Honors Sophomore Language Arts

Literary Terms Glossary

Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words, e.g., Willy Wonka wailed wildly.

Allusion: An implied or indirect reference to something with which the reader is supposed to be familiar, such as Greek mythology, Shakespeare, the Bible, classic literature, etc. Fahrenheit 451 is packed with literary allusions—for example, the third chapter of F451 is titled “Burning Bright”, an allusion to William Blake’s poem, “The Tyger”, whose first line is “Tiger, Tiger, burning bright”. Understanding the allusion will add to your understanding of the reading.

Archetype: A basic model or prototype which is then repeated; literally it means “first type”; characters can be archetypes (the hero, the villain, the rebel, the traitor, the beautiful princess); experiences can be archetypal (birth, coming of age, dying, the journey); themes can be archetypal (the quest, pursuit of vengeance, overcoming a difficult task or trial, redemptive acts); symbols can be archetypal (lion, eagle, snake, rose, water, fire, garden).

Bildungsroman: A coming of age story—a story about a young (usually) person growing up and becoming part of the “adult” world. To Kill a Mockingbird, Marigolds, and Stand by Me are coming of age stories. All Quiet on the Western Front is an ironic bildungsroman.

Character: a person or animal that plays a part in a narrative. Characters may be

FLAT— simple, one-dimensional, unsurprising, usually unchanging. Flat characters act

more as props—e.g., a messenger whose sole purpose is to deliver a message.

ROUND—complex, full, described in detail, often contradictory, usually dynamic

STATIC—unchanging

DYNAMIC—changing (a mental or emotional “growth” takes place—not a change like

death or moving.

PROTAGONIST—The main character; the character that the story is about

ANTAGONIST—The character in conflict with the protagonist

Characterization: The techniques by which an author develops a character including

Physical description

A character’s own words, thoughts, actions, feelings

Narrator’s direct comments

Other characters words, actions, thoughts, and feelings about that character

Conflict: A struggle between equal or almost equal forces. The opposition presented to the protagonist by the antagonist, by events or situations, by fate, or by the protagonist’s own nature or personality. Conflicts can be either internal or extern al and can be classified generally as man vs. man, man. vs. nature, or man vs. self. When writing about or discussing conflict, the conflict should be stated specifically and both sides of the conflict should be identified. For example, Charlie really wants to get ice cream with his friends, but lately he has been ridiculed for being overweight and is trying to shed some pounds.

Diction: An author’s word choice

Epiphany: The realization or understanding by a character about the true nature of something (the character’s own nature, the nature of another character or situation, the nature of mankind…) brought about by the events of the narrative… an epiphany is like the “lightbulb” coming on.

Figurative Language: Non-literal language. Language that is not meant to be taken at face value—includes, but is not limited to similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole.

Flashback: A narrative technique in which the flow of events is interrupted to present the reader with an earlier event or situation that has a bearing on the story or its characters. Almost the entirety of To Kill a Mockingbird is a flashback.

Foreshadowing: The writer’s use of hints or clues to indicate events that will occur later in the story. In Fahrenheit 451, the black planes constantly flying overhead foreshadow the impending war. In Romeo and Juliet, the images of death throughout the play foreshadow the tragic ending.

Hyperbole: Exaggeration for effect

Imagery: The use of images, especially a consistent pattern of images, to convey an overall impression. Also used to describe writing that uses many sensory details.

Irony: The contrast between what is expected and what actually is.

Dramatic irony—the reader’s awareness of a discrepancy between a character’s perception of a situation and the true nature of the situation or its consequences. In Romeo and Juliet, the dramatic irony is that the reader/audience is aware that Romeo and Juliet’s love will end tragically and Romeo and Juliet are not.

Situational irony—The discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what actually happens.

Verbal irony—The discrepancy between what is said and what is meant. Also, the discrepancy between the literal meaning of an author’s words (what is written), and what is actually meant. This is often the most difficult type of irony for readers to pick up on. The reader must look for clues (in diction and tone) to realize that the author means something other than what is actually written.

Magical Realism— A technique in which magical and realistic elements are blended. Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses magical realism extensively.

Metaphor—A comparison of two unlike things that have similar qualities, e.g., Poverty was the cage in which we were trapped.

Motif—An image that is repeated throughout a work of literature to reinforce a theme. Macbeth has several motifs including blood, clothing, darkness, and seeds/growth. Fahrenheit 451 has several motifs including birds and fire.

Narrator—The teller of a story.

1^st person—a narrator who is also a participant in the story—either a main character or a

peripheral one.

3^rd person—a detached, anonymous observer

Omniscient—all knowing about all events that have occurred, are occurring, or will

occur, as well as the thoughts and feelings of ALL the characters—perhaps even to a

greater extent than the characters themselves.

Limited omniscient—like the omniscient narrator, but the knowledge is limited to that

of a single character.

Objective—reports that which one could naturally know through observation.

Personification—The attribution of human qualities to non-human things. Ex. “The sea licked greedy lips in the shadows.”

Plot—A connected series of events (cause and effect) in a narrative. Usually a plot involves a character facing a conflict or a series of conflicts that propel the story to its climax and resolution.

Point of View (POV): Refers to the type of narrator (see narrator) as well as the character from whose perspective the story is told.

Rite of Passage: An event, ritual (thus, “rite”), ceremony or experience that marks the passage into adulthood or a higher stage of life. It may be very formal such as a graduation or a wedding, it may be a significant event such as a soldier’s first battle or someone’s first kiss, or it could be something that seems quite simple such as riding your bike around the block alone for the first time.

Satire: A work that ridicules some aspect of human behavior (society, government, religion) by portraying it at its most extreme, with the hopes of correcting it.

Speaker: The voice in a poem (similar to a narrator in a novel or short story).

Stanza: A “paragraph” of poetry; an organized set of lines in a poem

Simile: A metaphor that uses “like” or “as”. Ex. “Memory is like an abstract painting” or “The lights of the yacht were like ever-vanishing fireflies.”

Symbol: A person, place, thing, or idea that represents some other, usually broader, idea or range of ideas, in addition to its own literal meaning.

Theme: The central or unifying idea that is made concrete, developed, and explored in the action and imagery of a work of fiction.

Tone: The author’s attitude toward the subject matter. Tone is mostly revealed through diction and imagery. Tone is described with adjectives, e.g., ironic, humorous, light-hearted, serious, oratorical, whimsical, indignant.

Unreliable narrator: As opposed to a reliable narrator, a narrator whose reliability to convey the “truth” is questionable.