literary terms Flashcards
Stream of consciousness
James Thurber uses the stream of consciousness as a literary technique. He writes down, in detail, the thought processes and fantasies of Walter Mitty. Each fantasy in Mitty’s head is triggered by objects or actions in real life. It is humorous to see how heroic he becomes in his daydreams.
Dramatic Irony
Irony is the difference between what someone would reasonably expecr to happen and what actually does happen. Dramatic irony is when the audience or reader knows something that a character in the story does not know. The many misunderstandings in the play Romea and Juliet are great examples of dramatic irony.
What are blurbs?
A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a creative work, for example a book. It should tempt the reader to want to know more. Many people decide to buy a book based on information in the blurb, printyed on the back of the cover.
Bildungsroman
A coming-of-age story, also called a Bildungsroman, is about the protagonist’s journey from childhood innocence to experience and education: from being a child to being a adult, from being na:ive to being wise, from being immature to being mature. There will usually be pain and suffering along the way, because growing up isn’t easy.
Pip’s development and his ‘having expectations’ make this novel a Bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age novel.
Metaphors
A metaphor simply states a comparison. ‘He is an early bird’ is a metaphor, because even though he wakes up early in the morning he is not a bird. When Christopher explains what a metaphor is, he claims that his own name is a metaphor as well, since it means ‘Carrying Christ’. His name stands for kindsness and altruism. It was given to St. Christopher because he carried Jesus Christ across a river.
Defining a theme
The theme in a story is its underlying message, or ‘central idea’. It comes down to what an author believes about life, the deeper meaning of life. A piece of writing can have more than one theme. Dickens felt strongly about the unjust struggles of the poor and was intrigued by the battle between right and wrong.
Reliable and unreliable narrator
The narrator is the person who tells the story. IN completely omniscient (all-knowing) narration everything he tells the reader is true. We call this a reliable narrator: we can read the minds of all characters. Sometomes we reas stories told by unrealiable narrators. An unreliable narrator is a person whose telling of the story is not completely true.
Setting and atmosphere
The setting is the time and place of a story. the setting can help set the mood. It plays a role in the way characters behave and shows how characters can be influenced by cultural differences. It describes the society in which the characters live.
The atmosphere is the mood or feeling developed through descriptions of the setting and senses.
Characterisation
The creation of the image of imaginary persons is called characterisation. Characters can be presented by means of description, but they can also be presented through their own actions, their jobs, speech, thoughts and how they interact with others and deal with situations.
Characterisation is an essential component in writing good literature.
Direct charecterisation takes a direct approach towards character building: the auuthor gives the descriptions himself.
Indirect charecterisation, when character traits are revealed by action, speech and interactions, is a subtler way of introducing characteristics.
Theme and morif
A theme is the main idea of a text, expressed directly or indirectly. Ir reveals its underlying message, or ‘central idea’. A piece of writing can have more than one theme.
A motif is a recurring object, concept, or structure in a work of literature. A motif may also be two contrasting elements in a work, such as good and evil. A motif helps to strenghten the main theme.
Foreshadowing
In a foreshadowing an author uses clues to alert the reader about events that may occur later. It is used to build suspense. Foreshadowing often appears at the beginning of a story or a chapter. Authors can create an atmosphere of suspense by writing dialogues in which characters hint at what may happen or by writing about actions that throw hints about future actions. Even a title can act as a clue to suggest what is going to happen.
Frame story
A frame story is an narrative providing the unifying framework for connecting a series of otherwise unrelated stories. In the frame story, the writer creates a context for interpreting his narrative. It also gives the reader more information about the characters. Frame work as a literary technique can be found anywhere
Repetition
Repetition is a literary technique that writers use by repeating the samewords or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer or to add more power to a story.
alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of letters at the beginning of words - in prose words that are near each other in a sentence and in poetry words that are near each other in poetry lines. Alliteration can create a musical or a commical effect. Many nursery rhymes contain alliteration, because people remember alliterative phrases more easily.
Internal and external conflicts
A conflict is a struggle between two opposing forces. In literature, protagonists sometimes have to deal with internal or external conflicts.
In an internal conflict a character stuggles with a decision or a choice; two parts of his brain are fighting each other.
In an external conflict a character struggles with a force outside himslef.
