Literary Terms Flashcards
Sermon
Oration, lecture, or talk by a member of a religious institution
Ex: Sinners in the hand of an angry God is written as a sermon
Narrator
Someone who relates the story to the audience
Ex: Jonathan Edwards narrates the Sinners in the hand of an Angry God
Symbol
Something used to represent something else
Ex: The Black veil is a symbol of sin
Dramatic Monologue
A speech delivered by one person to the audience of an imaginary character
Ex: Proctor at the end of the story delivers a speech about who is responsible for his death
Climax
The turning point of a story
Ex: The Story of an Hour- Mrs. Mallard has the feeling of freedom, but then her husband appears again
Parable
Simple story to illustrate a moral lesson
Ex: The minister’s black veil story
Dialogue
The words spoken throughout a story (two or more characters)
Ex: John Proctor and Abigail talk about their relationship
Conflict
A problem which occurs in a story
Ex: Elizabeth accuses John of adultery
Metaphor
A direct comparison of two things without using like or as
Ex: Sinners- walking on a slippery slope, which he likens to human existence as sinners
Stage Directions
Part of the script that tells the actors how they move or speak
Ex: Crucible
Stream of Consciousness
A person’s thoughts and conscious reactions to events
Ex: Mrs. Mallard sees her husband, so she is devastated
Extended Metaphor
Metaphor that continues throughout a paragraph or story
Ex: in the sinners in the hands of an angry God, there is a paragraph comparing the people to sinners.
Dramatic exposition
Information at the beginning that gives us background information
Ex: At the beginning of the Crucible, we get background information on the characters before the act starts
Style
The way an author writes
Ex: Arthur Miller writes simple and old-fashioned
Allusion
A reference to something famous or pre-historic in a story
Ex: The character Fredrick Douglas
