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Literary Terms
More complex terms you should know by the end of 10th grade English.
44
English
10th Grade
06/21/2008

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Term
Analogy
Definition
The comparison of two pairs which have the same relationship.
Term
Allusion
Definition
Casual reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event.
Term
Allegory
Definition
A form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself.
Term
Context
Definition
Anything beyond the specific words of a literary work that may be relevant to understanding the meaning.
Term

Characterization

 

Definition
The method used by a writer to develop a character.
Term
Comedy
Definition
A work intended to interest, involve, and amuse the reader or audience, in which no terrible disaster occurs and that ends happily for the main characters.
Term
Fable
Definition
A short, simple story, usually with animals as characters, designed to teach a moral truth.
Term
Empathy
Definition
The imaginative projection into another's feelings, a state of total identification with another's situation, condition, and thoughts.
Term
Profanity
Definition
Disrespect for something sacred.
Term
Essay
Definition
A short literary composition on a particular theme or topic, usually in prose and generally thoughtful and interpretative.
Term
Drama
Definition
 A literary composition involving conflict, action crisis and atmosphere designed to be acted by players on a stage before an audience.
Term
Jargon
Definition
Potentially confusing words and phrases used in an occupation, trade, or field of study.
Term
Epithet
Definition
An epithet is a word which makes the reader see the object described in a clearer or sharper light.
Term
Didactic
Definition
Refers to literature or other types of art that are instructional or informative.
Term
Colloquialism
Definition
A word or phrase used in an easy, informal style of writing or speaking.
Term
Epitaph
Definition
Refers literally to an inscription carved on a gravestone.
Term
Vulgarity
Definition
Language that is crude, gross, and offensive.
Term
Diction
Definition
An author's choice of words based on their correctness, clearness, and effectiveness.
Term
Epic
Definition
A long narrative poem that tells of the deeds and adventures of a hero.
Term
Slang
Definition
Refers to highly informal and sub-standard vocabulary which may exist for some time and then vanish.
Term
Exposition
Definition
Writing that is intended to explain something that's difficult to understand.
Term
Motif
Definition
An often repeated idea/theme in literature.
Term
Paradox
Definition
  Astatement that seems contrary to common sense, yet may, in fact, be true.
Term
Mood
Definition
The feeling a text arouses in the reader.
Term
Point of View
Definition
The vantage point from which the story is told.
Term
Omniscient
Definition
The author tells the story, using the third person, knowing all and free to tell us anything, including what the characters are thinking or feeling and why they act as they do.
Term
Limited Omniscient
Definition
The author tells the story, using the third person, but is limited to a complete knowledge of one character in the story and tells us only what that one character thinks, feels, sees, or hears.
Term
Camera View
Definition
Presents only action and dialogue; readers do not get into the thoughts of any characters.
Term
Satire
Definition
A literary tone used to make fun of human vice or weakness, often with the intent of correcting or changing the subject of the attack.
Term
Symbol
Definition
  A person, place, thing, or event used to represent something else.
Term
Theme
Definition
The statement about life that a writer is trying to get across in a piece of writing.
Term
Tone
Definition
The overall feeling, effect of an author's words.
Term
Tragedy
Definition
  A literary work in which the hero is destroyed by some character flaw or forces beyond his/her control.
Term
Antithesis
Definition
Contrast of ideas.
Term
Hyperbole
Definition
Exaggeration.
Term
Metonymy
Definition
Substitution of one word for another.
Term
Understatement
Definition
Emphasizing by talking about it in a restrained manner.
Term
Novella
Definition
A prose work longer that the standard short story, but shorter than a novel.
Term
Memoir
Definition
Writing based on the writer's memory of a particular time, place, or incident.
Term
Foreshadowing
Definition
Giving hints/ clue of what is to come later in the story.
Term
Hubris
Definition
Excessive pride.
Term
Imagery
Definition
The use of words to create a picture in the reader's mind, based on sensory details.
Term
Irony
Definition
Using a word/phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal meaning.
Term
Dramatic Irony
Definition
Where the audience or reader is aware of something important, of which the characters in the story are not aware.
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