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IB Literary Terms
Literary Terms to Know for IB
125
English
11th Grade
04/10/2010

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Term
Analogy
Definition
explaining an idea through the use of a similar idea that is similar or parallel to it in some significant way
Term
Allegory
Definition
a story in which the characters, setting and events stand for certain other people, events or concepts
Term
Alliteration
Definition
The repetition of the same cononant sounds in words that are close together in a poem
Term
Allusion
Definition
an indirect or passing reference to some event, person, place or artistic work that is not explained by the writer and relies on the reader's familiarity with what was mentioned OR a reference in a literary work to a historical event, a person, place, thing, or another work of literature
Term
Antagonist
Definition
the obstacle that stands in the way of the main character reaching its goal
Term
Antithesis
Definition
the rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements or words, clauses, or sentences (as in "action, not words" or "they promised freedom and provided slavery")
Term
Aphorism
Definition
a statement of general principle expressed memorable in a few words (ex. "The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom" -Blake)
Term
Approximate rhyme
Definition
when two words are alike in sound but do not sound exactly alike
Term
Appositive or Apposition
Definition
a noun or noun phrase that tells you something about a nearby noun or pronoun
Term
Argument
Definition
The process of establishing, through the presentation of appropriate evidence, the certainty or likelihood of a particular point or position
Term
Aside
Definition
words spoken by a character in a play to the audience or to another character that are not supposed to be overheard by the other characters on the stage in the scene
Term
Assonance
Definition
the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds
Term
Assumption
Definition
something taken for granted
Term
Atmosphere
Definition
the dominant mood or emotional tone of a work of literature
Term
Autobiography
Definition
an account of the writer's own life
Term
Ballad
Definition
a song or poem that tells a story
Term
Basic Situation
Definition
the part of the plot that introduces the setting, characters and conflict
Term
Biography
Definition
an account of a person's like written by another person
Term
Blank verse
Definition
poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter
Term
Causal reasoning
Definition
using logic to try to convince readers that an event or condition caused another or is likely to cause another in the future
Term
Character
Definition
a person or thing in a story
Term
Characterization
Definition
the process in which a narrator reveals a character's personality
Term
Chiasmus
Definition
in inverted relationship between the syntactic elements of parallel phrases (as in Goldsmith's to stop too fearful, and too faint to go)
Term
Cicumlocation
Definition
talking around a word or subject
Term
Claim
Definition
a particular point or position a writer is trying to defend
Term
Climax
Definition
the part of the plot where the character faces teh conflict
Term
Complications
Definition
the part of the plot where the character takes steps to solve the problem
Term
Conflict
Definition
a struggle or clash between opposing characters or between opposing forces
Term
Conclusion
Definition
an argument's final closing
Term
Connotation
Definition
the mood, tone, etc. associated with a word beyond its dictionary definition
Term
Couplet
Definition
two lines of consecutive poetry that rhyme
Term
Deductive Reasonining
Definition
reason from premises to a conclusion or claim
Term
Denotation
Definition
the dictionary definition or literal meaning of a word
Term
Description
Definition
a kind of writing that is intended to create a mood or emotion, or to recreate a person, a place, an event or an occasion
Term
Diction
Definition
a writer's choice of words
Term
Direct Characterization
Definition
a type of characterization when the author comes straight out and tells the character's personality
Term
Drama
Definition
a story that is written to be acted out on stage
Term
Dramatic Irony
Definition
the type of irony where the audience knows information the actors do not
Term
Dynamic
Definition
a type of character that changes due events that occur in a narrative or play
Term
Epic
Definition
a long story told in poetry which relates the great deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a society
Term
Essay
Definition
a short piece of nonfiction prose that examines a single subject from a limited and usually personal point of view
Term
Ethos
Definition
the appeal of a text to the credibility and character of the speaker, writer or narrator
Term
Euphemism
Definition
the substitution of a mild, inoffensive word or phase for one that is thought to be harsh, rude, blunt or vulgar (ex. "passed away" insead of "died"
Term
Exposition
Definition
a kind of writing that explains, gives information, defines or clarifies an idea
Term
External
Definition
type of conflict when the character struggles with an outside force
Term
Exaggeration
Definition
overstatement for the purpose of emphasis
Term
Fable
Definition
a very brief story in prose or verse that teaches a moral
Term
Fallacy
Definition
a faulty relationship between a argument's claim and its support
Term
Fallacy
Definition
a faulty relationship between a argument's claim and its support
Term
Figure of Speech
Definition
a word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of another and is not meant to be understood on a literal level
Term
First Person
Definition
the point of view when one of the characters is actually telling the story using the pronoun "I"
Term
Flat
Definition
a type of character with only one or two traits
Term
Foreshadowing
Definition
the use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in the plot
Term
Free verse
Definition
poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme
Term
Hyperbole
Definition
exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis that is not meant literally (ex. I have a million things to do today!)
Term
Iambic Pentameter
Definition
a line of poetry that contains five iambs
Term
Imagery
Definition
language that appeals to the senses
Term
Indirect Characterization
Definition
the type of characterization when the reader learns the character's personality through the character's actions and words
Term
Inductive reasoning
Definition
reason from observed evidence to a general statement
Term
Internal Conflict
Definition
a type of conflict that takes place entirely within the character's own mind
Term
Internal rhyme
Definition
rhymes in the middle of the rhymes
Term
Irony
Definition
a contrast or discrepeancy between expectations and reality
Term
Logos
Definition
the appeal of a text based on the logical structure of its argument or central ideas
Term
Lyric
Definition
poetry that does not tell a story but aims only at expressing a speaker's emotions or thoughts
Term
Malaproprism
Definition
the unintentional use of a word that resembles the word intended but that has a very different meaning (ex. the girl used a fire DISTINGUISHER to put out the blaze.)
Term
Maxim
Definition
a general truth, fundamental principle, or rule of conduct; proverbial saying
Term
Metaphor
Definition
a firgure of speech that makes a comparison between 2 unlike things
Term
Extended metaphor
Definition
a metaphor that lasts longer than a phrase or sentence
Term
Meter
Definition
a generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables
Term
Metonymy
Definition
a figure of speech that replaces the name of one thing with something closely related to it (ex. skirt for a woman, the press for journalism)
Term
Monologue
Definition
a long speech given on stage in which other characters hear the words
Term
Mood
Definition
the distinctive emotional quality of a work of literature
Term
Narration
Definition
a kind of writing or speaking that tells a story
Term
Nonfiction
Definition
prose writing that deals with real people, events and places
Term
Novel
Definition
a long fictional story whose length is normally between 100-500 pages which uses all the elements of storytelling
Term
Omniscient point of view
Definition
the kind of point of view where the narrator is all knowing
Term
Onomatopoeia
Definition
the use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning
Term
Oxymoron
Definition
a figure of speech that combines two generally contradictory terms (ex. Bittersweet, living dead)
Term
Paradox
Definition
a figure of speech so apparently contradictory that it challenges the reader's thoughts to try to make it make sense (ex. Everything I write is a lie.)
Term
Parallel Structure
Definition
the arrangement of similarly constructed phrases, clauses or lines to imply a connection between them
Term
Pathos
Definition
the appeal of a text to the emotions or interests of the audience
Term
Personification
Definition
a special kind of metaphor in which a nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as if it were human
Term
Persuasion
Definition
a kind of writing that aims at convincing the reader or listener to think or act a certain way
Term
Plot
Definition
a series of related events that make up a story
Term
Poetry
Definition
a kind of rhythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery designed to appeal to our emotions and imaginations
Term
Point of View
Definition
the vantage point from which a story is told
Term
Protagonist
Definition
the character that takes steps to overcome obstacles in a piece of literature
Term
Pun
Definition
a play on the multiple meanings of a word, or on two words that sound alike but have different meanings
Term
Rebuttal
Definition
the challenging of a claim through evidence or argument
Term
Resolution
Definition
the part of the plot that gives the outcome of a piece of literature
Term
Rhetoric
Definition
the art of speaking or writing effectively
Term
Rhetorical question
Definition
a question whose answer is obvious; can be used as a form of irony in which something is stated, but the opposite is meant
Term
Rhyme
Definition
the repetition of accented vowel sounds and all sounds following them in words close to each other in a poem
Term
Rhyme scheme
Definition
a pattern of rhymes in a poem
Term
Rhythm
Definition
a musical quality produced by the repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables, or by the repetition of certain other sound patterns
Term
Round character
Definition
a character with many different traits
Term
Satire
Definition
the kind of writing that ridicules something in order to reveal a weakness
Term
Setting
Definition
the time and place a story takes place
Term
Short story
Definition
a short fictional prose narrative that usually makes up 10-20 pages
Term
Simile
Definition
a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things using an explicit word such as like, as, resembles or than (NOTE: a simile is a kind of metaphor)
Term
Situational Irony
Definition
the type of irony when there is a contrast between what would seem appropriate and what really happens
Term
Soliloquy
Definition
an unusually long speech in which a character on stage alone expresses his thoughts
Term
Sonnet
Definition
a 14 line poem, usually written in iambic pentameter, that has one of several rhyme schemes
Term
Stanza
Definition
a group of lines of poetry that makes up a single unit
Term
Static
Definition
a type of character that does not change due to events in a plot
Term
Stereotype
Definition
a fixed idea or conception of a character which does not allow for any individuality
Term
Suspense
Definition
the uncertainty the reader feels about what will happen next
Term
Symbol
Definition
a person, a place, thing or event that stands for something beyond itself
Term
Synecdoche
Definition
a type of metonym where something is referred to by naming only part of it (ex. "hands" for manual labor)
Term
Syntax
Definition
the way in which words and phrases are ordered to create sentences
Term
Theme
Definition
the central idea of a work of literature
Term
Third person
Definition
the point of view where the narrator tells the story thorugh a character's eyes
Term
Tone
Definition
the attitude the author takes toward the audience, subject or tone
Term
Tragedy
Definition
a play, novel or other narrative depicting serious and important events in which the main character comes to an unhappy ending
Term
Understatement
Definition
the representation of an idea in weaker terms that the facts would bear out for the purpose of emphasis
Term
Verbal Irony
Definition
a type of irony when a person says one thing but means something else
Term
Juxtaposition
Definition
something is set up in opposition
Term
Contrast
Definition
something is different
Term
Double Entendre
Definition
omething that has two meanings: one sexual, one literal
Term
Motif
Definition
reoccuring pattern
Term
Comedy
Definition
Term
Catharsis
Definition
Term
Hubris
Definition
Term
Hamartia
Definition
tragedy: gradual unfolding of a plot
Term
Verbal Irony
Definition
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