Literary Terms

Thirty literary terms form the foundation for understanding the dynamics behind the written English language.

Below are thirty terms that are consistently used at WHS through all four years of English classes.

Mr. Zobel requires that students copy the terms and definitions onto 3x5 index cards in Transitional and Freshman English classes.

LITERARY TERMS

Quick Links:

Groups One and Two

Groups Three and Four

Groups Five and Six

Literary Terms and Definitions

GROUP ONE synonym Two or more words with the same, or nearly the same, meaning; expressing or implying the same idea.
antonym Two words with opposite, or nearly opposite, meanings.		in ~ out / up ~ down / friend ~ foe
homophone Two words that sound alike but have different meanings whether spelled the same way or not		to, too, two / great, grate / sight, site
denotation The primary meaning a word or expressino usually elicits; dictionary definition.		apple: n, a firm round fruit with a central core, red or green skin with white flesh.
connotation The secondary meaning of a word or expression; implication		wheels: not the "tires" on an automoble, wagon, truck, etc; but a cultural slang reference to a person's own vehicle.
Return to Top of Page
GROUP TWO character A person or animal in a play, story, or novel.
protagonist The main character in a drama, novel, or story, around whom the action centers.		Tom Sawyer is the main character in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain.
antagonist A person, or thing, who opposes or competes with another; aversary; opponent.
setting The time, place, environment, and surrounding circumstances of an event in a story.		"It was a dark and stormy night..." "A long, long, time ago in a galaxy far, far away." (Star Wars introduction)
scene The specific place in which any event, real or imagined, occurs in a story; locale.		On a raft on the Mississippi river; in a hallway of a star ship.
Return to Top of Page
GROUP THREE plot The arrangement of the incidents, actions, or sequences of events in a story.		The beginning--followed by--the many events that occur in the middle of a story--followed by--the ending/conclusion.
foreshadowing A sign of something to come later in the story; indicate, suggest beforehand, hint, prefigure, or presage.
flashback An interruption in the continuity of a story to present scenes or incidents that took place before the opening scene in order to make somthing in the present more clear.
mood A particulary state of mind or feeling; humor or tember; a predominant or prevailing feeling, spirit, or tone.
point of view The place from which, or way in which a story is told; viewed or considered; standpoint. A mental attitude or opinion.
Return to Top of Page
GROUP FOUR conflict The problem in a story that triggers the action; to be antagonistic, incompatible, or contradictory; be in opposition, clash.		1. self; 2. another person; 3. society; 4. nature; and 5. fate
internal conflict Conflict that arises from within oneself: mental or physical.		#1 above.
external conflict Conflict that comes to someone from outside of oneself whether it be an antagonist or nature.		#'s 2-5 above.
climax The final, culminating event in a series of events; the decisive turning point of the action in a story--usually the most intense event.
symbol Something that stands for, represents, or suggests another thing; especially an object used to represent something abstract; emblem
Return to Top of Page
GROUP FIVE theme The central or dominating idea, the "message," implicit in a work, expressed through recurrent images, actions, characters, and symbols; usually inferred by the reader.		Usually an abstract noun: bravery, forgiveness, love, justice, humility, guilt, revenge, etc.
thesis A consise sentence explaining the main idea of a written work. Title, author, and theme.		Odysseus bravely overcomes multiple obstacles, both natural and supernatural, in his quest to return home to his wife and son in Homer's The Odyssey.
allegory A story in which people, things, and happenings have a hidden or symbolic meaning; allegories are used for teaching or explaining ideas, moral principles, etc.		The Tortis and the Hare teaches perseverance.
analogy A comparison of two or more objects; similarity in some respects between things otherwise unlike; partial resemblance.		Even though a bowling ball, football, burning torch, brick, and dinner plate all have different weights and sizes they were equally caught and tossed at once by an expert juggler.
allusion A passing reference to historical or fictional characters, places, events, or to other works that the writer assumes the reader will recognize.		"My name is Ishmael." -Moby Dick The Korean War vetran walked proudly...parade.
Return to Top of Page
GROUP SIX simile A figure of speech that uses like, as, or as if to compare two essentially different objects, actions, or attributes that share some aspect of similarity.		The Northern Lights glimmered across the midnight sky like a princes's shimmering tiara.
metaphor A figure of speech, an implied analogy in which one things is imaginatively compared to or identified with another thing.
imagery The making of "pictures in words;" the pictorial quality of a literary work achieved through a collection of images; sensory details are used.		It was a dark and stormy night in a mountain forest as three lost, weaping children earnestly sought their way back to their family campsight.
personification A figure of speech in which human characteristics and sensibilities are attributed to animals, plants, inanimate objects, natural forces, or abstract ideas.		Animal cartoon characters: Goofy, Bugs Bunny, etc. The giant oak tree breathed a sigh of relief as children climbed down from its branches.
irony Using a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or normal meaning. The difference between reality (what is) and appearance (what seems to be).		Senator Sam Short, a robust outdoorsman, was slain on his yacht ironically while he wore a life preserver.

Return to Top of Page