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Literary Terms

This article provides definitions and examples of important literary terms such as alliteration, hyperbole, simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, personification, allusion, foreshadowing, imagery, and idiom. It also explores the concepts of protagonist, antagonist, oxymoron, direct and indirect characterization, and conflict.

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Literary Terms

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  1. Literary Terms English II

  2. Day 1 • Use the literary terms chart provided to take notes as we discuss today’s terms. • Remember that you will see these terms on assignments throughout the semester. Their mastery is vital to success in this course.

  3. Alliteration • DEF: the repetition of a consonant sound in the first syllable of words within a sentence or passage (not vowel) • EX: She sells sea shells by the seashore. • (**tongue twisters are alliteration on steroids!) • EX: The glistening stars gleamed on the water’s surface.

  4. Hyperbole • DEF: extreme exaggeration used for emphasis or humor • EX: I am so tired I could sleep for two days straight. • EX: “. . . the shot heard round the world.” (Emerson)

  5. Simile (figure of speech) • DEF: The comparison of two different things using “like” or as” • EX: James was flopping like a fish when Julie tickled him. • EX: Her eyes twinkled like stars. • EX: She was as cool as a cucumber during her interview.

  6. Metaphor (figure of speech) • DEF: A comparison of two unlike things without using “like’ or “as” • EX: Her eyes were stars. • EX: You are the radiant sun. • Ex: Life is a battle.

  7. Onomatopoeia (figure of speech) • DEF: A word that imitates or suggests the sound that it describes • EX: The boom of the cannon scared me. • EX: The owl screeched all night long and kept me up.

  8. Personification(figure of speech) • DEF: Giving human traits (qualities, feelings, actions, characteristics) to something non-human. • EX: The sounds of the sea were calling me back home. • Ex: The thunder grumbled like an old man.

  9. Allusion • DEF: brief reference to a person, place, event or story that all people know. (If it starts with a capitalletter and you don’t know what it is, it may be an allusion) • EX: Tests are my Achilles’ heel. • EX: Sally has a smile that rivals that of the Mona Lisa. • EX: If it keeps raining like this, we’re going to need to build an ark. (?) • EX: We saw the Hoover Dam on our recent trip to the West. • EX: Outside of the newly constructed Twin Towers, thousands paid homage to the victims of 9/11.

  10. Foreshadowing • DEF: clues that hint at what is going to happen later in the plot • EX: Miss Gulch’s transformation (Wizard of Oz) • EX: “A plague on both your houses.” (Mercutio, Romeo and Juliet) • EX: scary, dramatic music gets louder in horror movie

  11. Imagery • DEF: words or phrases that appeal to any of the five senses to recreate sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch • EX: music coursed through our veins • EX: the scent of warm cookies wafted in the air • EX: the fuzzy sweater caused me to itch

  12. Activity!!! Watch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_pxfifB6Co Think of a song you know all or most of the words to. Start writing the song lyrics down and look for examples of the 10 literary terms that we just defined.

  13. Day 2

  14. Protagonist • DEF: principal (main) character; the force that drives the action (plot) of the story • EX: Superman in “Man of Steel” • EX: Romeo AND Juliet in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

  15. Antagonist • DEF: the main character or force that opposes the protagonist (causes problems), creating conflict in the story • EX: Voldemort (archenemy of Harry Potter) • EX: Lex Luthor (archenemy of Superman)

  16. Idiom • An expression not meant literally that means something other than the literalmeanings of its individual words. • Ex: Having “a chip on your shoulder” means you have a bad attitude. • Ex: Being “sick as a dog” means you are very ill. • Ex: “Rubbing someone the wrong way” means to annoy or bother him or her.

  17. Oxymoron • combination of words that contradict each other • Ex: “deafening silence” • Ex: “wise fool” • Ex: “honest thief” • Ex: “bittersweet”

  18. Direct Characterization • DEF: writer TELLS the audience the personality of a character; the description actually is IN THE TEXT. • EX: “The first thing Rainsford’s eyes discerned was the largest man Rainsford had ever seen – a gigantic creature, solidly made and black bearded to the waist. …” • EX: “‘Ivan is an incredibly strong fellow,’ remarked the general, ‘but he has the misfortune to be deaf and dumb. A simple fellow, but, I’m afraid, like all his race, a bit of a savage.’ “ • Real Life Example: Dating Websites and Obituaries • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhItB78o_kU

  19. Indirect Characterization • DEF: writer SHOWS the audience the personality of a character; the description may be implied* but NOT STATED, so the reader must infer* • STEAL Method: What the character SAYS and THINKS, his or her EFFECTS on others, and his or her ACTIONS and LOOKS. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7m5Int1hAA&list=PLISIp2KTLK_jF51Q665KfNWMyD0VjxtuH

  20. Conflict • DEF: A struggle between opposing forces; the basis of plot • Ex: Man vs. Man • Ex: Man vs. Nature • Ex: Man vs. Machinery • Ex: Man vs. Environment • Ex: Man vs. Supernatural • Ex: Man vs. Self

  21. Internal Conflict • DEF: character’s decision-making; conflict that takes place in the mind • EX: Study or watch TV? • EX: Run or fight?

  22. External Conflict • DEF: struggle between a character and an outside force • EX: fisherman vs. Storm (The Deadliest Catch) • EX: Tom Robinson vs. Mayella Ewell (To Kill a Mockingbird)

  23. Denotation • The dictionary meaning of a word. • Ex. The definition of “lake” is an “inland body of water”.

  24. Connotation • Def: Ideas and feelings associated with a word in addition to its explicit dictionary meaning • EX: Cheap v. Inexpensive (what do you imagine if I use these words to describe something?) • EX: Slender v. gaunt • EX: Assertive v. pushy

  25. Connotation v. Denotation • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmqOld0Ye-4

  26. Symbol • DEF: Word or object that stands for another word or object. • EX: The Mockingjay in The Hunger Games • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkI6cn8wwgM

  27. Archetype • Def: a perfect example of something; universal characters, situations, images and symbols that occur in the stories of all cultures • The Damsel in Distress - The hero rescues her • The Devil Figure - Tempts the hero • The Evil Genius - Seeks revenge and hates all • Friendly Beast - Assists the hero • The Journey • Good Versus Evil

  28. Activity!! Work in groups of 3 or 4 to identify the following: • A song, television show, film, or story that exemplifies the term assigned to your group • A word that has different denotative and connotative meaning • An example of direct and indirect characterization

  29. Day 3

  30. Situational Irony • DEF: Unexpected events; Irony that occurs when what we expect to happen is the opposite of what actually does happen • EX: The small “nerd” beats up the big “jock”. • EX: A single woman reluctantly goes to a wedding but ends up meeting the man she marries. • EX: The paint inside a can promises to stop metal from rusting, yet the metal can it is in is rusted.

  31. Dramatic Irony • DEF: Irony which occurs when the audience or reader knows something important that a character does not know. • EX: In a movie, a slasher is in the woods and the audience can see him. The character runs to the woods to hide not knowing the slasher is in the woods. • EX: Romeo does not know Juliet is just asleep in the tomb. The reader or audience knows this information.

  32. Verbal Irony • DEF: Irony where a writer or speaker says something but means something else. • EX: Your D’s and F’s Will surely get you in the Smart People of America Club. • How wonderful it is that the water will be turned off for six hours tomorrow!

  33. Point of View • DEF: perspective from which the narrator tells a story (first person, third person omniscient, third person limited- occasionally second person) • First person -- one of the characters is usually the narrator telling the story (pronouns I, me, my, mine) • Third person omniscient -- the person telling the story knows everything about the characters and their problems. The narrator is not in the story • Third person limited -- the narrator, who is one of the characters, zooms in on one character’s thoughts and feelings.

  34. Pun • A play on words involving a word with two or more different meanings or two words that sound alike but have different meanings. • EX: Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest. • EX: What did the grape say when it got stepped on? Nothing - but it let out a little whine. • EX: Santa’s helpers are subordinate Clauses.

  35. Flashback • A flashback is an interruption in the plot to describe an action of the past. After the flashback, the story returns to the present time of action. • Flashbacks provide background information in a more interesting way; this could be thru thoughts, memories, or dreams • Flashbacks can explain the reasons behind a character’s behavior or events and situations that might be unclear

  36. Dynamic Character • DEF: the major character who encounters conflict and is changed by it • EX: Jo in Twister (movie) • EX: Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz • EX: Harry Potter • EX: Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story

  37. Flat Character • DEF: Characters who have only one or two personality traits and don’t change; a 2-dimensional character that can be described in one sentence • EX: the witch (Wizard of Oz) • EX: Kelso (That 70’s show) • EX: the hero’s sidekick: Robin

  38. Theme • DEF: subject, topic, or focal idea of an artistic piece; author’s message to audience or point of focus • EX: A theme in Romeo and Juliet is love. • EX: coming of age; friendship; war • **In analysis, theme is given as a complete sentence= Love inspires sacrifice.

  39. Mood • DEF: the feeling/atmosphere the writer creates through tone; emotional response created IN the READER • EX: sympathetic, outraged, shocked, disappointed, excited, nervous, hopeful, satisfied, appreciative, energized • MY (the reader’s) feelings while reading

  40. Tone • DEF: the writer’s attitude towards his or her subject; tone reflects the writer’s feelings • EX: matter-of-fact or straightforward, sincere, suspenseful, argumentative, sarcastic, whimsical or playful, pessimistic, reflective

  41. Parallelism • the repetition of a grammatical structure in order to create a rhythm and make words more memorable. • Ex. “Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” Elie Wiesel • hiking, biking, and swimming

  42. Repetition • the use of a sound, word, phrase, clause, or sentence more than once for emphasis • “I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam I am.” • “Never in his life has he been so vilely treated and never in his life had he been so angry.” -The Call of the WIld

  43. Activity!! Get in groups from yesterday. Think of a DIFFERENT movie you have all seen that you can find at least 6 examples of the literary terms from today (try to find examples in one movie for each type of irony)

  44. Day 4

  45. Round Character • DEF: well-developed character with varied personality traits, usually dynamic(sometimes honest, sometimes not/sometimes caring, sometimes selfish...) • EX: Eric (That 70’s Show) • EX: Napoleon (Animal Farm)

  46. Static Character • DEF: minor characters who do not change or grow in the course of the story, often flat • EX: Sherlock Holmes • EX: Kermit the Frog • EX: Tom Sawyer • EX: Robin -- Batman’s counterpart

  47. Foil Character • a character who sets off another character by providing a sharp contrast. • Characters may be different in personalities, situations, behaviors, physical appearance and attitudes. • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. hyde • Mercutio/Romeo • Voldemort/Professsor Dumbledore

  48. Diction/Dialect • Diction- refers to the writer’s word choice; why choose simple, easy to understand words? complex, technical terms? sophisticated language? slang? • Dialect refers to the speech patterns of a particular region or social group; naturally, it changes from location to location and is often a reflection of an author’s native region • Example: ain’t, hafta, yessum, ‘Smatter • Shet de do’ -- Shut the door. • Ex. Different words for soft drink in various regions of the country ( Coke, pop, soda)

  49. Rhetorical Question • Questions with obvious answers, used to emphasis that opinion; thus, proving the need for agreement with the author/speaker • EX: Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? • Ex:How did that idiot ever get elected? • Ex: What business is it of yours? • Ain’t I a woman?

  50. Understatement • A figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or less serious than it actually is; opposite of hyperbole • EX: "Well, that's cast rather a gloom over the evening, hasn't it?" (when the Grim Reaper comes to dinner in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life) • EX: “I have to have this operation. It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain." (Holden Caulfield, The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger)

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