Transcript 9 IB Prep Literary Terms - Saint Paul Public Schools

9 IB Prep Literary Terms
Put these terms into your
notebook. There will be a test
on them on Tuesday the 15th.
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Allusion
A brief and sometimes indirect reference to
a person, place, event, or work of art that
is familiar to most educated people.
ex. “He was a mild, good-natured, sweet-tempered,
easy-going, foolish, dear fellow – a sort of Hercules in
strength, and also in weakness.”
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Character
A fictional personality created by an author
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Characterization
The means by which an author shows what
a character is like; the representation of a
character or characters in writing,
especially by imitating or describing
actions, gestures, qualities, peculiarities,
or speeches.
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Character Sketch
A type of biography (usually short) which
presents aspects of a person’s character and
personality; may be real or fictional
(When you write a character sketch, you are trying to introduce the
reader to someone. You want the reader to have a strong mental
image of the person, to know how the person talks, to know the
person's characteristic ways of doing things, to know something
about the person's value system. Character sketches only give snap
shots of people; therefore, you should not try to write a history of the
person.) http://www.engl.niu.edu/wac/char_sk.html
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Character Trait
A quality that a character possesses, such
as selfishness, understanding, etc.
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Chronological Order
The relation or narration of events in the
order they occurred in time
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Conflict
Struggle between opposing forces; a
central element in most plots
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Critic
A judge of defects and merits in literature
or in other arts; one who analyzes the
various elements of a literary work
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Dialogue
Conversation between two or more
characters
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Diction
An author’s choice of words; as such,
diction is part of a writer’s style
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Empathy
Entering into the feelings and motives of
the characters
Sympathy vs. Empathy
Sympathy:I am sorry for your loss. What can I do to help you during this difficult time?
Empathy: I feel and understand your pain; my grandmother passed away last year as well.
Sympathy: A doctor may feel sympathy and understands a patient's illness and try to alleviate the
pain, but she may not feel his/her distress and pain.
Empathy: A cancer support group can empathize with the radiation therapy of a member and
understand his/her fear because they have experienced the procedure as well.
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Fiction
Prose writing with imaginary characters,
events, or settings
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Figurative Language
Language and expressions which are not
meant to be taken literally, but to some
extent must be understood imaginatively
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Flashback
A sudden shifting backward in time
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Foreshadowing
Implication by the author of events to
come later in a narrative
Ex. I fear, too early: for my mind misgives
Some consequence yet hanging in the stars
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date
With this night's revels and expire the term
Of a despised life closed in my breast
By some vile forfeit of untimely death.
But He, that hath the steerage of my course,
Direct my sail! On, lusty gentlemen.
(1.4. 104-111)
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Genre
Kind, sort, or species; a short story is one
genre of literature
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Image
Any sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste the
author’s words suggest to the imagination;
a sensory perception created through
words
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Imagery
The imagery of a literary work is made up
of all the images contained in it; the array
of images in a literary work
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Irony
Verbal irony: expression in which the ordinary
meaning of words is the opposite of the thought
in the speaker’s mind
Ex. For example, in Julius Caesar, Mark Antony repeats the words
"and Brutus is an honorable man“ in the famous “Friends, Romans,
countrymen” speech. Mark Antony’s meaning, however, is that
Brutus is completely dishonorable because Brutus, Caesar’s best
friend, joined the other conspirators and plunged a knife into
Caesar’s chest.
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Irony (cont.)
Irony of Situation: an event contrary to
what would naturally be expected;
Situational irony defies logical cause/effect
relationships and justifiable expectations.
Ex. If a greedy millionaire were to buy a lottery ticket and win additional
millions, the irony would be situational because such a circumstance cannot
be explained logically. Such a circumstance seems “unfair.” This sense of
being “unfair” or “unfortunate” is a trademark of situational irony. Because
people cannot explain the unfairness, it causes them to question whether or
not the world makes sense.
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Literal Language
Language in which the words are meant to
be taken at face value
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Monologue
A work presented entirely through the
speech of one person
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Mood
The state of mind which a literary work
arouses in the reader
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Moral
The lesson of the story; what the story
teaches, if anything
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Motivation
That which makes a character act (may be
a need, emotion, desire, etc.); to be
believable, a character should have
adequate motivation
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Narrative
Any writing which contains a series of
events
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Narrator
The person who tells the story
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Overstatement
The use of exaggeration
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Plot
The pattern of events in a play, story, or
poem
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Plot Steps
Incidents, in order, which form the plot
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Poetic Justice
The proper distribution of rewards and
punishments; when a character gets what
the read thinks he deserves
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Point of View
Refers to the author’s choice of narrator
for his story; the person through whose
eyes the reader sees a story
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Prose
The ordinary form of spoken or written
language; language not arranged in
verses
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Satire
The use of sarcasm or irony to ridicule an idea,
custom, habit, etc.; writing that seeks to arouse
a reader’s disapproval of an object by ridicule
Pop Culture Examples
Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update
The Daily Show
The Colbert Report
Political cartoons
The Onion
Comment or criticism being made: Identification of human flaws and vices related to
politics, entertainment, and current events.
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Setting
The place and time in which the events of a
narrative take place
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Short Story
A short work of narrative prose fiction that
is meant to be read in one sitting
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Style
The distinctive use of language by an author
Many elements contribute to style…
diction, syntax, figurative language,
imagery, selection of detail, sound effects,
tone, etc.
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Symbol
A person, place, event, or object which
has a meaning in itself, but suggests other
meanings as well; something that is
simultaneously itself and a sign of
something else.
For example, winter, darkness, and cold are real things, but in literature they
are also likely to be used as symbols of death.
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Symbolism
The use of symbols in literature
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Theme
The main idea of a literary work; a subject
which recurs in the same work
For example, in Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck explores the ideas of The
American Dream, Loneliness, and The Common Man.
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Tone
The author’s attitude toward his material; tone in
literature corresponds to the tone of voice a
speaker uses. Tone is described by adjectives,
and the possibilities are nearly endless…loving,
ironic, bitter, pitying, fanciful, solemn, etc.
When Robert Frost explained his theory of the sound of sense, he
said tone is what comes through a closed door when people are
speaking out of earshot. We cannot understand the exact words, but
the tones of voice tell us what is going on. You can tell if the voice is
pleading, demanding or doubtful.
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