A GLOSSARY OF LITERARY TERMS
A GLOSSARY OF LITERARY TERMS
WRITERS
An author: a person who writes a book
A playwright = a dramatist: a person who writes plays
A poet
A novelist
LITERARY GENRES
Drama; a play; a comedy; a tragedy
Poetry; a poem
A novel
A short story
A biography; an autobiography
ORGANIZATION WITHIN A BOOK
A chapter
An act; a scene
A stanza; a line
CHARACTERIZATION
Characters : the “people” in stories
The protagonist, the hero, the heroine: the chief character in a work
The villain: the baddy
A flat character: is built around one single idea or quality, presented without much individualizing detail and does not change
A round character is complex, capable of changing and surprising us.
A foil: a character that is used as a contrast to another character
TELLING THE STORY. NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE
A dialogue: a conversation between two characters
A monologue: a long speech spoken by one character
Interior monologue: a stylistic device in which a character’s thoughts and feelings are presented in the form of a speech
Stream of consciousness: the unbroken flow of thoughts in a character’s mind
A soliloquy: the act of talking to oneself, silently or aloud
The narrator: the person who tells the story
Subjective (viewpoint) : influenced by or based on personal opinion and feelings rather that facts
Objective (viewpoint): based on facts rather than personal feelings
Showing: the author presents the characters talking and acting and leaves the reader to guess why they are acting this way.
Telling: the author intervenes to tell us directly why the characters are acting in such a way.
The atmosphere: the general impression you get
The plot: the main events in a story and how they are linked together
A twist: an unexpected development or event, especially at the end
The climax: the point at which the most exciting actions or most intense emotions occur
A flashback: a passage that suddenly returns to events in the past
Poetic justice: the distribution at the end of a work of earthly rewards and punishments in proportion to the virtue or vice of the various characters
The ending: the last part of a book
An open ending: when we can imagine that the story continues
Utopian fiction: fiction showing a perfect existence for man in a perfect society in which everybody is happy
Anti-utopian fiction: a nightmarish society where man is at the mercy of a power over which he has no control
STYLISTIC DEVICES (= methods and techniques used to produce a particular effect)
A rhetorical question: a question that is asked when no answer is expected.
A euphemism: the use of a polite word or expression instead of a blunt term for something terrifying or offensive (e.g. to pass away)
An understatement: a way of describing something that makes it seem much less important or serious than it really is
An overstatement: a way of describing something that makes it seem more important or serious than it really is
A leitmotif: frequent repetition of a significant phrase or set description or image or theme
A simile: a comparison between two different things , starting with like or as (she runs like a deer)
A metaphor: a way of describing something by referring to something else which has the qualities you are trying to express (you’re a pig)
Personification: when an object or idea is spoken of as though it were alive or had human feelings or attributes
Pathetic fallacy: the attribution to nature/natural objects of human capabilities and feelings
An oxymoron: a combination of contradictory words
(e.g.: O loving hate . Shakespeare; Romeo and Juliet)
An onomatopoeia: the naming of a thing by an imitation of the sound associated with it (buzz)
A metonymy: the name of one thing is attributed to another to which it is closely associated ( the crown for a king)
A synecdoche: the part of one thing is used to mean the whole (ten hands for ten workmen)
Satire: ridicule or irony that is used to show how foolish or wicked some people’s behaviour or ideas are.
Sarcasm when what you say means the opposite of what it seems to say in order to mock or insult someone
Sarcastic (adj)
Verbal irony: when you say the opposite of what you mean
Dramatic irony: a sense of shared secret between those who know the real meaning of the words (often the audience) or sentences, against those who are unaware of it
A caricature: an exaggeration of someone’s characteristics or personality so that they appear ridiculous. You can also caricature ideas by distorting them so as to show how ridiculous or dangerous they are
A parody: when the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic or satirical effect
A parable: a short story about everyday things, which is told in order to make a moral or religious point
A fable: a story in which animals are often used as characters and identified with simplified human qualities
An allegory: a way of presenting thought and experience through images and dramatization
Humour: the ability to see when things are amusing, instead of being serious all the time; humorous (adj)
Black humour: involves jokes about things that are sad, unpleasant or macabre.
Wit: the ability to use words or ideas in an amusing, clever and imaginative way; witty (adj)
Alliteration: repetition of the same consonant
Assonance: repetition of the same vowel sound
Rhyme: when 2 words (or the last syllable of these words) have the same sound
Internal rhyme: when rhyme occurs in the middle of a line rather than at the end.
Rhythm: a pattern of strong and weak or short and long element in speech
Suspension of disbelief: when you read a story about ghosts, fairies..;, you do as if they existed (while you read)
Pathetic fallacy: the attribution to nature/natural objects of human capabilities and feelings
An oxymoron: a combination of contradictory words
(e.g.: O loving hate . Shakespeare; Romeo and Juliet)
An onomatopoeia: the naming of a thing by an imitation of the sound associated with it (buzz)
A metonymy: the name of one thing is attributed to another to which it is closely associated ( the crown for a king)
A synecdoche: the part of one thing is used to mean the whole (ten hands for ten workmen)
Satire: ridicule or irony that is used to show how foolish or wicked some people’s behaviour or ideas are.
Sarcasm when what you say means the opposite of what it seems to say in order to mock or insult someone
Sarcastic (adj)
Verbal irony: when you say the opposite of what you mean
Dramatic irony: a sense of shared secret between those who know the real meaning of the words (often the audience) or sentences, against those who are unaware of it
A caricature: an exaggeration of someone’s characteristics or personality so that they appear ridiculous. You can also caricature ideas by distorting them so as to show how ridiculous or dangerous they are
A parody: when the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic or satirical effect
A parable: a short story about everyday things, which is told in order to make a moral or religious point
A fable: a story in which animals are often used as characters and identified with simplified human qualities
An allegory: a way of presenting thought and experience through images and dramatization
Humour: the ability to see when things are amusing, instead of being serious all the time; humorous (adj)
Black humour: involves jokes about things that are sad, unpleasant or macabre.
Wit: the ability to use words or ideas in an amusing, clever and imaginative way; witty (adj)
Alliteration: repetition of the same consonant
Assonance: repetition of the same vowel sound
Rhyme: when 2 words (or the last syllable of these words) have the same sound
Internal rhyme: when rhyme occurs in the middle of a line rather than at the end.
Rhythm: a pattern of strong and weak or short and long element in speech
Suspension of disbelief: when you read a story about ghosts, fairies..;, you do as if they existed (while you read)
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