Key Literary Terms

Key Literary Terms A Brief Overview

Terms cont’d Theme Moral • A central message or insight into life revealed through the literary work • The underlying, unifying idea in a text • This is NOT a plot summary. • Examples: • The Adventures of Tom Sawyergrowing up • Finding Nemo determination • Harry Potter good vs. evil; friendship • A lesson taught by a literary work • Example: • Aesop’s fable of the Tortoise and the Hare “slow and steady wins the race”

Terms cont’d Character Myth • A person (or animal) who takes part in the action of a literary work • Round: exhibits many different traits (faults and virtues) • Flat: one dimensional; lack of detail; minor characters; often stereotypes • Dynamic: develops and grows during the course of the story • Static: does not change throughout the story • A fictional tale that explains the actions of the gods and/or the causes of natural phenomena • Generally appeals to the emotions rather than reason • Greek myth of Zeus throwing his thunderbolts used as an explanation for thunder and lightening.

Terms cont’d Characterization Narration • The act of CREATING and DEVELOPING a character • Presented through: • Actions • Thoughts • Description • Dialect • Other characters’ reactions toward character being examined • Writing that tells a story

Terms cont’d Conflict Figurative Language • A struggle between two opposing forces • Natural (man vs. nature): character(s) against natural elements • External (man vs. man): conflict between or among characters • Internal (man vs. self): conflict that exists within a character (a decision, etc) • Mechanical (man vs. machine): man against machine • Writing or speech that is not meant to be interpreted literally • Used to create vivid impressions by setting up comparisons between dissimilar things • Similes • Metaphors • Personification

Terms cont’d Novel Oral tradition • A long work of fiction • Have a plot • Explore many conflicts and themes within one work • The passage of songs, stories, and poems from generation to generation by word of mouth • Folklore, ballads, myths • Homer’s The Odyssey and The Iliad are products of oral tradition

Terms cont’d Persuasion Metaphor • Writing or speech that attempts to convince the reader to adopt a particular opinion or course of action • Advertisements employ the use of persuasion • Letters to the editor of a newspaper • Lawyers discussing their sides in front of a jury • A figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else • “Juliet is the sun” from Romeo and Juliet • “Life is a highway”

Terms cont’d Plot Setting • The sequence of events in a literary work • Exposition or initial situation: the beginning; the first incident that makes the story move • Rising action or complication: conflicts or obstacles the main character has to overcome • Climax: highest point of interest; turning point in the story • Falling action: tensions begin to unravel and resolve • Resolution (denouement): what happens to the character at the end in regard to conflicts examined in the story • The time AND place of the action of a literary work • Gone with the Wind 1860s during the Civil War; Georgia • A Separate Peace 1940s at the Devon School in New England • Harry Potter series present-day England; Hogwarts

Terms cont’d Poetry Tone • One of three major types of literature (prose, poetry, and drama) • Often uses rhyme, rhythm, meter, figurative language, etc. • The writer’s attitude toward his or her audience or subject • Revealed through choice of words, detail, mood • Formal, informal, solemn, serious, sarcastic, ironic, playful, bitter, nostalgic • Diary of a Young Girl tone is emotional and insecure • Ellen Foster tone is informal as it is written from the perspective of a young girl

Terms cont’d Prose Point of view • The ordinary form of written language • Most writing that is NOT poetry or drama is considered prose • Novels, short stories, memoirs, biography, sci-fi, etc. • The vantage point from which an author presents a story • The person or entity through whom the reader experiences the story • Narrator--The person telling the story. • First-person--Narrator participates in action but sometimes has limited knowledge. • Objective--Narrator is unnamed (a detached observer). Does not assume character's perspective and is not a character in the story. The narrator reports on events and lets the reader supply the meaning. • Omniscient--All-knowing narrator (multiple perspectives). The narrator takes us into the character and can evaluate a character for the reader. • Limited omniscient--All-knowing narrator about one or two characters, but not all.

Terms cont’d Protagonist Irony • The main character of a literary work • Harry in Harry Potter • Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird • Frodo in The Lord of the Rings • The general term for the literary techniques that portray differences between appearance and reality, expectation and result • Verbal: words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant • Dramatic: the audience or reader knows something that the character does not • Situational: When one event is expected to occur but the opposite happens.

Terms cont’d Allusion Science fiction • A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art • “star-crossed lovers” • A Ross and Rachel relationship • In a catch-22 • Don’t be a Scrooge! • Writing that tells about imaginary events that involve science or technology • H. G. Wells, The Invisible Man • Aldous Huxley, Brave New World • Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey • Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles

Terms cont’d Anecdote Short story • A brief story about an interesting, amusing, or strange event • Could be a short tale told by a character in a story • A relatively brief fictional narrative in prose • Has definite formal development • Unity through plot, theme, character, tone, mood, style • Has a beginning, middle, and an end • “The Cask of Amontillado” • “Rules of the Game” • “Most Dangerous Game”

Terms cont’d Mood/ atmosphere Antagonist • The feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage • Horror, mystery, sadness, holiness, contemplation, etc. • The character or force in conflict with the protagonist • Malfoy in Harry Potter • Finnyin A Separate Peace??

Terms cont’d Suspense Symbol • The feeling of curiosity or uncertainty about the outcome of events in a literary work • Create suspense by raising questions in the minds of readers • Anything that stands for or represents something else • Symbols have 2 meanings: • 1. their practical function • 2. deeper meaning (abstract) • Examples: • American flag freedom • Heart  love • Dove  hope or peace • Wedding rings  commitment

Terms cont’d Climax Description • The highest point of interest or suspense in a literary work • Think: the most dramatic part of the story • What is the climax of A Separate Peace?? • A portrait of a person, place, or object in words • “Phineas had soaked and brushed his hair for the occasion. This gave his head a sleek look, which was contradicted by the surprised, honest expression which he wore on his face.”

Terms cont’d Dialect Dialogue • The form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group • “Aye-uh,” he said. This weird New England affirmative—maybe it was spelled “aie-huh”—always made me laugh. • A conversation between characters • He said, she said, etc.

Terms cont’d Drama Essay • A story written to be performed by actors • Shakespeare! • A short, non-fiction work about a particular topic • Generally thoughtful and interpretative • Presents author’s own ideas on a particular subject

Terms cont’d Exposition Extended metaphor • Writing or speech that explains a process or presents information • “How-to” • My favorite sports team is… • A long metaphor that makes several comparisons, usually taking place over several lines of the work • All the world's a stage,And all the men and women merely players;They have their exits and their entrances; — (William Shakespeare,As You Like It)

Terms cont’d Fiction Flashback • Prose writing that tells about imaginary characters and events • A device by which a work represents material that occurred prior to the opening scene of the work • John Knowles uses flashback in A Separate Peace

Terms cont’d Genre Foreshadowing • A category or type of literature • 3 major categories: prose, poetry, drama • Poetry: lyric, concrete, narrative • Prose: fiction, nonfiction • Science fiction, fantasy, adventure, historical, romantic, mystery, horror • Drama: tragedy, comedy, melodrama • The use of clues in a literary work that suggests events that have yet to occur • Finny saves Gene from falling from the tree…. Hmm…

Terms cont’d Hero/ heroine Hubris • The central character in a work is its hero • Represent the values or ideals of a culture • Who is the hero in A Separate Peace? Is there a hero at all? • Arrogance or pride that results in the misfortune of the protagonist of a tragedy • Refers to the emotions in Greek tragic heroes that led them to ignore warnings from the gods and thus invitecatastrophe • Sophocles and The Oedipus Trilogy. In this cycle of plays, Apollo, the God of Truth, warns King Laius of Thebes that he will be killed by his child. When Oedipus is born, his father exiles him but the child returns as an adult and kills Laius, not recognizing him as his father. King Laius invited catastrophe by attempting to circumvent Apollo’s prophecy. The King’s actions revealed his hubris because he, a mortal, thought he knew more than Apollo, a god.

Terms cont’d Imagery Motif • The descriptive or figurative language used in literature to create word pictures for the reader • Appeals the senses • DETAILS! • A repeating pattern within a text • A conventional situation • Prep school motif

A Separate Peace • Author: John Knowles • Attended Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire • Many of his experiences are portrayed in A Separate Peace • “The only elements in A Separate Peace which were not in that summer were anger, violence, and hatred. There was only friendship, athleticism, and loyalty.” • Attended Yale University • Served in the Air Force during World War II

Title: A Separate Peace • Look to the title to determine a theme or an underlying meaning of text • What does Knowles mean by “a separate peace”? • Page 137 • Page 123

Themes • Jealousy • Denial • Loss of innocence • Growing up “a coming of age” novel?

Key Literary Terms