literary language terms

Jacob Stehle

Literary Language Terms

Mr. Stehle’s List of Literary TermsABCDEFGH I JKLM

NOPQRSTUVWXYZ

A’sAlliteration

Allusion

Analogy

Antagonist

Apostrophe

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Repetition of the initial sounds of several words in a group

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ALLITERATION

A reference in one literary work to a character of theme found in another literary work

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ALLUSION

A comparison of two things made to explain something unfamiliar through its similarities to something familiar

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ANOLOGY

The character who opposes the main character

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ANTAGONIST

A statement, question, or request addressed to an inanimate object or nonexistent or absent person

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APOSTROPHE

B’sent out of shape because

we don’t have any vocabulary for B?

Don’t worry we will see you at C

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C’sCharacter

Characterization

Cliché

Climax

Conflict

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The people (or animals, things etc. presented as people) appearing in a literary work

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CHARACTER

The way in which a writer reveals the nature of a character

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CHARACTERIZATION

An expression that has lost its power or originality from overuse

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CLICHÉ

The high point of interest of suspense in a story of play

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CLIMAX

Dramatic struggle between two forces in a story

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CONFLICT

D’sDialect Dialogue

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Language used that is different from the formal language of an area or region

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DIALECT

Conversation between people in a literary work

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DIALOGUE

E’sEuphemism Exposition

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The substitution of a mild or less negative word or phrase for a harsh of blunt one

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EUPHEMISM

The part of the story or play that provides background information and introduces the setting and main characters

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EXPOSITION

F’sFable

Flashback

Foil

Foreshadowing

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A brief tale designed to illustrate a moral lesson. Characters are usually animals

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FABLE

An interruption in the sequence of a story to describe an event that took place earlier

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FLASHBACK

A character whose physical or psychological qualities contrast strongly with, therefore highlight, the qualities of another character (usually protagonist)

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FOIL

The technique of giving hints about events that have not yet happened

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FORESHADOWING

Genre – a category of literary work

G’s

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Hyperbole – deliberate exaggeration used to achieve an effect

H’s

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I’sIdiom

Imagery

IronyDramatic IronySituational IronyVerbal Irony

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An expression with a meaning different from the literal meaning of the individual words

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IDIOM

Words and phrases that appeal to the reader’s senses

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IMAGERY

A mode of expression, through words or events, conveying a reality different from and usually opposite to appearance or expectation

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IRONY

The reader of viewer knows something the character does not know

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DRAMATIC IRONY

An event occurs that is unexpected

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SITUATIONAL IRONY

Speech that does not mean what the speaker says or that is unexpected

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VERBAL IRONY

Jargon – language that is used or understood by a select group of people

J’s

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A letter block with K is a true way to keep the doctor away.

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K’s

L’sIve

Augh

Ove

That’s all that Life asks.

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Metaphor

M’sMood

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A comparison is made between two unlike things without the use of words “like” or “as”

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METAPHOR

The feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader

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MOOD

Narrator – the teller of the story

N’s

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Onomatopoeia

O’sOxymoron

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A literary device wherein the sound of a word echoes the sound it represents

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ONOMATOPOEIA

A phrase combining two contradictory terms

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OXYMORON

P’sParody

Personification

Protagonist

Pun

Plot First Person Third Person Omniscient Third Person Limited Second Person

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A work that comically imitates another work

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PARODY

Giving human qualities to abstract ideas, animals, and inanimate objects

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PERSONIFICATION

What happens in a story; the sequence of events

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PLOT

The perspective or vantage point from which a story is told

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POINT OF VIEW

Relates events as they are perceived by a single character

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FIRST PERSON

Outside of any single character’s perception. It is an “all-knowing” point of view

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THIRD PERSON OMNISCIENT

Outside of any single character’s perception but not all-knowing

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THIRD PERSON LIMITED

Relates the events to another character using “you,” so that the story is being told through the addressee’s point of view. Least used in literature

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SECOND PERSON

The main character in a story

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PROTAGONIST

A humorous play on words, often involving double meanings

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PUN

Q’sQUIET

Q’s sleeping

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Resolution – the final outcome of the story

R’s

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S’sSarcasm Satire

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A form of sneering criticism in which disapproval is often expressed as ironic praise

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SARCASM

Ideas, customs, behaviors or institutions are ridicules for the purpose of improving society and may be witty, mildly abrasive or bitterly critical and often uses exaggeration to force readers to see something in a more critical light

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SATIRE

Tone – the attitude of the writer toward his audience/ literary work

T’s

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U’sSee U tomorrow

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V’sVikings here we roar!!!

Not really just kidding!

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W’sWith the 4 beside you…you will always have a double you.

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X’SX’s are cool…especially with colorful xylophones!

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Y’sDon’t you just want to play with it.

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Z’sTime to catch some ZZZZ’s

See ya later, alligator!

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