ms. miller. a story with two or more levels of meaning—a literal level and one or more symbolic...
TRANSCRIPT
LITERARY DEVICES
Ms. Miller
ALLEGORY A story with two or more levels of meaning—a literal level and one or more symbolic levels
ALLUSION a reference to a person, place, event, literary work, or work of art
Allusion provides more information without a lengthy description or illustration
ANALOGY a comparison between two or more items that are similar in some ways but otherwise unalike
ANTAGONIST a character (or force) in conflict with the main character (protagonist)
CHARACTERIZATION the act of creating and developing a character
Direct characterization-the author directly states characters’ traits
Indirect characterization-the author tells what a character looks like, does, and says and shows how others react to him
CLIMAX the high point of interest or suspense
COMIC RELIEF the interruption of a serious moment with a humorous character or situation
CONFLICT a struggle between opposing forces
5 types: Man v. man Man v. fate/gods Man v. nature Man v. himself Man v. society
CONNOTATION the set of ideas associated with a word in addition to its explicit meaning
DENOTATION the dictionary definition of a word
DIALOGUE conversation between characters used to reveal character and advance action
EPIC a long narrative poem about the deeds of gods or heroes
FALLING ACTION the action that follows the climax and leads to the denouement or resolution
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE writing or speech not meant to be taken literally (metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, etc.)
FLASHBACK a device that allows the writer to
present events that happened before the time of the current narration or the current events in the fiction.
Flashback techniques include memories, dreams, stories of the past told by characters, or even authorial sovereignty (when Johnny was a boy. . ..)
FLAT (STATIC) CHARACTER
a flat character shows only one trait
a static character does not change
(usually these terms are interchangeable—the state of Kansas considers them basically the same)
FORESHADOWING the use of clues to suggest events that have yet to come
GENRE a type of literature
HYPERBOLE/OVERSTATEMENT deliberate or extreme exaggeration
the term hyperbole is likely the more-used term when discussing literary devices; however, overstatement is often used in discussing rhetoric; the state of Kansas interchanges the terms
IDIOM a phrase or expression that means something different from what the words actually say
Example: using the phrase “over his head” instead of “he doesn’t understand”
IMAGERY descriptive or figurative language used in literature to create word pictures for the reader—these are usually created by utilizing the five senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell) or movement
IRONY literary techniques that portray differences between appearance and reality or expectation and result
Verbal irony-words used suggesting the opposite of what is meant
Dramatic irony-contradiction between what the character thinks and the audience knows
Irony of situation-an event which directly contradicts the expectations of characters and audience
METAPHOR a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else
MOOD the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage
ONOMATOPOEIA the use of words that imitate sounds
PARADOX a statement the seems contradictory but that may actually be true
PARALLEL EPISODES repeated elements in the plot
PERSONIFICATION figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics
PLOT the sequence of events in a literary work
POINT OF VIEW the perspective from which the story is told
First-person: the narrator is a character or witness
Third-person limited: the narrator tells the story through one character’s eyes/thoughts
Third-person omniscient: the narrator is all knowing, expressing thoughts and feelings of any characters
PROTAGONIST the main character
RESOLUTION the conclusion of a plot’s conflicts and complications
RISING ACTION the events leading up to the climax (usually characterized by complication and conflict)
ROUND (DYNAMIC) CHARACTERS
a round character shows many different traits (faults and virtues)
a dynamic character develops and grows throughout a story
(usually these terms are interchangeable—the state of Kansas considers them basically the same)
SATIRE humorous writing aimed at exposing flaws (usually through ridicule or scorn)
SETTING the time and place of a literary
work
SIMILE A figure of speech in which “like” or “as” is used to make a comparison between basically unlike ideas/items
STYLE The manner of expression of a particular writer, produced by choice of words, grammatical structures, use of literary devices, and all the possible parts of language use.
SUBPLOTS subordinate or minor events (secondary action) in a novel or drama (often connected to the main plot)
SUSPENSE a feeling of uncertainty about the outcome of a literary work
SYMBOL Anything that stands for or represents something else
THEME the central message of a literary
work
TONE the writer’s attitude toward his subject or audience