Terms Flashcards
Antagonist
A person or object that prevents the protagonist
Allusion
An indirect reference
Archetype
Character or pattern of circumstances
Atmosphere and mood
Literary devices that evokes certain feelings
Connotation
an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.
Diction
Word choice
Direct characterization
Direct characterization is how an author tells his or her reader about a character. Direct characterization occurs when the author specifically reveals traits about the character in a direct, straightforward manner.
Dynamic character
a literary or dramatic character who undergoes an important inner change, as a change in personality or attitude:
Epiphany
Epiphany is the point in a work of literature where a character has a sudden insight or realization that changes his or her understanding.
Figurative language
is language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation
Hyperbole
exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
Indirection characterization
the writer shows the character’s personality through his/her speech, actions and appearance
Imagery
visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work.
Irony
the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.
Juxtaposition
the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.
Literal language
refers to words that do not deviate from their defined meaning.
Metaphor
a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.
Extended metaphor
refers to a comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem.
Protagonist
the leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text.
Personification
Giving humanlike qualities to something non human
Simile
Comparison uses like or as
Static character
is one that does not undergo important change in the course of the story, remaining essentially the same at the end as he or she was at the beginning.
Style
that describes the ways that the author uses words — the author’s word choice, sentence structure, figurative language, and sentence arrangement all work together to establish mood, images, and meaning in the text.
Syntax
the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.