of art. Casual reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event.
Term
Characterization
Definition
is the method used by a writer to develop a character.
Term
Conflict/Plot
Definition
is the struggle found in fiction.
Term
Flashback
Definition
is action that interrupts to show an event that happened at an earlier time which is necessary to better understanding.
Term
Foreshadowing
Definition
is the use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in literature.
Term
Image
Definition
is language that evokes one or all of the five senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching.
Term
verbal irony
Definition
is when an author says one thing and means something else
Term
Mood
Definition
is the emotional attitude the author takes towards hir subject
Term
Motif
Definition
*A recurrent thematic element in an artistic or literary work.
*A dominant theme or central idea.
Term
First-Person Narrator
Definition
"The story is told from the point of view 'I,' as in Charles Boxter's "Gryphon." The I-narrator may be part of the action or an observer.
Term
Second-Person Narrator
Definition
This narrator speaks directly to the reader: "You walk in the room and what do you see? It's Mullins again, and you say, 'Out. I've done with him.'" This point of view is rare primarily because it is artificial and self-conscious.
Term
Third-Person Narrator
Definition
Third-person narration permits the author to be omniscient (all-knowing) when necessary but also to bring the focus tightly in on the central character by limiting observation only to what that character could possible witness or recall.
Term
satire
Definition
literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness, often with the intent of correcting, or changing, the subject of the satiric attack.
Term
Setting
Definition
is determining Time and Place in fiction.
Term
Symbol
Definition
is using an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning.
Term
Theme
Definition
is the general idea or insight about life that a writer wishes to express.
Term
Anecdote
Definition
A very short tale told by a character in a literary work.
Term
Antagonist
Definition
person or force which opposes the protagonist in a literary work.
Term
Denouement
Definition
is that part of a drama which follows the climax and leads to the resolution.
Term
Exposition
Definition
the presentation of essential information regarding what has occurred prior to the beginning of the play
Term
Genre
Definition
A literary type or form.
Term
Myth
Definition
An unverifiable story based on a religious belief.
Term
Point of View
Definition
A piece of literature contains a speaker who is speaking either in the first person, telling things from his or her own perspective, or in the third person, telling things from the perspective of an onlooker.
Term
Protagonist
Definition
The hero or central character of a literary work
Term
Resolution
Definition
The part of a story or drama which occurs after the climax and which establishes a new norm, a new state of affairs-the way things are going to be from then on.
Term
Romance
Definition
In the Middle Ages, tales of exciting adventures written in the vernacular (French) instead of Latin.
Term
Short Story
Definition
A short fictional narrative.
Term
Stereotype
Definition
an author's method of treating a character so that the character is immediately identified with a group.
Term
Style
Definition
Many things enter into the style of a work: the author's use of figurative language, diction, sound effects and other literary devices.
Term
Theme
Definition
An ingredient of a literary work which gives the work unity.
Term
Tone
Definition
Tone expressesthe author's attitude toward his or her subject.
Term
Character
Definition
A person, or any thing presented as a person, e. g., a spirit, object, animal, or natural force, in a literary work.
Term
Climax
Definition
the turning point of the play to which the rising action leads.
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