English Exam Literary Terms

Alliteration: use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of
verse; "around the rock the ragged rascal ran"
Allusion: A reference to an historical or literary person, place, or event with which the reader is
assumed to be familiar.
Anecdote: short accounts of an interesting or humorous incident used to add interest or examples
to writing
Characterization:
• Direct: The author literally tells the audience what a character is like. This may be done
via the narrator, another character or by the character him or herself.
• Indirect: The audience must deduce for themselves what the character is like through the
character’s thoughts, actions, speech, looks and interaction with other characters
including other characters’ reactions.
• Protagonist: The central character of the story; not always the good guy.
• Antagonist: A person or a force that opposes the Protagonist.
• Dynamic: major characters who undergo a change or development; usually but not
necessarily the protagonist.
• Round: Dynamic characters are almost always round. They recognize, change with, or
adjust to circumstances. They have many qualities or attributes.
• Static: Minor characters who are not well developed.
• Flat: Dynamic characters are almost always flat and unchanging.
Conflict:
• External
• Internal
• Man vs. man
• Man vs. self
• Man vs. nature
• Man vs. society
Dialect: Form of a language particular to a specific group.
Diction: The pronunciation of words, the choice of words, and the manner in which a person
expresses himself or herself.
Epiphany: A comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization.
Figurative Language: describes something by comparing it with another thing.
Flashback: action that interrupts to show an event that happened at an earlier time which is
necessary to better understanding.
FOIL: a character that contrasts second character that highlights certain qualities of that first
character.
Foreshadowing: is the use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in literature.
Hyperbole: is exaggeration or overstatement.
Imagery:
• Visual: see
• Tactile: touch
• Gustatory: taste
• Auditory: hear
• Olfactory: smell
Irony:
• Verbal: One thing is said, but the opposite is meant (usually the narrator says one thing
but means something else) – ex. On a hot day your teacher says “Chilly enough for you?”
• Situational: The chasm between what we hope for or expect to happen and what actually
happens (this has more to do with plot than with anything a character might say) – ex. A
man dressed in the costume of a jester ends up being murdered.
• Dramatic: When the reader sees a situation clearly but the character does not; instead he
does/says things indicating his ignorance.
• Cosmic: When a protagonists expectations are unexpectedly destroyed by a bad fortune
or uncaring gods.
Juxtaposition: an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, esp. for comparison or
contrast.
Local Color: the use in a literary work of characters and details unique to a particular
geographic area. Local color can be created by the use of dialect and by descriptions of customs,
clothing, manners, attitudes, scenery, and landscape.
Metaphor: the comparison of two UNLIKE things without using “like” or “as”
Mood: the emotional attitude the author takes towards the subject.
Motif: A recurring element, such as an image, theme, or type of incident.
Onomatopoeia: a word that imitates the sound it represents.
Personification: giving human qualities to animals or objects.
Point of view:
• 3rd person omniscient: the speaker is not part of the story, but is able to "know" and
describe what all characters are thinking.
• 3rd person limited: the speaker is not part of the story, but tells about the other characters
but limits information about what one character sees and feels.
• 1st person observer:
• 1st person protagonist:
Plot:
 • Exposition: The start of the story, the situation before the action begins. Usually
includes the introduction of the characters, setting, and character motifs.
• Rising Action: Series of conflicts and crisis that lead up to the climax.
• Climax: Turning point in a story, the most intense moment mentally or in action.
• Denouement (falling action): All the action that follows the climax.
• Resolution: The conclusion of the story how conflicts are resolved.
Pun: a play on words.
Setting: is determining Time and Place in fiction.
Simile: Direct comparison of two things ___ is ___.
Style: The way in which an author writes.
Suspense: a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions.
Symbol: using an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning.
Thematic Concept: Relating to a theme, but doesn’t have the full importance.
Theme: is the general idea or insight about life that a writer wishes to express.
Tone: the attitude a writer takes towards a subject or character.
Understatement: This device is used to understate the obvious. On a day of extreme weather,
like it is really hot, one might say, "Is it warm enough for you?" Being Sarcastic.