Literary Terms H-IB World Literature Wojciechowski Your Assignment
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Literary Terms H-IB World Literature Wojciechowski Your assignment: Familiarize yourself with the following literary terms and their definitions. Expect a test on these terms at the beginning of the school year. Archetype - the original model on which something in literature is patterned; examples include characters, quests, or artifacts Allusion – a reference to something in history, literature, art, etc. Beats – sub-section within a scene in a play, demarcated by ends of conversations, entrances, and exits Black humor - humor that is viewed as dark, morbid, cruel, and offensive to some, and/or is graphic in nature and is yet still found funny Catharsis - when the reader or a character reacts to the narrative by releasing strong emotion (such as pity or fear) Connotation- the range of emotions that are connected to a word in addition to its dictionary definition Deus ex machina - the name for an inorganic resolution; when a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved with the unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object Diction - the part of literary analysis that focuses on an author’s vocabulary and word choices Direct characterization- when the narrator comments directly on the attributes of the character (i.e., “He is a funny guy.”) Dramatic irony – occurs when the audience knows something that the characters do not Dynamic character - a type of character who changes throughout the course of a narrative Elements of narrative structure: CONFLICT – obstacle or problem that is necessary to a narrative rising action- occurs when the conflict is introduced turning point – occurs when the conflict changes or intensifies climax – occurs when the conflict is directly addressed resolution – occurs as the conflict is resolved denouement – the aftermath of the conflict; loose ends are tied up Epigraph - a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a work; the purpose is to either to invite comparison or to enlist a conventional context Literary Terms H-IB World Literature Wojciechowski Flashback (also known as analepsis) - interruptions that writers include to insert past events in order to provide background or context to the current events of a narrative; allows readers to gain insight into a character’s motivation and provide a background to a current conflict Foil - A minor character who contrasts with the protagonist; the purpose is to highlight particular characteristics of the protagonist Foreshadowing - in a narrative, a warning or predictor of a future event Imagery- makes language concrete instead of abstract by appealing to the senses; most commonly creates “mental pictures” Indirect characterization – the narrator shows the attributes of the character by placing him or her in situations by which the read can judge what kind of person he is Juxtaposition – to place two concepts, characters, ideas, or places near or next to each other so that the reader will compare and contrast them Legend – if the protagonist is a human being and not supernatural, such stories are referred to as legends instead of myths Metaphor – a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike things without using a connective word such as like, as, than, or resembles Moira – the classical Greek idea of possessing free will within the constraints of predestination by the gods Mood - the emotional atmosphere of a work as a whole or in a particular part Motif - a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work Myth – mythos (Greek: “story”) – hereditary stories believed to be true by a particular cultural group; serve to explain why the world is as it is and why things happen as they do Paragraph – a group of unified sentences in prose writing Paraphrasing – occurs when you take someone else’s writing and put the main idea into your own words Patriarchy- a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it Poetic justice - a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice is ultimately punished Prose - written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure Literary Terms H-IB World Literature Wojciechowski Round character - a type of character who is complex and is prone to develop throughout a narrative; is a characteristic of a dynamic character Scene - a sequence of continuous action in a play, movie, opera Sentence - in prose writing, a complete unit typically consisting of a subject and verb Simile- comparison of two unlike things using the words “like,” “as,” “than,” “seems” Situational irony- a contradiction between what is expected and what actually occurs Stage directions- part of the script of a play that tells the actors how they are to move or to speak their lines Stanza - an arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme, forming a division of a poem Static character - a type of character that does not change during the course of a narrative Stichomythia – in verse, dialogue especially of altercation or dispute delivered by two actors in alternating lines (as in classical Greek drama); heightens tension Stream-of-consciousness writing– method of narration that describes in words the flow of thoughts in the minds of the characters; interior monologue is also appropriate to describe a character’s thought process and generally is a part of stream-of-consciousness writing Subtext- underlying and often distinct theme in a piece of writing or conversation that, while not directly stated, is often implied by the linguistic or social context Symbol - a word or object that represents another word or object Syntax- the grammar and sentence structure of a text Theme - what a text has to teach about life or the way the world works; this is comprised of a statement, not a subject Tone - The author's attitude toward a particular subject; determined by analyzing diction and narrative descriptions Unity of action (also referred to as Chekhov’s gun)- the principle that requires every element of a narrative to be necessary and irreplaceable Unreliable narrator - when a character’s credibility is compromised; the reader has to judge what to believe about a character’s perspective Literary Terms H-IB World Literature Wojciechowski Verbal irony – a statement in which the meaning that a speaker implies differs sharply from the meaning that is being expressed Verse - a single metrical line in a poetic composition .