Literary Terminology

Plot

The way a story unfolds.

What happens in a story.

Introduction

The beginning of the story where the characters are introduced.

Setting

•When and where a story takes place

Theme

The underlying meaning of the story.

Character

The person or people who exist within a novel.

Often time characters are named either to describe something about themselves or to describe the opposite.

i.e. Agustus Gloomp, Veruica Salt, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, anyone from the show “Lost”.

Characters

Protagonist The main character in

any story.

The protagonist does not have to be the “good guy”, just who the action centers around.

Some have argued that the reason Star Wars:Episode I was not as good was because it lacked a true protagonist. Thoughts?

Antagonist

The character in direct oppostion to the protagonist.

The antagonist does not have to be the “bad guy”, just the character who opposes the protagonist.

FLAT CHARACTER A character with a lack of depth Flat characters do not change Often found in short stories Examples of flat characters include Augustus

Gloomp, Violet Beauregard, Veruca Salt, Mike Teevee, the Comic Book guy, Superman (old school).

ROUND CHARACTER A character with depth that is capable of

change. The reader sees multiple sides of a round

character. Examples of round characters include: Charlie

Bucket, Batman/Bruce Wayne, Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Homer Simpson.

Conflict

The main problem within the story.

There are five types of conflicts within literature:

Man vs. Man

This is when the protagonist is in opposition with another person.

Examples include: The Most Dangerous Game, Tombstone, and of course The Lord of the Flies.

Man vs. Self

This is when the protagonist faces an internal struggle.

Examples include: Flowers for Algernon, The Matrix, and of course Episodes III and VI of Star Wars.

Man vs. God or Deity

This is when the protagonist is in opposition to a god, or any incredibly powerful creature.

Examples include almost all stories from Greek mythology, The Devil’s Advocate, The Devil and Daniel Webster, and Percy Jackson.

Man vs. Nature

This is when the protagonist is pitted against nature or something that nature has created.

Examples include: The Hatchet, Call of the Wild, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jurassic Park, and Shelly’s classic Frankenstein.

Man vs. Society

When the protagonist finds himself or herself in opposition to society as a whole

Examples include 1984, Fahrenheit 451and Flowers for Algernon

Climax

The emotional high point of a story. When the conflict comes to a head.

Resolution

Generally the resolving of the conflict in one way or another

Point-of-view

How the story is told

There are four main points of view:

1st person

First person point-of-view is told from inside of the story.

Pronouns such as “I”, “we”, “my” are used. Can lead to an unreliable narrator.

3rd person

Third person point-of-view is told from outside of the story.

Pronouns such as “he”, “she”, “they”, “them” are used

3rd person limited

Third person limited point-of-view is told from outside of the story, but the narrator knows the thoughts of one character.

3rd person omniscient

3rd person omniscient point-of-view is told from outside of the story, but the narrator knows all. The narrator knows the thoughts of all of the characters.

Foreshadowing

The hinting of future events

Dramatic Irony

This occurs when the audience or reader knows more than the characters know.

Situational Irony

This refers to a happening that is the opposite of what is expected or intended.

Verbal Irony

The contrast between what is said and what is actually meant.

Allusion

A reference to an outside work of art or literature within another work of literature.

Much of English literature contains allusions to the Bible, Shakespeare or Greek mythology.

What three works does The Matrix have allusions to?

Greek mythology

Morpheus is the name of the Greek God of dreams. The Oracle is also found in Greek mythology.

The Bible

The names Nebuchadnezzar, Trinity, and Zion all come from the Bible.

Alice in Wonderland

References to “follow the white rabbit” and the rabbit hole.

Neo goes into the looking glass The checkerboard floor

Symbol

Something that stands for or represents something else.

Neo is a symbol of Christ in The Matrix. The River is a symbol of freedom in The

Adventures of Huck Finn. Aslan is a symbol of Christ in The Lion,

the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Superman is a symbol of Christ in Man of

Steel

In media res

Literally means “In the midst of things”

The technique when a story starts in the middle of the action, then goes back later to introduce characters.

Deus ex Machina

Literally means “God from the machine”

Now applied to a situation in which a hero has seemingly no escape, but something happens (usually out of the ordinary) to allow the hero to escape or emerge victorious.

deus ex machina

Onomatopoeia A word that makes a sound by way it

is spelled.

• A word that makes a sound by way it is spelled.

• Examples: Bam, Whack, Shazaam!

Figurative Language

writing or speech not to be interpreted literally.– Alliteration– Simile– Metaphor– Personification– Hyperbole– Idioms– Oxymoron

Alliteration

The repetition of alike sounds

He Strode in a swarm of fireflies

V

Simile

A comparison of two or more objects using “like” or “as”

“Drop it like its hot” –Snoop Dogg “Like a sprained ankle, boy I ain’t

nothing to play with.” -Drizzy

Metaphor

A comparison of two or more objects The metaphor does not use like or as “I am Legend” – Richard Matheson “At this very moment I’m king, at this

very moment I slay Goliath with the sling.” -Nicki Minaj

Hyperbole

An exaggeration.

Ex. "I nearly died laughing“, "I was hopping mad," "I tried a thousand times."

IDIOMS A common phrase that doesn’t mean what it

says. idioms

OXYMORON

When you have two terms that normally

conflict, but together make a statement.

Mood

The feeling that the reader gets from a literary work.

Tone

The author’s attitude (often implied by his/her use of language) toward the subject or toward the reader.

Tone generally creates mood.

Myth

a fictitious tale that explains the actions of the gods or the causes of natural phenomena.

Acronym

a word formed by combining the initial letters or syllables of a series of words to form a name. (such as Radar: radio detecting and ranging.)

Ex: Laser, Scuba, Sonar

Anecdote

a brief story about an interesting amusing or strange event

a form of nonfiction in which a person tells about their own life story

Biography

a form of nonfiction in which a person writes about another’s life story

Dialect

Dialect is the form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group

Genre

a category or type of literature. (Poetry, Prose, and Drama)

Parody

a comical piece of writing that mocks the characteristics of a specific literary form.

Satire

The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

Prose

the ordinary form of written language

Sensory Language

writing or speech that appeals to one or more of the senses