Tools and Strategies Writers Use to Establish Their Central Ideas

 A narrative technique in which characters representing things or abstract ideas are used to convey a message or teach a lesson. Allegory is typically used to teach moral, ethical, or religious lessons but is sometimes used for satiric or political purposes

 the repetition of similar initial consonant sounds in order to create a musical or rhythmic effect, to emphasize key words or to imitate sounds.  Example: “He was reluctant to return to the room he called home.”

 a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art, often used to help make a comparison.

 person or force that opposes the protagonist in a literary work

 The antithesis of something is its direct opposite

 unrhymed iambic pentameter

 The method a writer uses to reveal the personality of a character in a literary work: Methods may include (1) by what the character says about himself or herself; (2) by what others reveal about the character; and (3) by the character's own actions  direct characterization – the writer directly states the character’s traits or characteristics.  indirect characterization – the writer allows the reader to draw his/her conclusions as to what a character is like, based on the appearances, words, actions, and interactions with other characters.  dynamic character – a character who changes over the course of a story  Static character – a character who does not undergo a change over the course of a story

the point in the story where the protagonist’s conflict is resolved

 Conflict is the problem or struggle in a story that triggers the action. There are five basic types of conflict:  Person vs. Person: One character in a story has a problem with one or more of the other characters.  Person vs. Society: A character has a problem with some element of society: the school, the law, the accepted way of doing things.  Person vs, Self: A character has a problem deciding what to do in a certain situation.  Person vs. Nature: A character has a problem with nature: heat, cold, a tornado, an avalanche, or any other element of nature.  Person vs Fate (God): A character must battle what seems to be an uncontrollable problem attributed to fate or an act of God.

 The denotation of a word is its dictionary definition. The word “wall,” therefore, denotes an upright structure, which encloses something or serves as a boundary. The connotation of a word is its emotional content. In this sense, the word “wall” can also mean an attitude or actions, which prevent becoming emotionally close to a person.

 the parts of a sentence, paragraph or piece of writing that surround a word or passage and can throw light on its meaning

 two lines of poetry that form a unit. If they rhyme, they are called rhyming couplets.

 A Greek term meaning “the God from the machine.” (1) In Greek drama a god who descends by a crane-like arrangement and solves a problem in the story, thus allowing the play to end. (2) Any unexpected and improbable device (e.g., an unexpected financial windfall) used to solve a problem and thus conclude the work.

 an author’s choice of words

The running over of the sense and structure of a line of text into the next line

in fiction or drama, when a character suddenly experiences a deep realization about him or herself.

 a narrative device, often used at the beginning of a work that provides necessary background information about the characters and their circumstances. Exposition explains what has gone on before, the relationships between characters, and the setting.

a brief story, usually with animal characters, that teaches a lesson or a moral.

also called dénouement, which is literally, "untying" (as of a knot) in French; a plot- related term used in two ways: (1) as a synonym for conclusion or resolution, and (2) as the label for a phase following the conclusion in which any loose ends are tied up.

writing that tells about imaginary characters and events.

 language that is not literal, but instead uses figures of speech such as metaphors, similes, hyperboles, irony, personification, and irony.

a section in a literary piece that interrupts the sequence of events in order to relate an earlier incident or set of events.

a character who parallels another major character and, by sharp contrast, serves to stress and highlight the qualities of main character.

an author’s use of hints or clues to give a reader an idea of what may happen next.

is poetry that does not have a regular meter (rhythm) to its lines

 The use of extreme exaggeration.

words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses and help to create a vivid description for the reader.

something that is suggested without being said directly

a conclusion drawn by the reader based on available information or based on the implication.

A Latin term meaning "in the middle of things." It refers to the technique of beginning a story at its midpoint and then using various flashback devices to reveal previous action.

 differentiated from stream of consciousness in that it should only be applied when the words used to express the thoughts are those that the character is assumed to be using for thinking; it implies the use of language, whereas stream of consciousness doesn’t, necessarily; OR undertakes to present to the reader the course and rhythm of consciousness precisely as it occurs in a character’s mind

a situation where the opposite of what is expected to occur or exist does occur or exist. Irony of situation Verbal irony Dramatic irony

 the act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side

 a short poem meant to express an emotion

 - a figure of speech in which something is described as if it were something else; a comparison made without using “like” or “as.”

is the patterned repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.

 the feeling or atmosphere an author creates for the reader within the piece of writing.

a lesson taught by a literary work.

 a reason that explains or partially explains a character’s thoughts, feelings, actions, or speech.

 writing or speech that tells a story.

poetry that tells a story

the structure of a story, including number and order of events, pace; overall pattern of a story

 the character who “tells the story” in a text. unreliable narrator—narrator whose perception, interpretation, and evaluation of the matters s/he narrates do not coincide with the opinions and norms implied by the author, which the author expects the alert reader to share.

 is the use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning, as in clang, buzz, and twang.

 the close placement of words having opposite or near opposite meanings in order to create a unique description.

is a statement that seems contrary to common sense, yet may, in fact, be true: "The coach considered this a good loss."

a short tale that illustrates a universal truth, a belief that appeals to all people of all civilizations.

 – a type of figurative language in which a non-human subject is given human characteristics

 the sequence or series of events in a literary work.

the perspective from which a story is told. 3rd person: someone outside the story proper who refers to all the characters in the story by name, or as “he”, “she”, “they”. The point of view is said to be limited when we see things only from one character’s perspective; it is said to be omniscient when we get the perspective of multiple characters. 1st person: the narrator speaks as “I” and is to a greater or lesser degree a participant in the story.

is the main character or the hero of the story

a humorous play on words.

 is the repetition of a line or phrase of a poem at regular intervals, especially at the end of each stanza

the repeated use of words or phrases in order to emphasize a point.

the events that occur in the falling action of a story’s plot.

 is the similarity or likeness of sound existing between two words.

 A work that uses ridicule, humor, and wit to criticize and provoke change in human nature and institutions.

 the time and location of the events described in a literary work.

 a comparison between two things, using “like” or “as.”

 A type of monologue performed onstage as part of a play in which characters reveal their inner thoughts and feelings out loud while alone

 –a 14-line verse poem written in iambic pentameter with a specific rhyme scheme. The Italian (Petrarchan) rhyming abbaabba, cdecde.or cdcdcd. The Shakespearean rhyming abab, cdcd, efef, gg.

the imaginary voice assumed by the writer of a poem, the one describing the events in a poem.

 a group of lines in a poem.

 – A narrative technique for rendering the inward experience of a character. This technique is designed to give the impression of an ever-changing series of thoughts, emotions, images, and memories in the spontaneous and seemingly illogical order that they occur in life.

 Suspense in fiction results primarily from two factors: the reader's identification with and concern for the welfare of a convincing and sympathetic character, and an anticipation of violence.

 anything that stands for or represents something else.

a central message, idea, or concern that the author of a literary work is trying to express.

 the attitude of an author toward the subject that he or she is writing about.

 is a literary work in which the hero is destroyed by some character flaw or by forces beyond his or her control.

 In a tragedy, the quality within the hero or heroine that leads to his or her downfall.

 a statement, which lessens or minimizes the importance of what is meant.

is a line of poetry with a regular pattern of syllables that creates a certain rhythm. It is named according to the kind and number of feet composing it: iambic pentameter, for example.