ALLITERATION:
DYNAMIC CHARACTER:
The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words in a sentence or a line of poetry. Example: thundering thoughts w ing ing ildly w ildly
A character that grows and changes as a result of the plot. Dynamic characters are usually protagonists.
ANTAGONIST: The character or force in opposition to the protagonist. Example: "The Joker" in Batman
ASSONANCE: The
repetition of similar stressed vowel sounds within words in nearby sentences or words. Example: the birds were h ooting in the woodland
CLICHÉ: A strikingly worded expression that is worn out from too much use. Example: two peas in a pod
CONTRAST: A device where two objects or ideas are put in opposition to one another to show or emphasize the differences between them. Example: Felix and Oscar of The Odd Couple
ENJAMBMENT: Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence or clause over a line-break.
FLAT CHARACTER: An undeveloped, simple character that shows only one personality trait. A flat character has one dimension. They are filling a space in the story and have no life outside their function. Stereotypes are flat characters. Villains who are totally evil are flat characters. Heroes who always do the right thing and never have doubts or fears are flat characters. Characters that exist only to aid or hinder the main character are flat characters. Example: Peter Pan is a flat character because his refusal to grow up is the only trait that is shown.
FLASHBACK: A dramatic device where the author interrupts the main action of a story to present an incident that occurred at an earlier time.
DICTION:
FORESHADOWING:
Word choice. choice. Good diction diction is the careful selection of words to communicate a particular subject to a specific audience.
The hint in a narrative that lead to reader to anticipate and speculate about later events, developments, or situations, helping create suspense. Example: The title "Before the End of the summer" foreshadows that something important will happen before the end of summer.
DIDACTIC: Written specifically to teach or instruct the reader. Example: “The Tortoise and the Hare”
HUMOR:
METAPHOR:
A conjunction of incongruous (opposite) situations or images in a surprising manner that evokes amusement. Humour may range from light-hearted and harmless to critical and sarcastic. Pure humour, however, does not contain criticism and solely comes from the amusing surprises of its incongruities. Deadpan Humor: a purposely flat delivery of humor with no expression of amusement in the tone.
A figure of speech in which something is identified with something else, showing the common qualities of both.
HYPERBOLE:
Iambic: style of poetic feet that has
Deliberate exaggeration used to produce heightened dramatic effects or humorous or ironic effects. Example: I waited forever by the phone.
one unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable.
IMAGERY: The use of words to produce mental images of specific sensory experiences (olfactory [smell], gustatory [taste], tactile [touch], visual, auditory [hearing], emotional). 1. Literal Imagery (factual imagery) tries directly to evoke accurate images of actual objects or experiences. 2. Imaginative Imagery uses figurative language to create vivid imaginary images, in order by indirection to evoke and enhance images of actual objects or experiences.
IRONY: A term for situations and for written and spoken observations that suggest incongruity some sort of (discrepancy) between appearance and reality.
Example: "life is but a dream" - life is a rapidly changing fantasy, a sort of unreality.
METER: The regular pattern of accented and unaccented syllables. The line is divided into a number of feet.
Iambic Pentameter: most common in English verse. It is five (penta) feet (meters) of one unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable. Example: "Bŭt sóft! Whăt líght thrŏugh yóndĕr wíndŏw bréaks?"
Blank
Verse:
unrhymed
iambic
pentameter. Example: Much of Shakespeare's writing is written in blank verse.
Free Verse: poetry without a fixed meter
MOOD: (Sometimes
referred to as Atmosphere) the emotional atmosphere experienced by the reader of a literary work. Mood is often suggested by the writer's choice of words, by the events in the work, or by the physical setting. Example: The mood of most horror films is eerie.
MOTIF:
Climax: highest point of emotional
A recurring idea that is woven like a design into a fabric of a literary work. It differs from a theme in that it is a concrete example of a theme. Example: a motif of birds (such as birds flying high, a boat named The Lark , the eagle a character sees in the mountains) underscores the theme of freedom.
tension/suspense in the story Resolution: also called Falling Action-conflict is ended Dénouement: ties up loose ends after the resolution of the conflict
POINT OF VIEW:
A figure of speech that infuses two contradictory or opposing ideas to make perfect sense. Example: "pretty ugly"
The perspective, the vantage point from which the story is told. 1st person p.o.v.: character within tells the story (uses "I") 3rd person point of view: voice outside of the story tells the story Limited 3rd person: narrator knows only one character’s internal state Omniscient 3rd person: narrator knows all the characters' internal states
PARADOX:
PROTAGONIST:
A self-contradictory statement that may state a truth. Example: "The way to be safe is never to be secure."
Usually the central or leading character; the opposing force in the conflict most responsible for bringing the conflict to an end.
PERSONIFICATION:
PUN:
Giving human characteristics to inanimate objects or ideas. Example: The sun smiled on our picnic.
Personal; closely connected to an author's feelings, attitudes, prejudices, and personal reactions.
OBJECTIVE: Impersonal; free from the author's feelings, attitudes & prejudices.
OXYMORON:
PLOT: The series of events or episodes that make up the action of a story. It can be broken into the following parts: Exposition: introduces setting, characters, basic situation Inciting Incident: introduces central conflict Rising Action: His complication of the action; action gains interest and force as opposing groups come into conflict
a play on words that are similar in sound but have different meanings, usually providing a humorous effect. Example: Smart fish swim in schools.
QUATRAIN – a four-line verse or poem that rhymes
REPETITION The use of any element, such as a sound, word, clause, phrase or sentence more than once.
RHYTHM: The patterns of sounds and pauses that are a feature of poetry, prose, and ordinary speech.
ROUND CHARACTER: A character that shows varied traits, such as popularity and loneliness. They are complex and are more like real people than flat characters.
Static characters are minor characters in a work of fiction who do not undergo substantial change or growth in the course of a story. Also referred to as "two-dimensional characters", they play a supporting role to the main character.
SUBJECTIVE: Personal; closely connected to an author's feelings, attitudes, prejudices, and personal reactions.
SARCASM: A cutting remark, written or spoken, designed to make fun of, or hurt, its object. Sarcasm often employs irony and may be considered humorous.
SATIRE: A humorous or witty method of criticizing characteristics and institutions of human society. Its purpose is to correct as well as to expose and ridicule; therefore, it is not purely destructive.
SETTING: The time & place of a literary work. This can include the social, political, economic, and cultural environment as well.
SIMILE: A nonliteral comparison between two unlike things, usually connected by the words "like," "as," or "seems." Example: "My love is like a red, red rose."
STATIC CHARACTER: A character that remains constant in his or her beliefs, attitudes, behaviours, personality.
SYMBOL: A specific object, incident, or person intended to represent some abstract idea. Example: a wedding ring symbolizes two people’s unending love
THEME: The major underlying idea in a specific literary work.
>LIST OF TONE WORDS< POSITIVE TONE 1. admiring 2. hilarious 3. hopeful 4. humorous 5. interested 6. introspective 7. jovial 8. joyful 9. laudatory 10. light 11. lively 12. mirthful 13. modest 14. nostalgic 15. optimistic 16. passionate 17. placid 18. playful 19. poignant 20. proud 21. reassuring 22. reflective 23. relaxed 24. respectful 25. reverent 26. romantic 27. sanguine 28. scholarly 29. self-assured sentimental 30. serene 31. silly 32. sprightly 33. straightforward 34. sympathetic 35. tender 36. tranquil 37. whimsical 38. wistful 39. worshipful 40. zealous
NEUTRAL TONE 1. commanding 2. direct 3. impartial 4. indirect 5. meditative 6. objective 7. questioning 8. speculative 9. unambiguous 10. unconcerned 11. understated
NEGATIVE TONE 1. abhorring 2. acerbic 3. ambiguous 4. ambivalent 5. angry 6. annoyed 7. antagonistic 8. anxious 9. apathetic 10. apprehensive 11. belligerent 12. bewildered 13. biting 14. bitter 15. blunt 16. bossy 17. cold 18. conceited 19. condescending 20. confused 21. contemptuous 22. curt 23. cynical 24. demanding 25. depressed 26. derisive 27. derogatory
28. desolate 29. despairing 30. desperate 31. detached 32. diabolic 33. disappointed 34. disliking 35. disrespectful 36. doubtful 37. embarrassed 38. enraged 39. evasive 40. fatalistic 41. fearful 42. forceful 43. foreboding 44. frantic 45. frightened 46. frustrated 47. furious 48. gloomy 49. grave 50. greedy 51. grim 52. harsh 53. haughty 54. holier-than-thou 55. hopeless 56. hostile 57. impatient 58. incredulous 59. indifferent 60. indignant 61. inflammatory 62. insecure 63. insolent 64. irreverent 65. lethargic 66. melancholy 67. mischievous 68. miserable 69. mocking 70. mournful 71. nervous
72. ominous 73. outraged 74. paranoid 75. pathetic 76. patronizing 77. pedantic 78. pensive 79. pessimistic 80. pretentious 81. psychotic 82. resigned 83. reticent 84. sarcastic 85. sardonic 86. scornful 87. self-deprecating 88. selfish 89. serious 90. severe 91. sinister 92. skeptical 93. sly 94. solemn 95. somber 96. stern 97. stolid 98. stressful 99. strident 100. suspicious 101. tense 102. threatening 103. tragic 104. uncertain 105. uneasy 106. unfriendly 107. unsympathetic 108. upset 109. violent 110. wry
>LIST OF MOOD WORDS< POSITIVE MOODS 1. amused 2. awed 3. bouncy 4. calm 5. cheerful 6. chipper 7. confident 8. contemplative 9. content 10. determined 11. dignified 12. dreamy 13. ecstatic 14. empowered 15. energetic 16. enlightened 17. enthralled 18. excited 19. exhilarated 20. flirty 21. giddy 22. grateful 23. harmonious 24. hopeful 25. hyper 26. idyllic 27. joyous 28. 29. jubilant 30. liberating 31. light-hearted 32. loving 33. mellow 34. nostalgic 35. optimistic 36. passionate 37. peaceful 38. playful 39. pleased 40. refreshed
41. rejuvenated 42. relaxed 43. relieved 44. satiated 45. satisfied 46. sentimental 47. silly 48. surprised 49. sympathetic 50. thankful 51. thoughtful 52. touched 53. trustful 54. vivacious 55. warm 56. welcoming
NEGATIVE MOODS 1. aggravated 2. annoyed 3. anxious 4. apathetic 5. apprehensive 6. barren 7. brooding 8. cold 9. confining 10. confused 11. cranky 12. crushed 13. cynical 14. depressed 15. desolate 16. disappointed 17. discontented 18. distressed 19. drained 20. dreary 21. embarrassed 22. enraged 23. envious 24. exhausted
25. fatalistic 26. foreboding 27. frustrated 28. futile 29. gloomy 30. grumpy 31. haunting 32. heartbroken 33. hopeless 34. hostile 35. indifferent 36. infuriated 37. 38. insidious 39. intimidated 40. irate 41. irritated 42. jealous 43. lethargic 44. lonely 45. melancholic 46. merciless 47. moody 48. morose 49. nauseated 50. nervous 51. nightmarish 52. numb 53. overwhelmed 54. painful 55. pensive 56. pessimistic 57. predatory 58. rejected 59. restless 60. scared 61. serious 62. sick 63. somber 64. stressed 65. suspenseful 66. tense 67. terrifying 68. threatening
69. uncomfortable 70. vengeful 71. violent 72. worried
