Literary Terms

1. Literary Terms An Introduction

2. Theme • Idea or insight about human life, behavior, or society that gives meaning to a story • Main message of the story • Theme is NOT plot (what happened in the story) • Theme is a generalization about life—it is not just about the characters in the story—it’s about ALL of US! Looking for theme: • What did the main character learn about life? How did they change over the course of the story? • How was the conflict resolved? • What is the title? What does it focus on? What does it mean? How does it connect to the story? • Look at the ENTIRE story, not just one part!

3. Point of View Narrator—the character or voice that tells the story

4. Point of View • First Person (Subjective)The narrator is a character in the story who can reveal only personal thoughts and feelings and what he or she sees and is told by other characters. He can’t tell us thoughts of other characters. • Third-Person (Objective)The narrator is an outsider who can report only what he or she sees and hears. This narrator can tell us what is happening, but he can’t tell us the thoughts of the characters. • Third-Person (Limited)The narrator is an outsider who sees into the mind of one of the characters. • Third-Person (Omniscient) The narrator is an all-knowing outsider who can enter the minds of more than one of the characters.

5. Climax: turning point; height of action; main character comes face to face with the conflict Rising Action: problem builds; conflict becomes more difficult to resolve Falling Action: conflict begins to be resolved Resolution: (Denouement) conflict ends Exposition: introduces info about characters, setting, conflict Plot Chain of related events; the action in a story that is built around the conflict Crisis: conflict is at a turning point-before or at the same time as the Climax Inciting Force: the event or character that triggers the conflict

6. Conflict Conflict is the essence of fiction. It creates plot. Often, more than one kind of conflict is taking place at the same time. In every case, however, the existence of conflict enhances the reader’s understanding of a character and creates the suspense and interest that make you want to continue reading. The conflicts we encounter can usually be identified as one of four kinds.

7. CONFLICT: HUMAN VS. HUMAN • Conflict that pits one person against another • Sometimes the conflict can have a non-“human” antagonist, but the conflict is usually individual vs. individual • Examples: human vs. supernatural being, human vs. machine, human vs. wizard, animal vs. animal, criminal vs. policeman, etc.)

8. CONFLICT: HUMAN VS. NATURE • A run-in with the forces of nature. On the one hand, it expresses the insignificance of a single human life in the cosmic scheme of things. On the other hand, it tests the limits of a person’s strength and will to live. • Examples: human vs. tornado, human vs. earthquake, human vs. ocean, human vs. wilderness, human vs. sea monster, etc.

9. CONFLICT: HUMAN VS. SOCIETY • The values and customs by which everyone else lives are being challenged. • The character may come to an untimely end as a result of his or her own beliefs. • The character may, on the other hand, bring others around to a sympathetic point of view, or it may be decided that society was right after all. • Examples: human vs. government, young person vs. tradition, human vs. church, etc.

10. CONFLICT: HUMAN VS. SELF • Internal conflict. Not all conflict involves other people. Sometimes people are their own worst enemies. An internal conflict is a good test of a character’s values. • Does he give in to temptation or rise above it? Does he demand the most from himself or settle for something less? Does he even bother to struggle? The internal conflicts of a character and how they are resolved are good clues to the character’s inner strength. • Examples: human vs. sickness, human vs. death, human vs. madness, human vs. morality

11. Conflict TO REVIEW: • Conflict—problem, struggle, issue in a story • External Conflict—occurs between the character and someone/something else • Human vs. human (machine, supernatural being) • Human vs. nature • Human vs. society • Internal Conflict—occurs inside the character’s mind; emotions, personal decisions, etc. • Human vs. her/himself 

12. FORESHADOWING An author’s use of hints or clues to suggest events that will occur later in the story. Foreshadowing frequently serves two purposes. • It builds suspense by raising questions that encourage the reader to go on and find out more about the event that is being foreshadowed. • Foreshadowing is also a means of making a narrative more believable by partially preparing the reader for events which are to follow.

13. Characterization Role • Protagonist: Character who experiences conflict; usually the main character. • Antagonist: Character who creates conflict for the protagonist. • Foil: A character who provides a contrast to the protagonist.

14. Characterization MAJOR CHARACTERSAlmost always round or three-dimensional characters. They have good and bad qualities. Their goals, ambitions and values change. • A ROUND character changes as a result of what happens to him or her. • A character who changes inside as a result of what happens to him is referred to in literature as a DYNAMIC character. A dynamic character grows or progresses to a higher level of understanding in the course of the story.

15. Characterization MINOR CHARACTERS Almost always two-dimensional characters. They have only 1 or 2 striking qualities. Their predominant quality is not balanced by an opposite quality (all good or all bad). Such characters can be interesting or amusing in their own right, but they lack depth. • FLAT characters are sometimes referred to as STATIC characters because they do not change in the course of the story. • STOCK characters are generic archetypes that are found in many stories: the joker, the greedy old man, the girl next door, mean mother-in-law or step-mother, the wise old man, the hen-pecked husband, the smart-alec little kid, nosy neighbor, etc.

16. Characterization To review • Protagonist: Main Character (Batman) • Antagonist: Character who conflicts with the protagonist (Joker) • Foil: Character who contrasts with the protagonist (Robin) Personal growth • Dynamic: Changes!!! Receives new understanding, makes an important decision, takes crucial action • Static: Doesn’t change much during the course of the story Personality • Flat: simple personality, not too many character traits • Round: complex personality, the reader knows a lot about this character. • Stock: Stereotypical character, one we’ve seen many times before

17. Irony and Parody Irony = when the opposite of what is expected occurs Parody = a work that imitates the style of another for comical effect or ridicule

18. Irony Irony = contrast between expectation and reality; when we expect one thing, but the opposite occurs Verbal Irony = speaker says one thing and means the opposite Situational Irony = what happens is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate Dramatic Irony = audience or reader is aware of something important that the character doesn’t know

19. Allusion In literature, a reference to some piece of knowledge, a person, event, history, mythology, religion, pop culture, movies, etc. Allusions usually come from a body of information that the author presumes the reader will know, and give more meaning to the text. Example: “She was another Helen,” is alluding to the beauty of Helen of Troy. Example: In Scary Movie, many of the jokes are only funny if you understand that they are alluding to other movies.

20. Allusion Examples “It has rained so long, it seems as though it has rained for 40 days and nights.” The allusion is to the flood in the Bible. "Christy didn't like to spend money. She was no Scrooge, but she seldom purchased anything except the bare necessities.” The allusion is to Scrooge. "The girl's love of sweets was her Achilles heel.“ The allusion is to the Greek warrior Achilles. “The restaurant was weird and I didn't know what to expect next; I wouldn't have been surprised if a blond little girl jumped out and started tasting all of our soups to find one that was "just right.“ The allusion is to Goldilocks and the Three Bears. “He offered me the ‘forbidden fruit;’ my mom told me not to eat candy but I wanted it so bad.” The allusion is to the Garden of Eden.

21. SYMBOLISM • A person, place or object which has a meaning in itself but suggests other meanings as well. Things, characters and actions can be symbols. Anything that suggests a meaning beyond the obvious. • Some symbols are conventional, generally meaning the same thing to all readers. 

22. What do these objects symbolize?

24. The Color Red The Color Blue The Color Purple The Color Orange The Color Green

25. Tone • The author’s attitude, stated or implied, toward a subject. • Some possible attitudes are pessimism, optimism, earnestness, seriousness, bitterness, humorous, and joyful. • An author’s tone can be revealed through choice of words and details.

26. Mood • The climate of feeling in a literary work. • The choice of setting, objects, details, images, and words all contribute towards creating a specific mood. • For example, an author may create a mood of mystery around a character or setting but may treat that character or setting in an ironic, serious, or humorous tone

27. Imagery Imagery is a literary device when an author is using language to describe people or objects that appeals to the senses. For example: • SIGHT—The apple was as red as blood, and yet Snow White bit into it. • HEARING—The constant drip, drip, drip was driving him crazy. • TOUCH—He put his cheek on the smooth, cold stone. • TASTE—The sweetness of the blueberries mixed with the whipped cream mixed with the crust melted in his mouth in the most lovely way possible. • SMELL—The rotting eggs reeked of decay and death. Purpose: to allow readers to create mental images, and therefore CONNECT to what an author is describing.

28. Figurative Language Whenever you describe something by comparing it with something else, you are using figurative language. • Figurative language that goes beyond the literal (obvious…sometimes boring)meaning of words in order to furnish new effects or fresh insights into an idea or a subject. • The most common figures are simile, metaphor, and alliteration, but there are many others including assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, hyperbole and personification Purpose: to make writing more vivid, deeper, or more interesting

29. Simile Simile is a figure of speech making a direct comparison between two unlike things, usually with the words like or as. For example: • The muscles on his brawny arms are strong as iron bands. • Her eyes were blue like the ocean, and reminded him of the amazing vacations he had experienced when he was young. • The two boys fighting for the girl was as vicious as two gladiators fighting for their lives. Purpose: to make a stronger/deeper image or description

30. Metaphor Metaphor is a figure of speech that is a comparison between two relatively unlike things. The comparison is not announced by like or as. BE CAREFUL-a metaphor is not just a description (I am slow today), it’s a comparison used to make a description even more interesting (I am a snail today). For example: • The road was a ribbon of moonlight. • Life is a journey • Yao Ming is a tree • My father is the glue that held our family together. • My mother is a swan--elegant and beautiful. • My little brother is a pig. Purpose: to make a stronger/deeper image or description

31. Alliteration Alliteration is a literary device when the same consonant or vowel sound is used at the beginning of words For example: • around the rock the ragged rascal ran • Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers • long-lived • short shrift • the fickle finger of fate Purpose: to make sentences flow and/or draw attention to certain words.

32. Assonance Assonance is a literary device, also known as “vowel rhyme,” when vowel sounds are repeated in different words (usually with different consonants) For example: • Quite like • Quite right • Mad as a hatter • free as a breeze • high as a kite • “I bomb atomically—Socrates' philosophies and hypotheses can't define how I bedroppin' these mockeries” (Wu Tang Clan). Purpose: to create rhyme in an unusual way, connect words, make a phrase more pleasing, and/or draw attention to certain words.

33. Consonance Consonance is a literary device when consonant sounds are repeated (the sounds do not have to be made with the same letters), not necessarily at the beginning of words. For example: • "Rap rejects my tape deck, ejects projectile/Whether Jew or gentile I rank top percentile” (The Fugees) • "all mammals named Sam are clammy.” Purpose: to create rhyme in an unusual way, connect words, make a phrase more pleasing, and/or draw attention to certain words.

34. And this line has ALL three! Can you identify the alliteration, assonance and consonance?? "And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain” (Poe).

35. Onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia is a figure of speech that uses words that mimic sounds, usually a string of syllables the author has made up to represent the way a sound really sounds. For example: Purpose: to appeal to our sense of hearing and bring a description to life.

36. Hyperbole Hyperbole is a figure of speech in the form of an exaggerated statement (aka overstatement). For example: • She’s said so on several million occasions • I worked for 800 hours this weekend • ANY AND ALL “Yo’ Mama” statements Purpose: to heighten the effect of a statement (create DRAMA), and emphasize a point.

37. Personification Personification is a figure of speech which gives the qualities of a person to an animal, an object, or an idea. For example: • The hunter cut down the tree, and fell with a creaking cry. • The rock flew down the cliff like a maniac. • The sun kissed the flowers. • The hatred flew from her eyes and attacked him. Purpose: to compare things to people to show something in a new way, communicate a certain feeling/attitude, or control the way readers perceive something.