Literary Terms

An extended narrative that carries a second meaning along with the surface meaning. The second meaning is similar in structure to the surface story, shedding light on a story the author expects his reader to recognize. Thus, George Orwell’s Animal Farm sheds light on the development of communism in Russia and does it very well by comparing the revolution to the rebellion of pigs on a farm. The story of how the pigs take over and the corruption that ensues parallels the events in twentieth century Russia. (Beckson 8)

alliteration:

The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words.

Anglo-Saxon prosody was based on alliteration rather than rhyme. (Beckson 9)

allusion:

When a writer or speaker refers to something from history or literature and expects her audience to understand to what she is referring, she is alluding or making an allusion.

Do not confuse allusion with the word illusion.

anachronism:

Something that is misplaced in a story because it is out of time. In Julius Caesar, a clock strikes though there were no clocks in Caesar’s day. In the movie Ben-Hur, Charlton Heston anachronistically wears a wristwatch during the chariot race.

anagram:

A word or name created by mixing up the letters of another word. For example, Samuel Butler’s Erewhon is an anagram for the word nowhere. (Beckson 12)

antagonist:

The force or character that opposes the protagonist. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Bob Ewell serves as antagonist to the Finch family, but actually the greater antagonist is the bigotry and prejudice.

anthology:

A compilation of stories, poems or plays found in one book. Most English classes use an anthology as the main text.

anti-hero:

This is a kind of hero who seems to express qualities that are opposite that of the traditional hero such as courage, honor or honesty. The anti-hero succeeds, but does it on his or her own terms. The anti-hero may reject the qualities that society deems noble, but battles forces in his or her own way. In the film Cool Hand Luke, the protagonist is a career criminal yet his battle against the established order makes him a hero.

archetype:

From the Greek arché, meaning “original” or “primitive,” plus typos , “form.” The term, employed by the psychoanalyst C. G. Jung, has been used in criticism to characterize a pattern of plot or character which evokes what Jung calls a “racial memory.” Thus, the voyage in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is an archetype of the spiritual journey which all people experience, the Ancient Mariner himself an archetype of the man who offends God. Such “primordial images,” as Jung call them, lie in the “collective unconscious,” which is the repository of the experience of the race.

aside

An aside is words spoken to the audience or perhaps to another character while other characters are on stage. The other characters pretend to not hear and we the audience get to listen in on the thoughts. In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Trebonius is told to stay close to Caesar's side and he replies to Caesar: "Caesar, I will (and in an aside to the audience) and so near will I be,/That your best friends shall wish I had been further." (II. iv. 124-125) The audience hears everything, but everyone pretends that Caesar does not hear Trebonius' threatening words. It is a device used so that the audience gets to hear the candid, inner thoughts of the characters.

atmosphere:

The mood the reader gets from the setting, the characterization and the tone of the narrator.

autobiography:

The life story of a person written by the person. It is a story.

avant-garde:

French: “vanguard.” In literature, a term designating new writing that contains innovations in form or technique.

ballad:

A narrative poem that is often meant to be sung.

bard:

A word originally use to refer to an ancient Celtic order of minstrel-poets who composed and sang verses celebrating the achievements of chiefs and warriors; now a synonym for poet. (Beckson 22)

black humor

This term denotes a kind of humor dealing with extremely serious and maybe horrible subjects, usually death and mayhem. The movie M*A*S*H, and sometimes the television show was known for its black humor. Also famous for it is the Stanley Kubrick film Dr. Strangelove (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb) a black comedy about nuclear destruction. Synonyms for "black humor" are sometimes "dark humor" or "gallows humor." In the sophomoreyear curriculum are a story "Where Have You Gone, Billy Boy" and a novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien that contain black humor.

blank verse

Blank verse is unrhymed iambic pentameter. The "blank" is the unrhymed part. It consists of five (penta) iambs. An iamb is a foot (a section of a line) that has two syllables, the first unaccented and the second accented. (Example: remark or repeat are both iambic because they have two syllables and the second syllable is stronger than the first.) The full line of the poem would have five feet.

carpe diem

Latin for "seize the day." This is a term that is popular in the Western world and springs from the realization that life is short and precarious and that tomorrow is promised no one. Balancing this philosophy is the other belief that one must plan and save (energy, money, resources) for the future. The tension between these two philosphies is an important part of everyone's life.

character

cliché

climax

The climax of a story is the point where the reader knows who wins the conflict. It has nothing to do with "the most exciting part of a story" or anything else like it. You know yourself that many stories you read in school have no exciting parts. This is strictly a technical term the denotes the part of the story where, now that it has been read or seen, the reader or audience can see when either the protagonist or the antagonist won. Any story that has conflict has a climax unless it is designed like Frank Stockton's "The Lady or the Tiger" where the whole point of the story was that there is no climax. Click on the word "climax" for more information.

comic relief

conceit

conflict

connotation

consonance

couplet

denotation

denouement

deus ex machina

diction

dramatic monologue

dynamic character:

This is a character that fundamentally changes his or her personality or view of life by the end of the story. By the end of the story, Jem Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has fundamentally changed his view of the town and the town’s people. He has changed from seeing fairy tale monsters to seeing the real monsters in his town of Maycomb. He has gained a greater understanding of human courage and virtue.

This character has only one or two sides of a personality. This character can be summed up in one or two sentences. This character, or caricature, lacks surprises or complexity. This is a term used by E. M. Forster in his Aspects of the Novel (1927).

A foil is a character whose personality and attitude is opposite the personality and attitude of another character. Because these characters contrast, each makes the personality of the other stand out. In Sophocles' Antigone, Ismene is a foil for Antigone. Where Antigone is aware of the world, Ismene denies knowledge and hides from it. Where Antigone stands up to authority, Ismene withers before it. Antigone is active and Ismene is passive. Ismene's presence in the play highlights the qualities Antigone will display in her conflict with Creon making her an excellent foil.

innocence to experience motif

Essentially the term irony is the expectation of one event and another, completely different event happens and still makes sense. There has to be sense to it.

There are three types of irony:

The metaphor is a figure of speech in which one object is compared with another very different kind of object. With the metaphor the qualities that the two objects share are so important and similar that they seem to be the same thing.

Notice that the metaphor is different from the simile which states that one object is like another.

Metonymy literally means "change of name" and it is essentially just that. When we name a thing by calling it by something that is closely related to it, we use metonymy.

A motif is an idea, a theme that is repeated or carried through an individual work as when John Steinbeck's narrator constantly compares Lenny to an animal such as horse or bear throughout the novel Of Mice and Men. There are musical motifs as well. In Jaws, the approach of the shark is always signaled by a strumming of bass strings slowly as the music builds in pitch and speed.

A motif is also an idea which is so powerful and recognizable that it will be used by many authors and artists in many different works in many different ages. Many writers will liken the ages of a person to the seasons of the year. In the spring of one's life is youth and the winter is old age when older persons are said to have snow on the roof. Other motifs used in many works includes the savior motif and the innocence to experience motif .

The oxymoron is a figure of speech which seems to be self contradictory.

palindrome

A palindrome is a word that can be read forwards and backwards the same. Small palindromes are dad, boob, race car and such. Or you could have more complicated palindromes like the following. (Please note that none of these are original, though I do not know who first created them.):

Words possibly said by Napoleon following his exile:
Able was I ere I saw Elba.
These words might have been the first words said from one human being to another:
Madam, I'm Adam.
A cafe could emphasize food for the sweet tooth with this sign:
Desserts Stressed
Exclaim you preference for Italian food with:
Go hang a salami! I'm a lasagna hog.

A paradox is a statement or situation that contradicts itself. The best forms of paradox are those which make sense even though they are self contradictory.

The persona is a character the author creates to represent herself. The persona could simply be a narrator or it could be a character that pretends to be the author. In any case, the persona is always a character that is created by the author and is never to be assumed to be the author. In many poems the speaker will voice words or opinions as if the speaker is the poet. This is false. The speaker is also always said to be a creation of the poet. Don't be fooled by this.

Personification is a kind of metaphor that specifically states that a non-living object has living or life-like qualities.

Structure of the Plot:

These are the four classic parts of a plot. Depending upon the artist, a story may not have all the parts. Many stories are without a denouement. A story like “The Lady or the Tiger” by Frank Stockton does not have a climax.

The point of view of the story is the stand point from which the story is told. There are several points of view:

The prologue is essentially an introductory portion of the play which lets the audience know the important information it needs in order to see the action begin. In Sophocles' Antigone, the prologue sets up the character of Antigone and what she believes she must do for the honor of her family. Her characteristics are highlighted by the use of the foil Ismene. The opposite of the prologue is the epilogue.

Normal, everyday language and writing. Your geography text book is written in prose. Your essays are also in prose. When you try to create a musical quality to your writing you are venturing into prosody or the rules of poetry.

The theory of versification or the theory of poetry.

The main character of the story. The action of the plot centers about this person. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird a strong case for Atticus Finch as the protagonist can be made, but the story’s focus is really Jem and what he learns about life, courage and human virtue. The story begins by explaining that this is the story of how Jem broke his arm. It is he who sets the action in motion and about whom the action centers. Scout is our narrator and observer who serves to give us the story from the children’s perspective.

A life-like, three dimensional character. This character is believable enough to have actually lived. This is a term used by E. M. Forster in his Aspects of the Novel (1927).

The simile is a figure of speech which states that one object is similar to or like another object.

Note that a simile will state that one object is like another where the metaphor , a more direct comparison and thus a stronger one, states that one object is the other.

A soliloquy is a long speech given by an actor alone on the stage which expresses the private inner thoughts of the character. Hamlet gives his famous soliloquy that begins, " To be or not to be, that is the question," at point in the play where he is contemplating whether he should go on with his tasks in life and suffer the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," or should he die. The audience gets to hear all of the contemplations of the characters thoughts as he considers his life.

Though he is one of the greatest characters taught in high school literature, Atticus Finch of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a static character. He is essentially the same strong, courageous person at the beginning of the novel as he is at the end. It is the children's view of him that changes, not Atticus.

A symbol is an object that represents a very, very, very, very, very, very complex idea.

I could ask fifty different people what the American flag represented without allowing for duplicate answers and get fifty different ideas that the flag represents. A symbol does not represent an object it represents an idea. The object can represent itself. The idea sometimes needs to be framed into a context that can be more easily understood or remembered.

The essential idea, group of ideas, or philosophy that the writer wants the reader to understand from the story she is telling. A simple theme from the folk tale about Little Red Riding Hood might be "Don't talk to strangers." More complex stories discuss more complex ideas. For instance, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, delves deeply into all the aspects of sin and evil in the human heart. Each chapter is an exploration of different facets of sin and its effect on the personalities of the people involved. Yet, this exploration of sin is only a part of the many themes found in this excellent novel.

For more on finding a theme, click here .

For more about theme, click here .

U

understatement

V

verisimilitude:

Verisimilitude is achieved by a writer or storyteller when he presents striking details which lend an air of authenticity to a tale. For example, a teenager (not you of course) goes somewhere without her parents permission and tells her parents that she was really at the library. If the teenager adds creative details about what happened while she was there (even though she is making the details up), she is attempting to add verisimilitude to her story. Writers of fiction also do this.

vignette:

A vignette is a short, well written sketch or descriptive scene. It does not have a plot which would make it a story, but it does reveal something about the the elements in it. It may reveal character, or mood or tone. It may have a theme or idea of its own that it wants to convey. It is the description of the scene or character that is important.

W

Theater

An aside is words spoken to the audience or perhaps to another character while other characters are on stage. The other characters pretend to not hear and we the audience get to listen in on the thoughts. In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Trebonius is told to stay close to Caesar's side and he replies to Caesar: "Caesar, I will (and in an aside to the audience) and so near will I be,/That your best friends shall wish I had been further." (II. iv. 124-125) Caesar on stage “does not hear” the words said to the audience and the audience agrees to suspend its disbelief long enough to receive the information. It is a break of the magic fourth wall between the actors and the audience. The audience hears everything, but everyone pretends that Caesar does not hear Trebonius' threatening words. It is a device used so that the audience gets to hear the candid, inner thoughts of the characters.

French: “vanguard.” In literature, a term designating new writing that contains innovations in form or technique.

A word originally use to refer to an ancient Celtic order of minstrel-poets who composed and sang verses celebrating the achievements of chiefs and warriors; now a synonym for poet. (Beckson 22)

A foil is a character whose personality and attitude is opposite the personality and attitude of another character. Because these characters contrast, each makes the personality of the other stand out. In Sophocles' Antigone , Ismene is a foil for Antigone. Where Antigone is aware of the world, Ismene denies knowledge and hides from it. Where Antigone stands up to authority, Ismene withers before it. Antigone is active and Ismene is passive. Ismene's presence in the play highlights the qualities Antigone will display in her conflict with Creon making her an excellent foil.

"The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates

Literary Terms

Menu

A

allegory:

alliteration:

allusion:

anachronism:

anagram:

anthology:

anti-hero:

archetype:

aside

atmosphere:

autobiography:

avant-garde:

B

ballad:

bard:

black humor

blank verse

C

carpe diem

cliché

comic relief

conceit

connotation

consonance

couplet

D

denotation

deus ex machina

diction

dramatic monologue

E

elegy

epic

epigram

euphemism

Existentialism

F

fable

farce

flashback

foil:

G

genre

H

haiku

hyperbole

I

iamb

imagery

invocation

irony

J

jargon

K

kenning

L

lampoon

limerick

local color

M

melodrama

metaphor:

metonymy:

mock epic

motif:

myth

N

naturalism

nom de plume

novel

novella

O

ode

onomatopoeia

oxymoron

P