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For a ready-to-print version of this document, please click there--> Literary Terms Handout. Please note that there are a few typos (there is an extra i in simile, etc.) There is also an intentional mistake under the metaphor example. Please find it and turn the simile into a metaphor. Please correct these once you have printed out your new copy of the terms.
Literary Terms That You NEED to Know
Simile: A comparison that uses the words "like" or "as."
Alliteration: Repetition of initial consonants.
Consonance: Repetition of consonants sounds anywhere in the words.
Theme: In all literary genres, the theme is the message about life and living it that the writer wants to convey.
Tone: the author's attitude toward what he or she writes, but it may be easier to understand if you think of it as the attitude that you (the reader) get from the author's words. It is the hardest literary element to discuss; often we can recognize it but not put it into words. The easiest tone to recognize is humor. In describing tone, use adjectives: humorous, mysterious, creepy, straight-forward, matter-of-fact, exciting, boring, etc.
Mood: The atmosphere or feeling created by a piece of writing, partly by a description of the objects or by the style of the descriptions. A piece of writing may contain a mood of horror, mystery, holiness, or childlike simplicity, to name a few, depending on the author's treatment of the work.
Onomatopoeia: using words that imitate natural sounds
Irony: Irony takes many forms. In irony of situation, the result of an action is the reverse of what the actor expected. Macbeth murders his king hoping that in becoming king he will achieve great happiness. (Actually, Macbeth never knows another moment of peace, and finally is beheaded for his murderous act.) In dramatic irony, the audience knows something that the characters in the drama do not. For example, the identity of the murderer in a crime thriller may be known to the audience long before the mystery is solved. In verbal irony, the contrast is between the literal meaning of what is said and what is meant. A character may refer to a plan as brilliant, while actually meaning that (s)he thinks the plan is foolish. Sarcasm is a form of verbal irony.
Imagery: when writers use words or phrases that appeal to the senses and cause readers to create vivid pictures in their minds or feel sensations it is called imagery.
Personification: When a writer describes an animal or an object as if it were human or had human qualities, we call that personification.
Rhyme: The repetition of a stressed sound, usually the final syllable.
Assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds in a phrase.
Rhythm Recurring flow of strong and weak beats in a phrase.
Meter: The regular rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables found in a line of poetry. The less regular rhythm sometimes found in prose is often called cadence.
Puns: Plays on words that add interest and humor.
Hyperbole: Exaggeration.
Understatement: The opposite of hyperbole; when something is downplayed.
Allusion: An indirect reference to something outside the current literary work.
Allegory: An allegory is a story that serves as an extended metaphor (the whole story is one gigantic metaphor). Allegories are written in the form of fables, parables, poems, stories, and almost any other style or genre. The main purpose of an allegory is to tell a story that has characters, a setting, as well as other types of symbols, that have both literal and figurative meanings. The difference between an allegory and a symbol is that an allegory is a complete story that conveys abstract ideas to get a point across, while a symbol is a representation of an idea or concept that can have a different meaning throughout a literary work.
Symbol: A symbol is something--a person, object, situation, or action--which operates on two levels, the literal and the symbolic.
For instance, an engagement ring is a real object, but it is also stands for the love of the engaged couple. Symbols add depth and meaning to a story. Symbols may be universal (as the engagement ring) or specific to a particular story.
Myth: An unverifiable story based on a religious belief. The characters of myths are gods and goddesses, or the offspring of the mating of gods or godesses and humans. Some myths detail the creation of the earth, while others may be about love, adventure, trickery, or revenge. In all cases, it is the gods and goddesses who control events, while humans may be aided or victimized. It is said that the creation of myths were the method by which ancient, superstitious humans attempted to account for natural or historical phenomena. In Homer's, "The Odyssey," the Greek hero, Odysseus, is thwarted in his attempt to reach home by an angry Poseidon, god of the sea and patron of Troy. the Trojan horse, the trick the Greeks used to gain entrance into the city of Troy when a ten-year siege had failed, was the plan of Odysseus' creation. Poseidon, in his anger, kept Odysseus from reaching home for ten years after the war ended.
Characters
Antagonist: the force in conflict with the protagonist. It may be society, nature, or fate, as well as another person. It can also be the protagonist's own self, if he or she has an internal conflict.
Character foil: a character whose traits are in direct contrast to those of the principal character. The foil therefore highlights the traits of the protagonist. The foil is usually a minor character, although if there are two protagonists, they may be foils of each other.
Stereotype: a character who possesses expected traits of a group rather than being an individual. Using stereotypes is usually considered an indication of poor quality, especially in cases such as members of minority groups, people with disabilities, or women. However, stereotypes can be useful in furthering the story quickly and are acceptable in minor roles if they do not provide hurtful portraits of the groups in question. They are sometimes planted by the author to bring up important questions, usually regarding ethics.
Flat character: a character that is not fully developed; we know only one side of the character.
Round character: a character that is fully-developed, with many traits--bad and good--shown in the story. We feel that we know the character so well that he or she has become a real person.
Static character: a character who does not experience a basic character change during the course of the story.
Dynamic character: a character who experiences a basic change in character through the events of the story. This change is internal and may be sudden, but the events of the plot should make it seem inevitable.
Chronological: In this case, the events are told in the order they happen.
A flashback occurs when the author narrates an event that took place before the current time of the story. Flashbacks are uncommon in children's literature because the passage of time is difficult for children to understand. The opposite effect, a flash forward, is even rarer.
A time lapse occurs when the story skips a period of time that seems unusual compared to the rest of the plot. There is no standard amount of time that might constitute a time lapse; it depends upon the reader's sense that a longer than usual period of time has passed since the previous episode.
Conflicts
Internal conflict, or person-against-self, occurs when the protagonist struggles within himself or herself. The protagonist is pulled by two courses of action or by differing emotions. This is often considered a characteristic of fine literature because it frequently leads to a dynamic change in the protagonist.
Interpersonal conflict, or person-against-person, pits the protagonist against someone else.
Conflict of person-against-society happens when the protagonist is in conflict with the values of his or her society. This is a difficult concept for small children to grasp.
Conflict of person-against-nature takes place when the protagonists is threatened by an element of nature.
Conflict of person-against-fate occurs when the protagonist must contend against a fact or life or death over which people have little control, such as death or disability. Some literary critics, however, see this conflict as a type of person-against-nature.
Plot
A plot usually begins with a problem which the protagonist must meet or solve. During the story, tension is built through a series of complications, incidents which either help or hinder the protagonist in finding a solution. This is the rising action.
The climax is the peak or turning point of the action; at this point we know the outcome.
The denouement or falling action is the part after the climax. It gives any necessary explanation and ends with resolution, the sense of at the end of the story that it is complete.
The ending of the story may be either open or closed:
A cliffhanger is an abrupt ending at an exciting and often dangerous time in the plot. Its purpose is to keep the reader reading. It is usually found at the end of a chapter, but occasionally a book will end this way. (Not all open endings are suspenseful enough to be called cliffhangers.) Recently, books in some science fiction and fantasy series have ended in cliffhangers, which encourages the reading of the other books in the series.
Suspense is a state of tension, a sense of uncertainty, an emotional pull which keeps the reader reading. All plots need some suspense to sustain interest.
Foreshadowing is the planting of hints about what will happen later in the story. It prepares children for the outcome and reassures them when the suspense is very high. Good foreshadowing is subtle and often contributes to high quality in a story.
Coincidence, the concurrence of events which happen by chance, is a fact in real life. However, real life is not a plot that moves from problem to climax to resolution. In fiction, coincidence seems contrived; it weakens the plot. Coincidence in a plot is acceptable if it is carefully but subtly foreshadowed.
Inevitability is the sense that the outcome is necessary and inescapable. It had to happen, given these characters and this situation; it is not contrived. It is a sign of high quality in writing.
Sensationalism is unrelieved suspense; it often includes violence and may produce fear in the reader. Readers often like it, as the popularity of horror books and films attest, but it is usually considered a sign of poor quality. Even the Disney Studio, known for wholesome entertainment, is guilty of sensationalism. Sixty years ago, many children were frightened by the witch in Snow White. More recently The Lion King was criticized for excessive violence. In films, suspense is often heightened by cutting quickly between scenes and by the adroit use of background music to create a mood.
Sentimentality is the opposite of sensationalism; it is the overuse of sentiment (a natural concern for another person) that produces a tear-jerker. It is dwelling too much on the "cute" and the "precious." Like sensationalism, it is a sign of poor quality but is often popular. Movies such as Love Story and Terms of Endearment are examples of sentimentality. Many popular children's books are overly sentimental. Black Beauty, The Velveteen Rabbit, The Giving Tree, I'll Love You Forever, and the works of Joan Walsh Anglund have all been criticized for this.
Point of View
Second person - uses "you" - The author speaks directly to the reader. Second person is seldom used; it is found most often in nonfiction today.
Third person - uses "he," "she," or "it" - The author is telling about the characters. There are three third person points of view:
Limited omniscient - We are told the thoughts and feelings of only one character (sometimes, but very seldom, of two or three characters).
Omniscient - We are told everything about the story, including the thoughts and feelings of all the characters, and even information in the author's mind which no character knows.
Dramatic or objective - We are told only what happens and what is said; we do not know any thoughts or feelings of the characters. It is called "dramatic" because it includes the words and actions, just what you would see and hear if it were in a play or film.
Sources:
Metaphor: a comparison that does not use like or as. In the following example, the writer compares a person to a mountain.
"I am a mountain, standing with pride, strength, and faith."
"Her heart was a volcano ready to erupt."
"The sky is a purplish-yellow bruise as lightning tears through the gorge." (From The Beaded Moccasins by Lynda Durrant, pg. 156)
Example: This music is as annoying as my little brother.
"Our only kiss was like an accident - a beautiful gasoline rainbow." - The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Example: The soft surge of the sea soothed the slippery serpent.
Example: "The sight of the apple and maple trees pleased the people."
The tone of Edgar Allen Poe's poem Annabelle Lee was eerie and dismal.
Examples: crack, splash, moo, meow, roar, screech, pitter-patter, swoop
Example of Imagery:
"The willow is sleek as a velvet-nosed calf;
the ginkgo is leathery as an old bull..."
Examples: "As our cave faces West, the westerly winds push their way inside and try to snatch the family fires away." - Lynda Durrant, The Beaded Moccasins, pg. 71.
"The tropical storm slept for two days before decimating New Orleans."
Example: "His aim was to blame the dame."
Example: "The owl swept out of the woods and circled the house."
Example: "Chicka, chicka, boom, boom! Will there be enough room?"
Example: "By the time the milking was finished, the new farmhand was thoroughly cowed."
Puns are said to be "the lowest form of wit," but people usually enjoy them even as they groan.
Example: "He was frightened out of his wits."
Example: "He was upset when he learned he had AIDS."
Example: "He was a veritable Hercules." The reference may be to something in literature, history, modern culture, or another area.
Protagonist is the main/central character (person, animal, or personified object) in the story.
Examples: Harry Potter is the protagonist in the Harry Potter series.
Artemis Fowl is the protagonist in The Eternity Code.
In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Voldemort is the primary antagonist.
Conflict is the struggle between the protagonist and an opposing force. There are several types of conflict:
Exposition: an explanation of the situation and the condition of the characters. In children's books, the exposition is usually woven into the action.
In a closed ending, the most usual one in children's books, readers feel that they know what will happen. The various parts of the plot are tied together satisfactorily, and the reader feels a sense of completion.
In an open ending, readers must draw their own conclusions; they do not know what will happen.
First person - uses "I" - A character is telling the story.
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