Allegory- story or tale in which two levels of meaning are utilized: Literal and symbolic

Allegory- story or tale in which two levels of meaning are utilized: Literal and symbolic

LOTF IslandRalph and Jack Click the image to access hyperlink

Alliteration • The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or accented syllables

Allusion A reference to a well-known person, place, event or work of art

Macbeth • Ross: The Thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict; Till that Bellona’s bridegroom, lapp’d in proof, confronted him with self comparisons

Antagonist • Character or force in conflict with the main character

Aside • Words spoken in a play in such a way that the other characters are presumed not to have heard them

Assonance • Repetition of vowel sounds

Characterization • The act of creating or developing a character

Direct Characterization • – flat out states the character’s traits (eg. “Dill was a curiosity: He wore blue linen shorts that buttoned to his shirt, his hair was snow white and stuck to his head like duckfluff; he was a year my senior but I towered over him”)

Indirect Characterization • Reveals character through: • a) thoughts • b) words • c) actions • d) reaction of other characters to the character (which also might be indirect)

Chiasmus • A reversal in the order of words of two otherwise parallel phrases such as the motif occurring in Macbeth: “Fair is foul and foul is fair”

Climax • The high point of interest or suspense • Death Star

Conceit • A fanciful, poetic image; an elaborate or exaggerated comparison

Conflict • The struggle between opposing forces • Person vs. • Person vs. • Person vs. • Classic struggle since before time began?

Crisis • The point at which the protagonist’s situation or understanding dramatically changes

Denouement • The outcome of the resolution • Romeo and Juliet? • The Giver?

Epiphany • Sudden realization or flash of insight

Fiction • Writing that tells about imaginary characters or events • Speak? • Night? • The Narrative of Frederick Douglass? • Macbeth

Figure of Speech • Expression or word used imaginatively rather than literally • Suck it up! • I’m gonna kick his ass!

Foil • A character who provides a contrast to another character

A hint at events that have yet to occur “O God, I have an ill-divining soul. Methinks I see thee now, thou art so low As one dead in the bottom of a tomb. Either my eyesight fails, or thou look’st pale.” Foreshadowing

Frame Story • A story within a story Catcher in the Rye A Separate Peace The Princess Bride

Refers to the use of primitive, wild or mysterious elements in literature Gothic

Hyperbole • A deliberate exaggeration or overstatement

Incongruity • The combination or juxtaposition of incompatible or opposite elements in literature

Irony • Provides a contrast There are three types…

3 Types of Irony • Verbal – a contrast between what is stated and what is meant • Dramatic – a contrast between what the character’s think and what the audience knows to be true • Situational – a contrast between what is expected to happen and what really happens

Litotes • A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite “Are you also aware, Mrs. Bueller, that Ferris does not have what we consider to be an exemplary attendance record”

Metaphor • Speaking of one thing as if it were another • “My heart’s a stereo. It beats for you so listen close.” Gym Class Heroes Featuring Adam Levine

Mood • The atmosphere or feeling created in a reader by a work of literature Some words found in first chapter of The Scarlet Letter; gray, prison, gloomy, overgrown, unsightly, doom, fall, prisoner,

Motif • A recurring element that has symbolic significance in the story

Motivation • The reason that explains a character’s thoughts, feelings, actions or speech

Narration • Writing that tells a story - What is the person telling the story called? - What is the story itself called?

Novel • A long work of fiction

Onomatopoeia • The use of words to imitate sounds

Oxymoron • Two words in juxtaposition with contrary meanings

Paradox • A statement that seems contradictory but actually presents a truth

Personification • Ascribing human attributes to that which is not human

Plot – the sequence of events

Point of View • The perspective from which a story is told The three main points of view are…

First Person • The narrator is a character in the story and refers to himself or herself as “I”

Third Person Limited • The narrator uses third person pronouns such as “he” or “she” but the story is told from only one perspective

Third Person Omniscient • Narrator uses third person pronouns such as “he” or “she” and the thoughts/actions/perspectives of more than one character are known

Protagonist • The main character in a work of literature If Darth Vader were the main character in a story, evil through and through, would he be the protagonist or antagonist?

Pun • A play on words • Click here for some puns…

Rhyme • Repetition of sounds at the ends of words “I spit and sputter, stuff and clutter Worries in my worried corner, Maladjusted, just untrusted, Rusted, Sometimes brilliant busted thoughts” Eve 6

Rhythm • The pattern of beats or stresses in spoken or written language Some examples from Macbeth…

“Of this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen,Who as ‘tis thought, by self and violent handsTook off her life: this, and what needful elseThat calls upon us, by the grace of Grace,We will perform in measure, time and place.So thanks to all at once and to each oneWhom we invite to see us crown’d at Scone. Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Satire • Writing that ridicules for a purpose

Allegory- story or tale in which two levels of meaning are utilized: Literal and symbolic