Literary Terms

Interactive Notebook

Theme
A universal message or lesson that is conveyed by work. it is not the same as a
subject, which can be expressed in a word or two: courage, survival, pride, etc. The
theme is the message the author wished to conver. It may be about life, society or
human nature/

Example: The theme in Finding Nemo is parents will do anything for their child.

Sacrifice. Katniss makes a huge

personal sacrifice when she
takes her sister's place in the
Hunger Games. She and Peeta
sacrifice themselves for each
other at the end of the Games
when they eat the berries.

Characterization
The combination of qualities or features given to a in a work of fiction that distinguishes one
character from another. Characterization may include: age, background, appearance, thoughts,
actions, speech.
Example: The cowboy narrowed his eyes and scrutinized his opponent. His rough hands
were as ready and steady as his pistol.

Dory is a very optimistic, kind,

ditzy but forgetful fish. This is
due to the fact that she suffers
from short term memory loss.

Setting
The time, location, circumstances, and characters: everything in which a story takes place.
Provides three main backdrop and moos for the story.
Example: It was a chilly October night with the old owl hooting in the town cemetery.

Stars Hollow is a close-knit

small town with many quirky
characters, located roughly
thirty minutes by car from
Hartford.

Mood
Evokes certain feelings in readers through descriptions. Also called the atmosphere; it creates an
emotional situation that surrounds the readers.
I woke up to hear knocking on glass. At first I thought it was the window, until I heard it
come from my mirror again. (Mood: Spine chilling, frightening, spooky)

The 7 Dwarfs all have a mood.

ex: Dopey, Grumpy, Bashful,
etc.

Plot
A sequence of events that tells a story. A traditional plot structure includes: Exposition, rising
action, climax, falling action. and denouement or resolution. The plot is driven by some kind of
problem or conflict.
Jack and Jills water was shut off because they failed to pay their bill. Jack and Jill went up
the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and suffered a severe concussion. This
resulted in amnesia, causing him to forget that Jill is his wife. Jill's heart breaks and they do
not live happily ever after.

When their kingdom becomes trapped

in perpetual winter, fearless Anna joins
forces with mountaineer Kristoff and
his reindeer sidekick to find Anna's
sister, Snow Queen Elsa, and break her
icy spell.

Conflict
The problem of the story. A struggle between forces (a story can have more than one conflict!)
Man vs. Himself a.k.a. Internal Conflict : Should I die?
Man vs. Man: Brother against sister fighting over a toy.
Man vs. Society: Abolitionist preaches against slavery.
Man vs. Nature: A fisherman on a boat surviving a hurricane.
Man vs. Technology: iRobot, Terminator
Man vs. Supernatural/Unknown/Fate/Gods: the Odyssey

The man on the bus was

yelling at the bus driver for not
getting him to his destination
on time.

Climax
Climax is the point of greatest tension in a work of literature and the turning point in the action. It
affects the end of the story.
Shrek interrupts Fiona's wedding ceremony just before the I do.

Katniss and Peeta both

threaten suicide by eating
poisonous berries in hope that
the producers would rather
have two winners or a dead tie.
It actually works, and both
Katniss and Peeta are
declared winners of the 74th
Hunger Games.

Hyperbole
Deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration.
Your teacher is so old, he taught Moses how to read.

Her brain is the size of a pea.

Understatement
Making a situation seem less important or serious than it is.
Its just a flesh wound. (Black knight, having both arms cut off in Monty Python and the
Holy Grail)

It rained a bit more

than usual while
describing an area
being flooded after
heavy rainfall.

Personification
GIving human traits (qualities, feelings, actions, or characteristics) to non-living objects (things,
colors, qualities, or ideas)
The trees danced happily in the wind.

My computer throws a
fit every time I try to
use it.

Oxymoron
A form of paradox that combines a pair of opposite terms into a single unusual expression.
Icy Hot

Jumbo Shrimp

Paradox
A contradictory statement that turns out to have a coherent meaning that reveals a hidden
truth.
You have to be cruel to be kind.

Deep down, you're

really shallow.

Allegory
A story in which the characters and events are symbols that stand for ideas about human life or
for a political or historical situation.
The Tortoise and the Hare

Animal Farm is an allegory

that uses animals on a farm to
describe the overthrow of the
last of the Russian Tsar
Nicholas II and the Communist
Revolution of Russia before
WW I.

Archetype
An archetype, also known as universal symbol, may be a character, a theme, or even a setting
that represents universal patterns of human nature. Carl Jung, the famous psychologist, argued
that the root of an archetype is in the collective unconscious of mankind. The phrase collective
unconscious refers to experiences shared by a race or culture.
Belle is an example of the archetype of The Maiden

Mother figure: The fairy

godmother in Cinderella is a
mother figure because she
guides Cinderella in the right
direction.

Heros Journey Archetype

A pattern of narrative that appears in drama, myth, religious ritual, and psychological
development. It describes the typical adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the person
who goes out and achieves great deeds on behalf of the group, tribe, or civilization.
the Hobbit: Bilbo sets out on an unexpected adventure.

The Hunger Games: Katniss

volunteers to go into the
Hunger Games instead of her
sister.

Aphorism
A concise statement that is made in a matter of fact tone to state a principle or an opinion that
is generally understood to be a universal truth. these are often adages, wise sayings and maxims
aimed at imparting sense and wisdom; usually witty and curt with an underlying tone of
authority.
The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend. - Abraham Lincoln

The man who removes a

mountain begins by carrying
away small stones.

Colloquialism
The use of informal words, phrases, or even slang in a piece of writing.
Up in the swanky part of Verona, two families called the MOntagues and the Capulets been
beefin since forever. Big Daddy Montague and his boo Lady Montague start talking about
their emo son, Romeo, who got it bad for some fox rosaline. But Rosalina aint feelin it.

"So it took an eight-year-old child

to bring 'em to their senses.... That
proves something - that a gang of
wild animals can be stopped,
simply because they're still
human. Hmp, maybe we need a
police force of children."
- To Kill a Mockingbird

Apostrophe
Addressing a non-living object (or an idealized person) as if it (he/she) can hear, understand, or
answer you.
Homework, why won't you go away?

Oh, Starbucks, how I

love you! Your medium
dark roast allowed me
to survive that
meeting!

Incentive
A speech or writing that attacks, insults, or denounces a person, topic, or institution. It involves
the use of abusive and negative use of language.
A knave, a rascal; an eater of broken meats; a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited,
hundred-pound, filthy, worsted-stocking knave from Shakespeares King Lear.

"They're all talk, no action, so

they won't do anything,
anyway, just so you
understand. They can talk all
they want." (Donald Trump
talking about politicians).

Irony
In general, a discrepancy between expectation and reality.

Verbal Irony
Statements that imply a meaning in opposition to their literal meaning.
Good job Sherlock! when you are being sarcastic and mean the opposite of what you say.

Youre as cuddly as a cactus!

Situational Irony
Actions taken have an effect exactly opposite from what was intended.
A vegetarian owns a steakhouse chain.

A child runs away from

someone throwing a water
balloon at him and falls into
the pool.

Dramatic Irony
In literature, this occurs when the audience knows an unwitting character is making a mistake.
Often, these actions cause our gut to churn.
In Romeo and Juliet, the audience knows that Juliet is really not dead, but Romeo does not
know.

A character gets into the

car, but the audience
knows the monster killer
is in the garage.

Onomatopoeia
Words that sound like their meaning.
Boom!

POW!

Allusion
Allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, or thing or idea of historical, cultural,
literary, or political significance. It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it
refers. It is just a passing comment and the writer expects the reader to possess enough
knowledge to spot the allusion and grasp its importance in a text.
The rise in poverty will unlock the Pandoras Box of crimes.
This is an allusion to one of Greek MYthologys origin
myth, Pandoras Box.

He was a real Romeo with the

ladies. Romeo was a
character in Shakespeares
play, Romeo and Juliet, and
was very romantic in
expressing his love for Juliet.

Figurative language
Literal language expresses facts as they are, but figurative language does not- it is non-literal.
SOme examples of figurative language include: metaphor, simile, personification, and idiom.
It's raining cats and dogs!

You are what you eat!

Euphemism
Refers to the practice of using a comparatively milder or less abrasive form of a negative
description instead of its original, unsympathetic form. The purpose is to substitute unpleasant
and severe words with more genteel ones in order to mask the darkness.
Supervisor: I'm going to have to let you go, (Instead of the harsher: You're fired!

Genuine Imitation Leather

(cheap fake leather)

Genre
A category of artistic composition, as in music, literature, characterized by similarities in form,
style, or subject matter.
pop, punk, rock, hip hop, jazz, blues, alternative, country, reggae, R&B are all genres of music.

Bluegrass is a very interesting

genre of music.

Sensory Descriptions
Sensory details include sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. Writers employ the five senses to
engage a readers interest.
Taste: The familiar tang of his grandmothers cranberry sauce reminded him of his youth.
Sight: The sunset was the most gorgeous they ever seen; the clouds were edged with pink
and gold.

The flowers were a vibrant red

and smelled of fresh spring
after a rain shower.

Stylistic Devices
In literature and writing, a figure of speech (also called rhetorical device) is the use of any of the
variety of techniques to give an auxiliary meaning, idea, or feeling. Some examples of stylistic
devices are in the graphic to the right.
Allusion is a stylistic device that means the act of alluding to make indirect reference.
Describing someone as a Romeo makes an allusion to the famous young lover in Romeo
and Juliet.

personification is a stylistic
device: the trees were waving
in the wind

Ethos
The ethical appeal is based on the character, credibility and reliability of the writer or of the
source of information.
Neutrogena - The #1 Dermatologist Recommended (appeals to the credibility of skin-care
experts

More doctors smoke camels

than any other cigarette!

Pathos
The emotional appeal works to appeal to the emotions, needs, values, and attitudes of the
intended audience; pathos uses the emotional power of language to persuade.
ASPCA - Your donation today can save countless lives

In a violent family, everyone

could be a victim.

Logos
The logical appeal involves using the soundness of facts. evidence, statistics, and reasoning.
Tide - twice the stain-fighting power

The veterinarian says that an

Australian shepherd will be the
perfect match for our active
lifestyle.

Anaphora
Repetition of the same word or phrase at the start of successive clause or lines.
I have a dream.

I came, I saw, I conquered

Chiasmus
A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first with the
parts reversed
Fair is foul, and foul is fair

Ask not what your country can

you do for you but what you
can do for your country.

Antimetabole
A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with
words in reverse grammatical order (ABC, CBA) A specific form of chiasmus.
We didn't land on PLymouth Rock; Plymouth Rock landed on us

If you fail to plan, then you

plan to fail.

Antistrophe
Repetition of the same word or phrase at the END of successive clauses or lines.
1 corinthians 13:11

The time for the healing of the

wounds has come. The
moment to bridge the chasms
that divide us has come.

Antithesis
Juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in one sentence or phrase
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of
foolishness.

Love is an ideal thing, marriage

is a real thing

Parallelism
a recurrent similarity in grammatical usage. Several parts of a sentence or several sentences are
expressed similarly to show that the ideas in the parts are equal in importance. Parallelism also
adds balance and rhythm and, most importantly, clarity to the sentence.
And the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from
the earth.

Easy come, easy go.

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