Literary Terms Review

Novel a fictional prose work of substantial length Example(s): Animal Farm- George Orwell, To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee

Short Story a short fictional prose narrative Example(s): “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

Myth an anonymous traditional story that is basically religious in nature, and that usually serves to explain a belief, ritual, or mysterious natural phenomenon Example(s): Hercules from Greek mythology, Thor from Norse mythology

Folktale an anonymous traditional story that was originally passed down orally from generation to generation Example(s): Fairytales like “Little Red Riding Hood”

Poetry a kind of rhythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery designed to appeal to our emotions and imaginations Example(s): “The Road Not Taken”- Robert Frost

Epic a long narrative poem that relates the great deeds of a hero who embodies the values of a culture Example(s): Beowulf, The Odyssey

Elegy a mournful or sad poem, especially a funeral song or lament for the dead Example(s): “Oh Captain! My Captain!”- Walt Whitman

Lyric poetry that focuses on expressing emotions or thoughts, rather than on telling a story. Example(s): “Dying” - Emily Dickinson

Sonnet a fourteen-line lyric poem, usually written in iambic pentameter, that has one of several rhyme schemes Example(s): Shakespearean sonnet (abab cdcd efef gg)

Couplet two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme Example(s): So call the field to rest, and let’s away To part the glories of this happy day. – Octavius in Julius Caesar Jill & Bill

Soliloquy a long speech in which a character who is alone onstage expresses private thoughts or feelings. Example(s): Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” speech in Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Aside Private words that a character in a play speaks to the audience or to another character, which are not supposed to be overheard by others onstage Example(s): In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet when Romeo is listening to Juliet profess her love for him and she is unaware of his presence, he says (aside): “Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?”

Theme main idea or central topic of a work Example(s): One theme evident in The Giving Tree is the importance of selfless generosity.

Tone the attitude the author takes toward the subject or characters Example(s): The tone of The Hunger Games is mostly stoic (unemotional), but it is occasionally emotional.

Mood general atmosphere of a work, feeling the reader gets Example(s): The mood of Poe’s “Annabel Lee” is haunting and melancholic.

Imagery language that evokes one or all of the five senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching. Example(s): The music coursed through us, shaking and vibrating our bodies as if it came from deep within us.

Plot the structure of the story. The sequence in which the author arranges events in a story Example(s): The plot of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet involves two “star- cross’d lovers” whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families.

Foreshadowing the use of hints or clues to hint what will happen later in literature. Example(s): In Star Wars, Obi Wan says to Anakin: “Why do I get the feeling, you will be the death of me?” Later, he is killed by Anakin.

Alliteration the repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words. Example(s): She sold sea shells by the sea shore.

Metaphor comparison of two unlike things not using like or as Example(s): He is a pig. She was the star in my sky. Her eyes are endless, blue pools.

Simile the comparison of two unlike things using like or as Example(s): When Bella touched Edward’s face, she realized that it was as cold as ice.

Personification giving human qualities to animals or objects. Example(s): The raindrops, afraid to fall, clung desperately to the branch.

Hyperbole exaggeration or overstatement. Example(s): I’m so hungry I could eat a horse. He’s as big as a house. “Yo Mama” jokes

Allegory a story that is an extended metaphor and has two meanings: a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning. Example(s): George Orwell's Animal Farm is a historical allegory of the Cold War/Bolshevik Revolution in Soviet Union.

Symbolism a device in literature where an object represents an idea Example(s): The American flag is a symbol of the U.S.A. and patriotism

Irony difference between expectation and reality Example(s): When the audience/reader knows that Juliet isn't really dead, but Romeo doesn't know. So his suicide becomes an example of dramatic irony since he killed himself for nothing over a misunderstanding in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

Test Thursday, 9/11

Iambic Pentameter a line of poetry made up of 5 iambs Example(s): But soft! What light through yon-der win- dow breaks? It is the East and Ju-liet is the sun! A-rise fair sun and kill the en-vious moon, Who is al-rea-dy sick and pale with grief That though her maid art far more fair than she From Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

Blank Verse poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter Example(s): But soft! What light through yon-der win-dow breaks? It is the East and Ju-liet is the sun! A-rise fair sun and kill the en-vious moon, Who is al-rea-dy sick and pale with grief That though her maid art far more fair than she From Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

Parallelism the repetition of words, phrases, or sentences that have the same grammatical structure Example(s): Her favorite activities include skiing, running, reading, and listening to music.