Literary Terms (Dialogue) Flashcards
Aside
A brief speech in which a character turns from the person being addressed to speak directly to the audience; a dramatic device for letting the audience know what a character is really thinking or feeling as opposed to what the character pretends to think or feel
Colloquial
Informal, conversational language
Dialogue
- Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative
2. A literary work written in the form of a conversation
Dialect
A regional variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary
Diction
Word choice
Euphemism
Substituting mild, indirect, or vague term for a harsh, blunt, or offensive one
Figure of speech
Broadly, any way of saying something other than that the ordinary way; more narrowly a way of saying something and meaning another
Hyperbole
A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used in the service of truth
Invective
Denunciatory or abusive language
Inversion
A reversal in order, nature, or effect
Motivation
An emotion, desire, physiological need, or similar impulse that acts as an incitement to action
Mystery
An unusual set of circumstances for which the reader craves an explanation; used to create suspense
Paradox
A statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements
Plot
The sequence of incidents or events of which a story is composed
Plot manipulation
A situation in which an author gives the plot a twist or turn unjustified by preceding action or by the characters involved
Plot device
An object, character, or event whose only reason for existing is to advance the story. Often breaks suspension of disbelief
Prologue
An introduction or a preface, especially a poem recited to introduce a play
Red herring
A literary tactic of diverting attention away from an item or person of significance
Scene
A subdivision of an act in a dramatic presentation in which the setting is fixed and the time continuous
Suspense
The quality in a story that makes the reader eager to discover what happens next and how it will end
Suspension of Disbelief
An unspoken agreement between writer and reader: “I agree to believe your make-believe if it entertains me.”
Subplot
A plot subordinate to the main plot of a literary work
Surprise
An unexpected turn in the development of a plot
