Literary Terms Glossary: Understanding Figurative Language, Literary Devices, and More, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Literature

Download Literary Terms Glossary: Understanding Figurative Language, Literary Devices, and More and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Literature in PDF only on Docsity! A GLOSSARY OF LITERARY TERMS LITERARY DEVICES Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds used especially in poetry to emphasize and link words as well as to create pleasing, musical sounds. Example—the fair breeze blew, the white foam flew. Allusion: A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art to enrich the reading experience by adding meaning. Characterization: Techniques a writer uses to create and develop a character by what: • he/she does or says, • other characters say about him/her, or how they react to him/her • the author reveals directly or through a narrator. Dialect: Speech that reflects pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar typical of a geographical region. Flashback: Interruption of the chronological (time) order to present something that occurred before the beginning of the story. Figurative Language: Language that has meaning beyond the literal meaning; also known as “figures of speech.” • Simile: comparison of two things using the words “like” or “as,” e.g. “Her smile was as cold as ice.” • Metaphor comparison of two things essentially different but with some commonalities; does not use “like” or “as,” e.g. “Her smile was ice.” • Hyperbole: a purposeful exaggeration for emphasis or humor. • Personification: human qualities attributed to an animal, object, or idea, e.g. “The wind exhaled.” Free Verse: Poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme. Poets who write in free verse try to reproduce the natural rhythms of spoken language. Foreshadowing: Important hints that an author drops to prepare the reader for what is to come, and help the reader anticipate the outcome. Imagery: Words or phrases that appeal to the reader’s senses. Humor: The quality of a literary or informative work that makes the character and/or situations seem funny, amusing, or ludicrous. Irony: A technique that involves surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions or contrasts. Verbal irony occurs when words are used to suggest the opposite of their usual meaning. An irony of situation is when an event occurs that directly contradicts expectations. Onomatopoeia: The use of words that imitate sounds. Examples would be hiss, buzz, swish, and crunch. Point of View: Perspective from which the story is told • First-person: narrator is a character in the story; uses “I,” “we,” etc. • Third-person: narrator outside the story; uses “he,” “she,” “they” • Third-person limited: narrator tells only what one character perceives • Third-person omniscient: narrator can see into the minds of all characters. Satire: Writing that comments humorously on human flaws, ideas, social customs, or institutions in order to change them. TEACHING AND LEARNING TO STANDARDS Reading and Literature – A Glossary of Literary Terms 1 Style: The distinctive way that a writer uses Historical Fiction: A made-up story that is based language including such factors as word choice, sentence length, arrangement, and complexity, and the use of figurative language and imagery. Suspense: A feeling of excitement, curiosity, or expectation about what will happen. Symbol: Person, place, or thing that represents something beyond itself, most often something concrete or tangible that represents an abstract idea. LITERARY FORMS Autobiography: A writer’s story of his or her own life. Biography: A writer’s account of some other person’s life. Comedy: Writing that deals with life in a humorous way, often poking fun at people’s mistakes. Drama: Also called a play, this writing form uses dialogue to share its message and is meant to be performed in front of an audience. Essay: A short piece of nonfiction that expresses the writer’s opinion or shares information about a subject. Fable: A short story that often uses talking animals as the main characters and teaches an explicit moral or lesson. Fantasy: A story set in an imaginary world in which the characters usually have supernatural powers or abilities. Folktale: A story originally passed from one generation to another by word of mouth only. The characters are usually all good or all bad and in the end are rewarded or punished as they deserve. on a real time and place in history, so fact is mixed with fiction. Myth: A traditional story intended to explain some mystery of nature, religious doctrine, or cultural belief. The gods and goddesses of mythology have supernatural powers, but the human characters usually do not. Novel: A book-length, fictional prose story. Because of its length, a novel’s characters and plot are usually more developed than those of a short story. Poetry: A literary work that uses concise, colorful, often rhythmic language to express ideas or emotions. Examples: ballad, blank verse, free verse, elegy, limerick, sonnet. Prose: A literary work that uses the familiar spoken form of language, sentence after sentence. Realistic Fiction: Writing that attempts to show life as it really is. Science Fiction: Writing based on real or imaginary scientific developments and often set in the future. Short Story: Shorter than a novel, this piece of literature can usually be read in one sitting. Because of its length, it has only a few characters and focuses on one problem or conflict. Tall Tale: A humorous, exaggerated story often based on the life of a real person. The exaggerations build until the character can accomplish impossible things. LITERARY ELEMENTS Action: Everything that happens in a story. Antagonist: The person or force that works against the hero of the story. (See protagonist) TEACHING AND LEARNING TO STANDARDS Reading and Literature – A Glossary of Literary Terms 2