Literary Terms

Autobiography An autobiography is an account of a person’s life written by that person and usually told from the first person point of view. “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou is an autobiography, as is “Black Boy” by Richard Wright. An autobiography is usually book length because it covers a long span of time. Other forms of autobiographical writing include personal narratives, journals, memoirs, diaries and letters.

Biography Biography is a true account of a person’s life told by someone else. Some biographical writings select a specific time or event in a subject’s life to highlight a certain personality trait. These shorter pieces may be in the form of character sketches. Maya Angelou’s “Encounter with Martin Luther King Jr.” is an example of a character sketch

Comedy A comedy is a dramatic work that is light and often humorous in tone, usually ending happily with a peaceful resolution of the main conflict. A comedy differs from the farce by having a more believable plot, more realistic character and less behavior.

Dialect Dialect is a form of language as it is spoken in a particular geographical area or by a particular social or ethnic group. A group’s dialect is reflected in its pronunciations, vocabulary, expressions, and grammatical constructions.