| A | B |
|---|
| exposition | writing that explains, gives information, defines, clarifies |
| complication | something difficult or complex |
| climax | the highest or most intense point in a story’s plot |
| resolution | a solution, as of a problem |
| conflict | a struggle or clash between forces |
| external conflict | a struggle against an outside force |
| internal conflict | a struggle that takes place within a character’s own mind |
| dynamic character | a character that changes as a result of the story’s events |
| static character | a character that does not change much in the course of a story |
| flat character | a character that has only one or two traits |
| foil | a character used as a contrast to another character |
| protagonist | the main character |
| antagonist | the opponent of the protagonist |
| motivation | something that causes a person to act |
| point of view | the vantage point from which the writer has chosen to tell the story |
| first person p.o.v. | one character tells the story, using “I” |
| third person p.o.v. | the narrator focuses on the thoughts and feeling of one character |
| omniscient p.o.v. | narrator knows everything about all characters and their problems |
| atmosphere | a dominant mood or tone |
| allegory | a story in which the characters, settings and events stand for certain other people or events or concepts |
| allusion | a reference to something widely known |
| analogy | a comparison |
| anecdote | a brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example |
| catharsis | the purging of the emotions |
| conceit | an elaborate metaphor that compares two startlingly different things |
| connotation | all the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests |
| denotation | the literal, dictionary definition of a word |
| context | the parts before and after a statement that can influence its meaning |
| dialect | a way of speaking, characteristic of a particular region or group |
| dialogue | conversation |
| diction | a writer’s of speaker’s choice of words |
| epilogue | a concluding part added to a literary work |
| prologue | an introductory part of a discourse, poem, or novel |
| figurative language | word used in a nonliteral sense |
| foreshadowing | the use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in the plot |
| genre | a class or category having a particular form, content, or technique |
| hyperbole | a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration for effect |
| imagery | language that appeals to the senses |
| irony | a contrast between expectation and reality |
| verbal irony | when a writer or speaker says one thing but means another |
| dramatic irony | when the audience knows something the character does not |
| situational irony | a contrast between what would seem appropriate and what happens |
| litany | a prolonged or tedious account |
| metaphor | a comparison between two unlike things |
| monologue | a dramatic or comic piece delivered by a single performer |
| myth | a traditional or legendary story |
| nonfiction | writing that deals with real people, events, and places |
| oxymoron | a figure of speech that uses seeming contradictions |
| parable | a short allegorical story used to teach a lesson |
| paradox | a contradictory statement that expresses a possible truth |
| parody | a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature |
| personification | when a nonhuman thing or quality is given human characteristics |
| pseudonym | a fictitious name used by an author to conceal his/her identity |
| pun | a play on the multiple meanings of words |
| sarcasm | a sneering or cutting remark |
| satire | writing that ridicules something |
| simile | a comparison between two unlike things, using “like” or “as” |
| soliloquy | speech in which a character on stage alone expresses thoughts aloud |
| stereotype | a fixed idea of a character that does not allow for any individuality |
| symbol | something that stands for itself and for something beyond itself |
| theme | the central idea of a work of literature |
| tone | attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character |
| tragedy | a story in which the main character comes to an unhappy end |
| transcendentalism | a philosophy stressing the intuitive and spiritual above the empirical |
| vernacular | the native speech of a country or region |
| euphony | pleasing combination of sounds |
| cacophony | harsh, discordant sound |
| antithesis | sharply contrasting ideas are juxtaposed in a balanced or parallel phrase or grammatical structure |
| aphorism | a brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life |
| apostrophe | writer addresses an inanimate object, an idea, or a person who is dead or absent |
| epiphany | a literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight |
| essay | a short piece of nonfiction prose in which the writer discusses some aspect of a subject |
| figure of speech | word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of another, not to be taken literally |
| flashback | a scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events to depict something that happened at an earlier time |
| style | the distinctive way in which a writer uses language |
