9thLITERARYTERMS

IMAGERYthesensorydetailsappealingtothefivesenses(taste,touch,smell,hearing,and
sight).Forexample,Thecooleveningbreezetastedsweetwithhoneysuckle.
Typesofimagery:
Visual:appealstoorrepresentsthesenseofsight
Tactile/Kinesthetic:appealstoorrepresentsthesenseoftouch
Auditory:appealstoorrepresentsthesenseofsound
Gustatory:appealstoorrepresentsthesenseoftaste
Olfactory:appealstoorrepresentsthesenseofsmell

INFERENCEajudgmentbasedonreasoningratherthanondirectorexplicitstatement.
PLOTaseriesofrelatedeventswhichbringabouttheresolutionofsomeconflictorproblem.

EXPOSITION,RISINGACTION,CLIMAX,RESOLUTION/DENOUEMENTstagesof
developmentwithinastory,novel,orplay.

SETTINGthetimeandplaceinwhichtheeventsofanarrativeoccur.

FIGURATIVELANGUAGEdescriptionsorcomparisonsusingthefollowingtechniques:
Simileacomparisonbetweentwodifferentthingsusinglikeoras.Forexample,Jim
runsaroundthetracklikeascaredjackrabbit.
Metaphoranimpliedcomparisonbetweentwodifferentthings.(DoesNOTuselikeor
as)Forexample,Thesummerisadark,bluehammockslungbetweenthewhite
pillarsoftheday.
Personificationafigureofspeechinwhichhumancharacteristicsareassignedto
nonhumanthings.Forexample,Thefiercewindyelleditsfurythroughoutthenight.
PatheticFallacyaformofpersonificationgivinghumantraitstonature:cruelsea,
howlingwind,dancingwater.

ALLUSIONaliteraryreferencetoafamiliarperson,place,thing,orevent.

HYPERBOLEanexaggerationoroverstatement.

THEMEthemainideaorunderlyingmeaningofaliterarywork.Athememaybedirectlystated,
butismoreoftenimplied.


CHARACTERIZATIONthemethodsanauthorusestodevelopthequalitiesandpersonalitiesof
charactersinastory.Anauthormaydescribedirectlyorrevealthemthroughthecharacters
actions,speech,thoughts,and/orreactionsfromothers.

Roundcharacter:Roundcharactersdevelopandgrowasthestoryprogresses.Also
knownasthreedimensionalordynamic.

Flatcharacter:Aflatcharactergenerallydoesnotdevelopthroughoutthecourseofthe
story.Alsoknownastwodimensionalorstatic.

Stockcharacter:Stockcharactersarestereotypes,pulledofftheshelf.(Forexample,
theevilstepmotherorthejock)

PROTAGONISTthemaincharacterwhoholdsthemainfocusofthestory.Therecanbemore
thanoneprotagonistinthestory.

ANTAGONISTarivaloradversarythatattemptstoworkagainsttheprotagonist.Therecanbe
morethanoneprotagonistinthestory.
TONEanauthorsattitudetowardhis/hersubjectmatter.Itcouldbereverent,serious,
humorous,sad,etc.

MOODtheclimateoffeelingwithinaliterarywork.Theauthorschoiceofsetting,objects,
details,images,andwordsallcontributeincreatingaspecificmood.

CONFLICTtheproblem,issue,orstruggleinastorythattriggerstheaction:

Internalconflictinsidethecharacter

Externalconflictoutsideofthecharacter
TYPESOFCONFLICTS
Individualvs.Selfacharacterhasaproblemdecidingwhattodoinacertain
situation.internal
Individualvs.Individualonecharacterinastoryhasaproblemwithoneormoreofthe
othercharacters.external
Individualvs.Societyacharacterinastoryhasaproblemwithsomeelementof
society:theschool,thelaw,theacceptedwayofdoingthings.external
Individualvs.Natureacharacterhasaproblemwiththeenvironment:heat,cold,a
tornado,anavalanche,oranyotherelementofnature.external
Individualvs.Fateacharactermustbattlewhatseemstobeanuncontrollable
problem.Whenevertheconflictisanunbelievableorstrangecoincidence,itcanbe
attributedtofate.


FORESHADOWINGtheuseofhintsofeventstocome.

IRONYisthecontrastbetweenwhatappearstobeandwhatreallyis.Therearethreeformsof
irony:
VerbalIronytheartofusingwordstosayonethingandmeananother.Itspurpose,
however,isnottodeceivebuttomakeclear.Forexample,Attheendof6thperiod,tired
andboredbytheassignment,Tedstates,ImnotsureIcanhandleallthisexcitement!
DramaticIronyiswhenthespectatororreaderknowsmoreaboutthetruestateof
affairsinastorythanthecharactersdo.Forexample,inRomeoandJulietonlyFriar
Lawrence,thenurse,andthereader/spectatorsknowaboutR&Jssecretmarriage.
SituationalIronyacontrastbetweenwhatisexpectedorintendedandwhatactually
occurs,likecheesyhorrormovies.

POINTOFVIEWtheauthorschoiceofnarratorforastory.
1stpersonapersoninthestorywhocanrevealonlyhisorherthoughtsand/or
informationthathasbeendirectlyreceivedfromothercharacters.
3rdpersonomniscientanoutsiderwhopresentsanallknowingpointofview.
3rdpersonlimitedanoutsiderwhopresentsapointofviewlimitedtospecialknowledge
ofoneofthecharacters
2ndpersonThenarratortellsthestorytoanotherperson,addressedasyou(note:this
p.o.v.israrelyused)

SATIREliteraturethatblendsironichumorandwitwithcriticismforthepurposeofridiculing
folly,vice,stupiditythewholerangeofhumanmistakesinindividualsandinstitutions.
FOILacharacterwhoparallelsthemaincharacter,butisusedtoshowcontrastbetweenthe
twocharacters.
RHETORICtheartofspeakingorwritingeffectively.
SYMBOLaword,phrase,orobjectinaworkofliteraturewhichsignifiessomethingbeyond
itself.

EPIPHANYasuddenperception(momentofunderstanding)thatcausesacharactertochange
oractinacertainway

Challengeliteraryterms:
Forthosestudentswhohavemasteredthe9thgradeliteraryterms,here
aresomenewterms

Extendedmetaphor:adetailedandcomplexmetaphorthatextendsoveralongsectionofa
work
inmediares:inthemidstofthingsreferstoopeningastoryinthemiddleoftheaction,
necessitatingfillinginpastdetailsbyexpositionorflashback
litotes:afigureofspeechthatemphasizesitssubjectbyconsciousunderstatement.An
examplefromcommonspeechistosayNotbadasaformofhighpraise.
motif:arecurrentdevice,formula,orsituation
paradox:astatementthatseemscontradictorybutmayactuallybetrue
unreliablenarrator:aspeakerorvoicewhosevisionorversionofthedetailsofastoryare
consciouslyorunconsciouslydeceiving
[note:theabovedefinitionsofliterarytermsarefromTheNortonIntroductiontoLiterature,7th
edition]
metonymy:afigureofspeechthattakestheplaceofthenameofathingwiththenameof
somethingelsewithwhichitiscloselyassociated.Forexample,Thepenismightierthanthe
sword(PentakestheplaceofthewrittenwordSwordtakestheplaceofviolence)
synecdoche:afigureofspeechinwhichapartismadetorepresentthewholeorviceversa,as
inClevelandwonbysixruns(meaningCleveland'sbaseballteam).