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Literary Terms

Literary Terms. Grade 9 Edition Definitions and examples for students. A lliteration. When an author or poet chooses to have a few words in a row start with the same consonant sound for effect . EX: w hen the Same Sound Starts Several words in a row .

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Literary Terms

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  1. Literary Terms Grade 9 Edition Definitions and examples for students

  2. Alliteration • When an author or poetchooses to have a few words in a rowstartwith the same consonant sound for effect. • EX: when the Same Sound StartsSeveralwordsin a row. • EX: Peter Piper Picked a Peck of PickledPeppers.

  3. Antagonist • The person or force thatworksagainst the purposes of the main character in a narrative. • E.G: If Batman is the main character, then Joker ishisantagonist. • Note that the main character and the antagonistcanbe the sameperson, if one part of hispersonalityisworkingagainstother parts.

  4. Assonance • Repeated use of the samevowelsoundwithin a line of poetry or a sentence to createinternalrhyme • EX: Windows tinted on my ride when I drive in it, so when I rob a bank run out and just dive in it, so i'll be disguised in it. And if anybody identifies the guy in it, i hide for five minutes. Come back, shoot the eye witness. Fire at the private eye hired to pry in my business… --Eminem, Criminal

  5. Atmosphere • The dominant feeling thatcomesacross in a poem. • Ex: sad, gloomy, terrifying, mysterious, joyful, cheery, serene, etc. • (Seealso: MOOD)

  6. Autobiography • The life story of someone, written by thatperson.

  7. Ballad • A ballad is a poem that tells a fairly simple story (narrative). It usually has an easily identified, powerful metre and strong rhymes in an ABAB or AABB pattern. Some ballads are also set to music.

  8. Biography • The life story of a person, written by someoneelse.

  9. Character • A person, defined by theirpersonality traits. • It is not enough to say, « a person in a story », you must alsodefinewhat KIND of personthey are. • For example, Katniss, the main character in The HungerGamesis an intelligent, resourcefulcharacter.

  10. Chronologicalorder • In order by time (first to last, or last to first).

  11. Cliché • A descriptive phrase thatisextremelyoverused. Whentheywere original, theywere new and veryuseful, but nowthey are overdone (and to beavoided). • Salvador Dali once said, « The first man to compare a girl’scheeks to a rose was a poet. The second was an idiot. »

  12. Climax • The point of maximum tension in a narrative.

  13. Comedy • In literature, a comedyisanyworkthatdoes not end in tragedy • In otherwords, anythingwith a happy ending. • In common use, itissomethingdesigned to make the audience laugh…but in literature, « happy ending » is the best answer.

  14. Comparison • To « compare » is to show how things are similar. • If you are asked to COMPARE the characters of Hermia and Titania in A MidsummerNight’sDream, youwill show whatthesetwocharacters have in common. • (E.G. They are female, they are assertive, they are having men problems, etc)

  15. Conflict • Whatgets a narrative moving. It is the action of one force againstanother. • The generalforms of conflict are: • Person vs. Person • Person vs. Nature • Person vs. Fate • Person vs. Self • There is no good story withoutconflict!!

  16. Consonance • Repetition of the same consonant soundseveral times in quick succession (note thatalliterationisat the BEGINNING of words; otherwise, they are the same!) • Ex: All MaMMalsnaMedsaM are claMMy

  17. Contrast • To contrastis to show how twothings are different. • (The opposite of compare)

  18. Couplet • Twolines of poetrythatform a stanzatogether. Often, theselinesrhyme. • Ex: I thinkthat I shallneversee A poemlovely as a tree

  19. Dénouement • A French term, literallymeaning « unknotting » • The part of a narrative after the conflictisresolved, whereanyloose ends are tied up. • Not all narratives have a dénouement.

  20. Dialogue • Writingthatliterally shows charactersspeaking. • In drama, plays are writtenmostly as dialogue, with a few directions in between. • Most otherforms of writing show dialogue withquotation marks.

  21. Diary • A personal, private journal. People whokeepdiariesoftenwrite in themdaily. • Sometimes, these are published as a literarywork (The Diary of Anne Frank) • Sometimes, stories are written in diaryform, from the point of view of one character or severalcharacters.

  22. Drama • Anyliteraryworkintended to beperformed in front of an audience. • Plays, skits, TV episodes, films and commercials are all examples of drama.

  23. Dynamiccharacter • « Dynamic » meanschanging. • A dynamiccharacteris one whoundergoes an important change from the start to the end of a text. • For example, a charactermaystart out tough and self-centered and thenlearn how to be more caring and compassionateover the course of a story.

  24. Exposition • The exposition at the start of a narrative tells us: • WHO isinvolved in the story (characters) • WHERE and WHEN the story takes place (setting) • WHAT the conflictwillbe • It is the « set-up » part of a story.

  25. ExpositoryEssay • Expositoryisfrom the word « expose ». • This is an essaywhich EXPLAINS something.

  26. Externalconflict • This isconflictwhichhappensbetween a character (or characters) and someone or somethingelse. • EXTERNAL meansoutside. • Person vs. Nature wouldbe an example of an externalconflict.

  27. Falling Action • The portion of a narrative where the tension becomesless and less.

  28. Figurative language • Figurative language is anything not meant to be taken literally. It is using words for more than just their connotation. • Someexamples of figurative langauge are similes, metaphors, oxymorons, etc.

  29. First person POV • When a narrative is in FIRST PERSON, one of the characters (the point of viewcharacter) tells the story using « I » • Example: I went to the store and bought a grapefruit. The grocerlookedat me oddly. • If thiswere NOT in first person, whatwoulditsoundlike?

  30. Flat character • A flat characteris one that has very few personality traits. • Think in terms of a paperdoll—2-dimensional. • This sort of charactercouldalsobe a stereotyped or stock character.

  31. Foreshadowing • A literary technique used by a writer to givehints about whatisgoing to happenlater in the narrative. • Obviousforeshadowingcouldinclude phrases like, « Littledid I know what a badideathatwas » (which tells us thatwhatever the characterdidwouldturn out badly) • There are other, more subtleforms of foreshadowing.

  32. Hyperbole • The use of extremeexaggeration for effect. • EX: I have toldyou a million times what hyperbole means!

  33. Image • A part of a poemwhichgives the reader a picture in his or herhead. • Someimages are sound-, smell-, taste-, or touch-based • Ex: (from T. S. Eliot’s « The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock) Let us go then, you and I When the eveningisspread out against the sky Like a patient etherizedupon a table,

  34. Imagery • The use of images to makepoetry more interesting and impactful. • Note thatimagerycanbevisual (like in the previousexample), or theycanbeauditory, olfactory, or appeal to othersenses.

  35. Internalconflict • Conflictthathappenswithin one character. The only type of INTERNAL CONFLICT is a Person vs. Self conflict.

  36. Irony • Ironyhappenswhenthereis a conflictbetweenwhatisexpected and whathappens. There are threekinds of irony: 1. DRAMATIC IRONY: the audience knowswhat’sgoing on, but the character(s) don’t • Ex: We know who the murdereris, but the police in the movie are stilltrying to figure it out.

  37. Ironycontinued • 2. VERBAL IRONY: Whenwhatissaid and the meaning are conflicting. • Ex: The teachersays, « You got 2/20. Good job! » • 3. SITUATIONAL IRONY: Whenwhathappensiscompletelyunexpected, and conflictswith normal expectations. • Ex: Man bites dog.

  38. Limited Omniscient POV • The story iswrittenfrom a point of viewthatlets the reader know whatsomecharacters are thinking, but not others. • The story iswritten in the thirdperson. • E.G. « He went to the grocery store and lookedcarefullyat all the fruit. Only the grapefruit lookedfresh. Whilehehated grapefruit, herememberedthatitwashiscousin’sfavourite. The grocerlookedathimoddlyas hechecked out. »

  39. Metaphor • Comparing TWO thingsthat are not normallyalike WITHOUT using « like » or « as ». EX: Mybrother’s a pig. EX: All the world’s a stage, And all the men and womenmerelyplayers (William Shakespeare, As You Like It, II, 7)

  40. Mood • The main feeling of a poem (seeatmosphere)

  41. Myth • A story passed down orallywhichexplains a naturalphenomenon. • E.G. « How the ElephantGotHisTrunk »

  42. Narrative • «Narrative » isanotherword for story. A narrative poemis a poemthat tells a story. It has a beginning, a plot, characters, etc.

  43. Narrator • The personfromwhose point of view a story (poem, etc) iswritten. • I (Mrs. Cousar) canwrite a story from the point of view of a five-year –old: • Todayismy first day in kindergarten. MyteacherisMister Henderson. He isverytall and not as round as myDaddy…  The narrator in the story is the five-year-old. The authoris Mrs. Cousar. They are different!!

  44. Objective POV • A story writtenfromthis point of viewiswritten in the thirdperson, as though a camera wererecording the scene. No thoughts of anycharacters are included. Readers have to guesswhatcharacters are thinking and feeling: • « He walkedslowly to the grocery story, hisbrowfurrowed. Pausing in the fruit aisle, hetookhis time examining the apples and citrus fruit. Noddingslightly, he chose a large yellow grapefruit. As hereached the checkoutcounter, the clerksquintedathim. »

  45. Omniscient POV • Omniscient means « all knowing ». • This sort of story iswritten in thirdperson. In this case, the readerknowswhat ALL characters are thinking and feeling: • He enjoyedhis short walk to the grocery store. Whenhearrived, the smell of fresh fruit caughthis full attention. His cousin wascoming to visit, but shehatedmost fruit. What type was the only one sheliked? Grapefruit! That wasit! He chose a large one . As hewent to pay for it, the grocerwaspuzzled. Joe hated all citrus fruit, sheremembered. Whywashebuying a grapefruit? »

  46. Onomatopoeia Wordsthatsoundlikewhatthey are. Usually, these are wordsthatrepresentsounds. EX: creak, sproing, eek, bark, crash, etc.

  47. Oxymoron • Twowordsthat are opposites that are usedtogether for effect. Ex: sweetsorrow Plastic glass Actnaturally Foundmissing Preliminaryresults

  48. Personification • When an authorgives a non-humanthinghumancharacteristics EX: The sunsmiled down on us on the first day of spring. The leavesdanced in the wind

  49. Persuasive essay • An essay (an organizedompositionwith a thesis) designed to PERSUADE, or convince, the reader to agreewith an opinion, or to take a certain action.

  50. Plot • The series of eventsmaking up a narrative. • « First thishappened, thenthishappened, thenthis… »

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