| A | B |
|---|
| Allegory | a form of narrative that has an intended second meaning beneath the surface one. |
| Antagonist | a character or force that opposes the protagonist (i.e. the suitors |
| coming-of-age story | a narrative in which the protagonist matures and enters adulthood through a process of gaining both knowledge and experience. |
| Connotation | the implied meaning of a word. |
| Denotation | the dictionary definition of a word. |
| Diction | word choice and usage (for example |
| dramatic irony | discrepancy between what characters know and what readers know. |
| dynamic character | a character who changes in some important way (i.e. Telemachus coming of age). |
| epic poetry | i.e. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey |
| Epic | A long story poem about the adventures of alarger-than-life hero on an extended quest or journey. |
| epic simile | These similes compare heroic or epic events to simple and easily understandable everyday events; notable for their lengths. |
| Epithet | A descriptive word or phrase used to characterize a person |
| figurative language | Any language that is not to be taken literally by the listener. |
| Flashback | An interruption in a story or movie in whichthe character stops to think back to a pasttime event or situation |
| example of dramatic irony | the suitors make fun of Odysseus when he is disguised as a beggar but the readers know it is really Odysseus. |
| example of figurative language | Odysseus like an eagle when attacking suitors. |
| example of foil | Cylmnestra (Agamemnon's wife) for Penelope: Penelope is "faithful |
| example of point of view | Homer is an omniscient narrator |
| example of satire | Agamemnon warning Odysseus in the Underworld about how his wife killed him- warning not to trust women. |
| example of unreliable narrator | Odysseus exaggerates when talking about himself |
| foil | a character who serves to illuminate a crucial quality in another character through the process of comparison and contrast. These come in pairs and are characters that share some similarities |
| Hyperbole | exaggeration and overstatement used for effect. |
| Imagery | the representation through language of a sensory experience. |
| invocation of the muse | when the narrator asks the muse to help them tell a story. Sets the stage |
| irony | a situation |
| metaphor/simile | a comparison between unlike things. ______s compare things using the words "like" or "as". |
| Parallelism | Repetition of words |
| Personification | endowing inanimate objects with human characteristics. |
| Plot | the basic action and incidents that make up a story. A summary is a description of the _____ of a story. |
| poetry/verse | literature written in a deliberate structure using rythm and meter |
| point of view | the perspective from which the story is told. Narration can be either omniscient (all-knowing) |
| Prose | non-metrical composition (essays |
| Protagonist | major character at the center of the story (Odysseus). |
| setting the place or location of the action | the setting provides the historical and cultural context for characters. It often sets the tone and echoes the emotional state of the characters. |
| situational irony | when one event is expected to occur but the opposite happens. A discrepancy between what seems to be and what is. |
| static character | a character that remains the same. |
| story arc | the development of a character or theme from the beginning of the story |
| Structure | the design or form the story takes. For example |
| supporting character | often provides support for and illuminates the protagonist (i.e. Penelope). |
| Symbol | a figure of speech in which something means more than what it is. Can be read both literally and metaphorically. |
| Tone | the writer's or speaker's attitude toward his subject; the emotional coloring or emotional meaning of work |
| tragedy and comedy | the most basic understanding of these terms pertains to the ending of the story: a tragedy ends on a "down note |
| unreliable narrator | a narrator who you can't completely trust |
| verbal irony | when what is meant is the opposite of what is said. |
