70 Literary Terms HOLT Literature. plot chain of related events that tells us what happens in a...
-
Upload
maximillian-haynes -
Category
Documents
-
view
220 -
download
0
description
Transcript of 70 Literary Terms HOLT Literature. plot chain of related events that tells us what happens in a...
70 Literary Terms
HOLT Literature
plot
plotchain of related events that tells us what happens in a story
conflict
problem faced by a character
conflict
resolved
how the story turns out
resolved
complications
situations that create conflict
complications
climax
when the outcome of the conflictis decided
climax
resolution
the last part of the plot;the end of the story
resolution
subplots
parts that are part of the largerstory but are not as important
subplots
parallelepisodes
the storyteller repeats the main outline of an episode several times
parallelepisodes
proposition
propositionan opinion;usually in the beginning of a persuasivearticle
facts
factsthe results of scientific research and surveys
statistics
statisticsfacts in number form
examples
examplesspecific instances that illustratereasons or facts
anecodotes
brief stories, such as personal experiences
anecodotes
opinion
opiniona belief or an attitude
foreshadowing
clues that hint at what will happen later
foreshadowing
characterization
the way a writer reveals character
characterization
motivation
motivationwhat makes people behave the way they do
motives
motiveswhy characters do the things they do
biography
biographythe story of someone’s life writtenby another person
actions
actionswhat characters say and do
character
characterthe way someone is
biased
biasedone-sided, treatment of a subject
autobiography
the story of a writers own life by the writer
autobiography
setting
settingwhere and when a story takes place
mood
moodatmosphere; the feeling of the story
chronology
chronologytime order; what happens first, next, and last
inference
inferenceeducated guess based on clues the writer gives you and your own experience
conclusion
conclusionfinal thought or judgement about what you have read
valid
validboth true and logical
generalization
a broad statement that can applyto many situations
generalization
theme
themeanswers the question“What does this reveal?”
the general idea or insightabout human existence
main idea
main ideathe message, opinion, or insight that is central to a pieceof non-fiction
refrain
refrainrepeated sounds, words, phrases,lines, or a group of lines
allusion
allusiona reference to features of a culture that people share(literature, religion, history,mythology, sports)
Ex: “I have a dream” speech
narrator
narratorperson telling the story
verbal irony
verbal ironywe say just the opposite of whatwe mean
situationalirony
situationalirony
what happens is different fromwhat we expect
dramatic irony
dramatic irony
we know something a characterdoesn’t know
fallaciousreasoning
fallaciousreasoning
“false thinking”when people draw incorrect or false conclusionsEx: Because the world is flat, you’ll fall off if you sail to the end.
sterotyping
sterotyping
sterotypingbelieving that all members of a group sharea certain characteristic
Ex: All teenagers are angry and rebellious, and they all sleep too late.
fallacy
fallacythe assumption that a problemor situation has only one possiblecause
Ex: If we don’t elect Jane classpresident, girls will have no say in running the school.
analogy
analogya comparison of two things to showhow they are alike; used to explainone concept by showing how it issimilar to another concept
personification
personification
a non-human thing is describedas if it were human or alive anddid something only living thingsdo
metaphor
metaphordirectly compares two very different things
Ex: The moon was a goldenGrapefruit high up in the sky.
simile
similecompares one thing to anotherusing like, as, than, resembles
Ex: The moon looked like a gleaming new penny.
lyrics (poem)
lyrics (poem)
poems that express feelings anddo not tell stories
narrativepoem
narrativepoem
a poem that tells a story
ballad
balladsong or a song like poem that tellsa story usually about lost love orbetrayal or death
tall tale
tall talean exaggerated, far fetched storythat betrayal or death is obviously not true
exaggeration
exaggerationstretching the truth
epic
epiclong narrative poem written in formal or elegant language thattells about a series of eventsundertaken by a great hero
ode
odeoriginated in Ancient Greece;celebrate a particular poem or thing
sonnet
sonnetfourteen line poem
lambic
lambicverse in which the stressis on every other syllable,starting with the unstressedbeat
elegy
elegya poem of mourning
free verse
free versedoes not follow a regular rhyme,scheme, or pattern
alliteration
alliterationrepetition of consonant sounds
Ex: snow falling fast
onomatopoeia
onomatopoeia
the use of words whose soundsecho their meaning
Ex: the chains saw’s buzz
imagery
imagerylanguage that evokes sensationsof light, sound, smell, taste, andtouch
figures of speech
figures of speech
language that is based on comparisons and is not literally true (metaphors, similes, personification)
rhythm
rhythmthe rise and fall of the voice,produced by sounds
speaker
speakerthe person who tells the storyor talks to you in the poem
unity
unityall the story’s details support themain idea or topic
logic
logiccorrect reasoning
idiom
idiommeans something different fromthe literal meaning of each word
Ex: “Hold your tongue” meansdon’t speak in English
epilogue
epiloguea brief closing section to a pieceof literature
consumer
consumersomeone who buys somethingor uses what someone else buys
warranty
warrantyspells out exactly what happensif the product doesn’t work properly and what you are required to do to receive service
contract
contractspells out exactly what serviceswill and will not be provided
productinformation
tells what the product will do
productinformation