Literary Terms for Multiple Choice Test

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Literary Termsfor Multiple Choice Test

• Mr. Ward
• 10 Honors

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LITERARY TIME PERIOD
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Puritan - Pre-revolutionary period (1690-1765)

• Ex. Sinners in the hands of an angry god.
• Focus God, Sinning, Freedom of Religion

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Revolutionary/Age of Reason1750-1800

• Patriotism Grows
• Tells readers to encourage Revolutionary War
  Support
• Think using Reasoning Skills
• Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas
  Paine, Patrick Henry
• The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution
• Focus government-freedom, ethics/morals, science

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Romanticism (1800-1860)

• Value feeling and intuition over reasoning
• Journey away from Corruption of Civilization
• Emily Dickinson
• Walt Whitman

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Transcendentalism (1840-1860)

• Ex. H.D. Thoreau, R.W. Emerson
• Focus Nature, Self-Reliance, Non-Conformity

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Realism (1855-1900)

• Ex. E. Wharton, W. Carther, E.A. Robinson
• Focus
• Social Realism aims to change a specific problem
• Act on Basic Instincts

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The Moderns (1900-1950)

• In Pursuit of The American Dream
• Admiration for America as land of Eden
• Importance of the Individual
• F Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby.
• John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men
• Universal Themes that everyone understands

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Harlem Renaissance (1920s)Parallel to Modernism

• Allusions to African-American Spirituals
• Uses structure of blues songs in poetry
• Superficial Stereotypes Revealed to be complex
  characters
• Gave birth to Gospel Music
• Langston Hughes
• Their Eyes Were Watching God

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Postmodernism1950s to Present

• Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman
• Usually humorless
• Insists that values are not permanent but only
  local or historical
• Feminist and Social Issues

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Contemporary1970s - Present

• Harper Lees To Kill A Mockingbird
• Concern with connections between people
• Emotion-provoking
• Sandra Cisneros The House on Mango Street

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Character Characterization
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Character

• Person, particularly as depicted in a dramatic or
  literary work.
• Non-Fiction Character
• A character in a work of prose or poetry based
  upon a real person, past or present.
• Fictional Character
• A character who only exists within a work of
  prose or poetry
• Moral Character
• A character who exists to serve and/or carry out
  an authors moral may be fiction or non-fiction

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Protagonist

• A protagonist is considered to be the main
  character or lead figure in a novel, play, story,
  or poem.  It may also be referred to as the
  "hero" of a work.
• Does not have to be good.

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Antagonist

• a character in a story or poem who deceives,
  frustrates, or works again the main character, or
  protagonist, in some way. The antagonist doesnt
  necessarily have to be an person. The
  Protagonists Foil

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Archetype

• A term used to describe universal symbols that
  evoke deep and sometimes unconscious responses in
  a reader. In literature, characters, images, and
  themes that symbolically embody universal
  meanings and basic human experiences, regardless
  of when or where they live, are considered
  archetypes. Common literary archetypes include
  stories of quests, initiations, scapegoats,
  descents to the underworld, and ascents to
  heaven.

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Flat vs. Round Character

• Flat Dramatizes a single idea that is repeated
• Round Complex actions are from many aspects of
  his/her personality

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Static vs. Dynamic

• Static Unchangeable and predictable
• Dynamic Altered by the events he/she experiences

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FOIL Character

• Characters that contrast in terms of values,
  traits, and goals.

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Characterization

• 1. DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION - the writer makes
  direct statements about a character's personality
  and tells what the character is like.2.
  INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION - the writer reveals
  information about a character and his personality
  through that character's thoughts, words, and
  actions, along with how other characters respond
  to that character, including what they think and
  say about him.

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POINT OF VIEW
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Point of View

• The way in which a story is told.
• First person point of view
• The main character of the story narrates
• Third Person Point of View
• Third person objective
• Tells the story in the style of a camera-lens
  can only tell the action in an objective style
• Third person limited
• Knows all about one character
• Third person omniscient
• Knows all about EVERY character

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Types of Text
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Historical Fiction

• A story which is based on historical events
  parts of the details may be altered to fit the
  needs of the story
• Setting is the most important element in
  Historical Fiction

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Gothic Fiction

• A story that combines dark elements with romance
  focuses on the horrific side of romance combines
  horror and romance
• ATMOSPHERE is the most important element in
  Gothic Fiction
• Tone Atmosphere Mood

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Bildungsroman

• A novel of education
• Main character / protagonist
• Self development
• Maturation
• Growth and development
• Some form of loss / discontent that jars him /
  her away from family
• Long, gradual process
• Clashes between his / her needs, views, desires,
  and judgments and unbending social order
• Eventual blending of protagonist with society

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Parable

• A relatively short story that teaches a moral, or
  lesson, about how to lead a good life.
• The most famous parables are those told by Jesus
  in the bible

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Allegory

• A story that has two meanings one literal and
  one symbolic
• Characters, as an allegory, can represent
  abstract social values/sins or morals. i.e.
  Greed, Lust, Pride

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Drama

• A work of fiction meant to be performed on stage.

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IRONY
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Irony

• 1. verbal irony is when an author says one thing
  and means something else.
• 2. dramatic irony is when an audience perceives
  something that a character in the story does not.
  
• 3. situational irony is a discrepancy between the
  expected result and actual results.
• 4. character irony a characters name,
  appearance, actions may be different than what we
  expect

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Conflict
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Conflict

• the tension or problem in the story a struggle
  between opposing forces
• Terms Associated With Conflict
• 1.      central conflict  the dominant or most
  important conflict in the story.
• 2.      external conflict  the problem or
  struggle that exists between the main character
  and an outside force. (ex  person vs. person,
  person vs. society, person vs. nature, person vs.
  the supernatural, person vs. technology, etc.)
• 3.      internal conflict  the problem or
  struggle that takes place in the main characters
  mind (person vs. self).

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Dramatic Terms
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Dramatic Conventions

• Dramatic Conventions are the specific actions or
  techniques the actor, writer or director has
  employed to create a desired dramatic
  effect/style.
• A dramatic convention is a set of rules which
  both the audience and actors are familiar with
  and which act as a useful way of quickly
  signifying the nature of the action or of a
  character.

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Dramatic Speeches

• Monologue A long uninterrupted speech by one
  character spoken to or in the presence of other
  characters
• Soliloquy A long uninterrupted speech by one
  character while he or she is alone on stage
  reveals his or her inner thoughts
• Aside A brief spoken speech spoken directly to
  the audience or a specific character that is
  unheard by others

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Catastrophe

• catastrophe (literature), in literature, the
  final action that completes the unraveling of the
  plot in a play, especially in a tragedy.

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Hamartia

• Hamartia is a concept used by Aristotle to
  describe tragedy. Hamartia leads to the fall of a
  noble man caused by some excess or mistake in
  behavior, not because of a willful violation of
  the gods' laws. Hamartia is related to hubris,
  which was also more an action than attitude.

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Hubris

• Hubris, means extreme haughtiness, pride or
  arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of
  contact with reality and an overestimation of
  one's own competence or capabilities, especially
  when the person exhibiting it is in a position of
  power.

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Elements of Language
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Types of Language

• Figurative Language
• Figurative language uses "figures of speech" - a
  way of saying something other than the literal
  meaning of the words.
• Concrete Language
• Concrete terms refer to objects or events that
  are available to the senses.
• Abstract Language
• A term used to describe language that deals with
  generalities and intangible concepts.
• Ex. Words like happiness, despair, hope, beauty,
  and evil.
• Fluff Language
• Words that do not anything substantial to a piece
  of writing like, a lot, very, stuff

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Dialect

• a variety of a language that is a characteristic
  of a particular group of the language's
  speakers.1 The term is applied most often to
  regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also
  be defined by other factors, such as social
  class.

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Syntax

• The rules or patterns of grammatically structured
  sentences.

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Idiom

• An expression particular to a certain language
  that means something different from the literal
  definition of its parts.
• Falling in love.
• I lost my head.

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Simile

• A comparison between two things that are
  basically dissimilar using like or as to make
  the comparison.
• My papas hair is like a broom.

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Metaphor

• A comparison between two unlike things in which
  one thing becomes another
• But my mothers hair is the warm smell of bread
  before you bake it.

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Personification

• The act of giving human qualities to something
  that is not human
• My hair is lazy.

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Hyperbole

• Exaggeration for EffectIm so hungry I could
  eat a horse.

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Understatement

• a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast
  to what might have been said the opposite of
  hyperbole. Understatement is usually used for a
  humorous effect

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Paradox

• Paradox reveals a kind of truth which at first
  seems contradictory. Two opposing ideas.
• Discrimination is a Virtue.
• ..."War is Peace" "Freedom is Slavery"
  "Ignorance is strength

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Tone

• Tone is the attitude a writer takes towards a
  subject or character serious, humorous,
  sarcastic, ironic, satirical, tongue-in-cheek,
  solemn, objective. Similar to Mood

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Mood

• Mood is the term used to describe the feeling of
  a piece of literature. When you read a novel and
  get a feeling of suspense or mystery, this is the
  mood you are uncovering.

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Voice

• The writers awareness to create (using elements
  of style, tone, syntax, unity, coherence) a clear
  and distinct personality of writer.

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Style

• The distinctive way in which a writer uses
  language, from how he/she puts sentences together
  to his/her choice of vocabulary and use of
  literary devices

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Atmosphere

• The mood or feeling created in a piece of
  writing. Atmosphere helps to create mood for the
  reader.
• Atmosphere is one of the most important literary
  elements in Gothic Fiction.
• Tone Atmosphere MOOD
• A storys atmosphere might be peaceful, festive,
  menacing, melancholy, and so on. Elie Wiesels
  Night, for example, creates an atmosphere of
  terror and sadness.

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Alliteration

• The repetition of similar consonant sounds within
  a phrase or sentence
• It is the smell when she makes room for you on
  her side of the bed still warm with her skin.

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Onomatopoeia

• The use of a word whose sound imitates or
  suggests its meaning.
• Ex. Buzz

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Diction

• An author's choice of words. Since words have
  specific meanings, and since one's choice of
  words can affect feelings, a writer's choice of
  words can have great impact in a literary work.
  The writer, therefore, must choose his words
  carefully.

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Connotation

• The emotional connection associated with a word

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Denotation

• The definition of a word as it would be seen in a
  dictionary.

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Storytelling Techniques
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Flashback

• Flashback is action that interrupts to show an
  event that happened at an earlier time which is
  necessary to better understanding.

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Foreshadowing

• Foreshadowing is the use of hints or clues to
  suggest what will happen later in literature.
• Foreshadowing, here, just means hinting at things
  to come. Its well known that beginners tend to
  be scared of their own foreshadows. And the truth
  is they are sometimes right. If, by
  foreshadowing, you mean that the narrator or
  someone summarizes what will happenespecially,
  just before it happensthen suspense gets
  punctured. Or, rather the reader, who loves grade
  A suspense"whats going to happen?"will have to
  settle for grade B suspense"how will it happen?"

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Theme

• Themes are the fundamental and often universal
  ideas explored in a literary work. Theme is the
  general idea or insight about life that a writer
  wishes to express. All of the elements of
  literary terms contribute to theme. A simple
  theme can often be stated in a single sentence

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Symbolism

• Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or
  colors used to represent abstract ideas or
  concepts.
• the bird of night (raven is a symbol of death)

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Motif

• Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or
  literary devices that can help to develop and
  inform the texts major themes.
• A motif differs from a theme in that a theme is
  an idea set forth by a text, where a motif is a
  recurring element which symbolizes that idea. The
  motif can also be more like the central idea
  behind the theme, such as courage or loyalty.

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Suspense

• a feeling of growing tension and excitement. 
  Writers create suspense by raising questions in
  readers minds about what might happen.

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Catharsis

• Meaning "purgation," catharsis describes the
  release of the emotions of pity and fear by the
  audience at the end of a tragedy.

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Sensory Details/Imagery

• Images and/or details that emphasize our senses
  to recreate a scene for the reader
• Imagery is used in literature to refer to
  descriptive language that evokes sensory
  experience. It makes you think about what the
  word means and you can se a flash of a picture in
  your mind.

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Ambiguity

• A statement which can contain two or more
  meanings.

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Analogy

• a similarity between like features of two things,
  on which a comparison may be based the analogy
  between the heart and a pump.
• 2. similarity or comparability I see no analogy
  between your problem and mine.

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Anecdote

• a brief account of an interesting incident or
  event that usually is intended to entertain or to
  make a point

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Allusion

• Allusion is a brief reference to a person, event,
  or place, real or fictitious, or to a work of
  art. Casual reference to a famous historical or
  literary figure or event.An allusion may be
  drawn from history, geography, literature, or
  religion.

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Setting

• Setting is determining time and place in fiction
• In Historical Fiction, Setting is the most
  important literary element.

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Aphorism

• Aphorism is a brief saying embodying a moral, a
  concise statement of a principle or precept given
  in pointed words

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Stock Situation

• frequently recurring sequence of action in a
  genre, e.g., rags-to-riches, boy-meets-girl, the
  eternal triangle, the innocent proves himself or
  herself.

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Stock Response

• a habitual or automatic response based on the
  reader's beliefs or feelings, rather than on the
  work itself. A moralistic person might be shocked
  by any sexual scene and condemn a book or movie
  as dirty a sentimentalist is automatically moved
  by any love story, regardless of the quality of
  the writing or the acting someone requiring
  excitement may enjoy any violent story or movie,
  regardless of how mindless, unmotivated or brutal
  the violence is.

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Grammatical Terms
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Fragment

• A sentence fragment is a group of words which
  sounds like a sentence but does not express a
  complete thought. Sometimes it has a subject or
  verb missing. Sometimes it is a phrase or
  subordinate clause instead of a complete
  sentence.

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Modifier

• Modifiers describe a word or make the meaning of
  the word more specific. They are said to modify
  the word.
• In English there are two parts of speech which
  are modifiers--adjectives and adverbs.
• Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns. Adverbs
  modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

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Coordinating Conjunction

• Connects two independent sentences by using what
  is commonly referred as FANBOYS
• For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

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Subordinating Conjunctions

• Words that make one independent sentence
  dependent
• I.e. since, when, until, because, although

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Transition Words

• Words that help to move from one thought to
  another semi-colon is placed before the word,
  and a comma is placed after
• Furthermore, However, On the other hand

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Comma Splice

• Improperly seperating two independent sentences
  by use of just a comma

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Run On Sentence

• Joining two independent sentences with no
  punctuation

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Parallel Structure

• repetition of sentences using the same structure.
  This line from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg
  Address provides an example The world will
  little not nor long remember what we say here,
  but it can never forget what they did here.

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Appositives

• An appositive is a noun, noun phrase, or noun
  clause which follows a noun or pronoun and
  renames or describes the noun or pronoun. A
  simple appositive is an epithet like Alexander
  the Great. Appositives are often set off by
  commas.
• Example We visited the home of Harriet Beecher
  Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin.

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Types of Sentences

• 1. A simple sentence may have a simple subject or
  a compound subject. It may have a simple
  predicate or a compound predicate. But a simple
  sentence has ONLY ONE INDEPENDENT CLAUSE, and it
  has no dependent clauses. A simple sentence may
  contain one more more phrases.
• 2. A compound sentence consists of two
  independent clauses. The clauses must be joined
  by a comma, followed by a coordinating
  conjunction (FANBOY) or separated with a
  semi-colon.
• 3. A complex sentence contains one independent
  clause (in italics) and one or more dependent
  clauses (in boldface).
• 4. A compound-complex sentence contains two or
  more independent clauses (in italics) and one or
  more dependent clauses (in boldface).