| A | B |
|---|
| archetype | a perfect example of a group or type, in this case a type of character. An Example would be a hero -- Superman ; villain - Lex Luther |
| protagonist | main character in a work of fiction; the character attempting to reach a goal or solve a problem. An example would be Hamlet, Hester Prynne, John Proctor |
| antagonist | also a main character in a work of fiction; this character is in conflict with the protagonist. An example would be Claudius, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, Abigail Williams |
| narrator | the voice telling the story; in fiction, the voice of a character or of the author |
| point of view | voice or character through which the story is told; Example: first person; third person, limited to a character; or third person omniscient |
| setting | time and place of a story; Example -- The Red Badge of Courage: Civil War (time), battlefield (place) |
| plot | series of events that makeup the story: It includes characters, setting, initiating event/exposition, conflict and rising action, climax, resolution, point of view, theme |
| theme | main idea, lesson or moral; for example: the power of love can triumph all |
| motif | a theme, idea, or image that recurs within a text or across multiple texts. For example color, seasons, the faithful friend, the love triangle |
| diction | the selection and arrangement of words in a work of literature to produce a desired effect on the reader: word choice |
| connotation | the impression associated with a word beyond its literal meaning -- writers choose their words because of this |
| denotation | the literal meaning of a word without the feelings associated with it. |
| imagery | words and phrases authors use to create pictures or other sensations in the mind of the reader. For example "I scented the antique moistures/when they sharpened/The air of my room" |
| figurative language | devices authors use to create mental pictures. Example -- simile, metaphor, personification |
| simile | a comparison of two things that are not alike using as or like. example -- "The tree was like an umbrella, sheltering us from the sweltering sun." |
| metaphor | a comparison of unlike things without using like or as. Example -- "The tree was our umbrella, sheltering us from the sweltering sun." |
| analogy | a comparison of two things so that the unfamiliar can be associated with the familiar to clarify the meaning. Example - Cold is to hot and amorous is to hateful |
| personification | giving human characteristics to nonhuman objects or abstract ideas. Example - His pencil walked steadily across the page. |
| hyperbole | a deliberate exaggeration for effect. Example from Macbeth,"All the perfumes of Aribia could not sweeten this little hand." |
| alliteration | repetition of the beginning consonant sounds in a sentence or poetry line. Example -- "The burdensome beat of the bamboo sticks was driving me bonkers." |
| mood | the general feeling of a work -- think adjectives gloomy, light-hearted, suspensful |
| tone | author's attitude toward the subject -- think adjectives like humerous, sarcastic, outraged, indifferent, fanciful |
| situational irony | occurs when there is a difference between what is expected and what actually occurs |
| verbal irony | when an author says one thing but means something else |
| dramatic irony | when the audience, the reader, or specific characters know something that a character does not |
| sarcasm | remarks that mean the opposite of what they say and are meant to show contempt, scoff, put down |
| flashback | a literary device used to present action that occurred before the beginning of the story. |
| foreshadowing | a literary device used to create an expectation about what will happen later in the story |
| apostrophe | a statement or question addressed to an inanimate object, a concept, or a nonexistent or absent person |
| genre | category of literature |
| short story | a short prose narrative that concentrates on a unique or single effect and event |
| novel | an extended piece of prose narrative |
| myth | an anonymous story that comes from a culture's tradition; gives a supernatural explanation for uneplainable events in nature |
| legend | an anonymous story based on a real historical person, part fact and part fiction, giving the personality larger-than-life powers |
| fable | a very short, simple story thod to illustrate a moral; characters are animals that have human characteristics |
| satire | a work that uses ridicule, humor, and wit to criticize or to provoke changes in people's thinking or specific organizations |
| cliché | saying, expression, or idea that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force or novelty, especially when at some time it was considered distinctively forceful or novel, rendering it a stereotype. For example "What goes around, comes around." |
| monologue | a speech delivered entirely by one character |
| soliloquy | a long speech allowing one character to reveal his or her private thoughts and feelings; there is no one else listening. |
| aside | a line a character speaks directly to the audience to the audience or to another character that is not intended for other characters to hear |
| stage directions | this gives the director and sctors information about the setting, characters' speech and movements, costumes, props, scenery, and lighting. |
