Literary Terms and Definitions.
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LITERARY DEVICES
What are Literary Devices? From the very first time humans began sharing stories, literary devices have played a key role in our history. Along with the creation of storytelling came the development of narrative elements like plot, character, and tone. As storytelling evolved over the millennia, so too did the range and complexity of techniques available to authors. Many of the elements that authors use are so fundamental that they are not necessarily conscious choices, such as theme or tone (though these two examples, of course, could be consciously constructed by the author).
Other techniques, however, are more intentional, such as foreshadowing and red herrings. We will explore the difference between literary elements and literary techniques, and look at examples and definitions of several popular literary terms. We’ll also look at how these literary devices function in two popular works, Shakespeare’s Hamlet and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Literary Elements vs. Literary Techniques
Literary elements are the universal constituents of literature and thus can be found in any written or oral story. Plot and character, for example, are necessary to story and are present in stories from every culture and time period. Literary techniques, however, are not universal or necessary in the sense that not all works contain instances of them. Simile and irony are examples of literary techniques. While many poems contain similes, not all do. Simile, therefore, is a literary technique instead of a literary element.
absurd – (see Existentialism)
allegory – a story of some complexity that corresponds to another situation on a deeper level; characters, plot events, setting all correspond to that other situation (e.g. Animal Farm & Russian Revolution); often used for satire or teaching moral lesson
alliteration (see Sound Devices)
allusion – a reference to a person, event, place or work outside the literary text; can be art, movie, history, etc.; often Bible or classical mythology in English lit.
anachronism -
antagonist – character who opposes the protagonist, thus causing conflict
analogy
anecdote
anticlimax – (adj. anticlimactic) the lesser, the trivial, or the ludicrous occurs at the pont where the reader expects something greater and more serious
antihero – protagonist of a modern work (the antihero does not appear until modern lit.) who has converse of most of the traditional aspects of the hero; the antihero is graceless, inept, sometimes cowardly, stupid or dishonest.
antithesis (see Analyzing Syntax h/out)
aphorism -
apostrophe – an address by the speaker to an absent, dead or inanimate audience
archetype - (see h/out)
aside (see Basic Drama Terminology h/out)
assonance (see Sound Devices)
atmosphere – feeling given off by place, setting or surroundings
audience
bathos – effect resulting from a strenuous but unsuccessful effort to achieve dignity or pathos; unintentional anticlimax, dropping from the sublime to the ridiculous (e.g. a film is supposed to make you weep but only succeeds in making you laugh)
bildungsroman/coming of age novel – a novel that follows a character over a period of time in which the character matures/loses innocence/gains experience
blank verse – unrhymed iambic pentameter; often used by Shakespeare in his plays
cacophony (see Sound Devices)
caesura – (see Sound Devices)
caricature – exaggerated representation of a character, often by overemphasizing small number of features; often used for comic or satiric purposes
catharsis (see Tragedy h/out + Ms. Wiley’s art)
character (dynamic, flat, foil, rounded, static) – dynamic chars change by the time the plot reaches resolution; static chars do not. Rounded characters are seen by the aud. from many aspects; flat chars are seen only from one aspect. A foil is a secondary char who contrasts the main char & therefore makes the main char’s personality more obvious.
characterization techniques – described as direct or indirect -- direct: author tells reader what to think about char; indirect: aud. must infer through what char. does, says, what others say/think about him; description
chiasmus - (see Analyzing Syntax h/out)
chorus (see Basic Drama Techniques h/out)
climax – highest point of plot after which all conflicts come to resolution & no new conflicts can begin
colloquial – expressions used in informal conversation but not accepted as good usage in formal speeches or texts; not as informal or “street” as slang
comedy (see Comedy h/out)
conceit - a paradoxical metaphor causing a shock to the reader by the strangeness of the objects compared. Often draws on specialized areas of experience to describe love, e.g. law, medicine, philosophy, religion. Some examples of surprising comparisons in metaphysical conceits: lovers and a compass (in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”, John Donne), and the soul and timber (in “Virtue”, George Herbert)
conflict – described as internal or external; a struggle between two forces: human vs. human; ind. vs. society; human vs. nature; human vs. self
connotation – the associated, suggested meanings of a word (opp. denotation)
consonance – (see Sound Devices)
convention – the time-honoured, traditional and expected way of carrying out some aspect of literature or drama
couplet – rhyming pair of lines in the same meter; often used by Shak. to conclude scenes or to conclude sonnets
denotation – the literal, dictionary definition of a word (opp. connotation)
denouement (falling action) – final unravelling of the plot; explanation or outcome
deus ex machina – Latin for “god out of the machine”. In ancient Greek plays, complex plot problems would be resolved when a machine was lowered from above containing an actor playing a god, who would use supernatural power to resolve the problem. Today, used to describe a plot device wherein some unexpected force suddenly appears to resolve a seemingly irresolvable problem
dialogue – there are 4 ways of representing thought & speech.
· Direct speech – exact words of a character are given within quotation marks (“I want to come with you, my darling!” she cried.)
· Indirect speech – speaker reports what a character has said (e.g. She said that she wanted to come.)
· stream of consciousness – the unstructured record of a character’s mental processes, especially when alone; stylistically unmediated by the author, therefore usually set down in sentence fragments in random order; the first person “I” is not used.
· Interior monologue – character is thinking to self in words, conscious of what he/she is thinking
dramatic monologue – a poem in which the speaker addresses a silent but recognizable/definable audience at a dramatic moment; the speaker will inadvertently reveal something about himself
dysphemism/euphemism – dysphemism makes something neutral sound more unpleasant/offensive (e.g. “Pass me the grease” instead of “Pass me the margarine”); euphemism makes something neutral/awkward sound more pleasant/inoffensive (e.g. “He passed away” instead of “He died”; please see Monty Python’s Dead Parrot sketch on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6Lq771TVm4&feature=related)
elegy – mournful lament for times past or for the dead (adj. elegiac)
end-stopped line - an end-stopped line of poetry is a unit of meaning that comes to its end as the line comes to an end; it makes the idea stand out & can provide a pause for reflection (opp. enjambement)
enjambement – the unit of meaning in poetry continues onto the following line (sometimes called “run-on line”), sometimes even continuing for several lines; this can build emotion, build suspense, or create dramatic effect by building to a caesura (opp. end-stopped)
epic – a lengthy narrative in elevated style presenting a hero in a series of adventures during a long, difficult quest that is important to a nation or race. The hero is a figure of stature who exemplifies the best qualities of his people; the setting is vast in scope, sometimes even cosmic; action consists of deeds requiring superhuman courage/strength; supernatural forces interest themselves in the action and intervene from time to time. e.g. Iliad, Odyssey, Beowulf, Gilgamesh.
epigram – concise, pointed, witty statement (adj. epigrammatic) (e.g. “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” – Oscar Wilde)
euphony (see Sound Devices)
falling action – see denouement
fantasy – a genre of fiction that answers the question “what if?”
figurative language – any use of language that is not to be taken literally but rather metaphorically/figuratively
figure of speech – any specific device (simile, metaphor, personification) which depends upon the reader understanding it on a metaphorical/figurative level
foreshadowing – a hint to the audience about upcoming plot events
free verse – poetry that follows neither regular rhyme nor regular rhythm patterns
genre – type or category; determined by content (horror, comedy, tragedy) or by structure and form (essay, novel, play, memoir)
haiku – a Japanese form of poetry; always has 3 lines, with 5 syllables in first line; 7 syllables in second line; 5 syllables in third line; often highly imagistic
hyperbole – exaggeration for effect (opp. understatement & litotes)
iambic pentameter – the meter closest to natural human speech; lines of 10 syllables divided into 5 unstressed/stressed feet called iambs (“today” is an iamb)
image/imagery – one image consists of language that is intended to trigger any of the 5 senses; imagery is a pattern of images connected through either the sense they appeal to or the subject matter of the images (e.g. sound imagery or nature imagery)
irony (situational, verbal, dramatic, tragic) (see Irony h/out)
juxtaposition (n), juxtapose (v) – to place two strikingly different details, events, characters next to each other; often used for dramatic, shocking or comic effect
light verse – tone is light-hearted & bantering; subject matter can be serious; style is easy & graceful, frequently colloquial & simple; poems tend to be charming & sometimes mordantly witty; frequently some serious or satiric intent
limerick – 5-line poem, often with bawdy or comic content; tends to have 9 syllables in l. 1, 9 syllables in l. 2, 6 syllables in l. 3, 6 syllables in l. 4, 9 syllables in l. 5 (this may vary slightly); always follows aabba rhyme scheme (e.g. There once was a man from Nantucket/Who kept all his cash in a bucket./But his daughter, named Nan,/Ran away with a man/And as for the bucket, Nantucket.)
litotes – a form of understatement which states the opposite of a negative (e.g. “The damage to the car was not insignificant.”)
lyric poetry – a type of poetry that is personal, subjective, often deeply emotional (so all love poetry is lyric); also known for its musicality (obvious through rhyme, rhythm & other sound devices).
melodrama (see Basic Drama Techniques h/out)
metaphor – a comparison of two dissimilar objects that share a common characteristic
metonymy – using an object closely associated with a larger whole to represent that whole (e.g. “the Crown rests its case” – Crown = Crown attorney, who works for gov’t in parliamentary democracy where the official head of state is still the Queen, as in UK, Canada, Australia)
mood – feeling about situation that characters are in, felt by audience and/or characters
motif – recurrent element (images, ideas) in a work. These ideas are not as significant as themes but have a cumulative effect and can assume symbolic importance.
motivation – the reason or force that drives a character to act
narrator – readers know they can trust a reliable narrator to be truthful; an unreliable narrator deliberately withholds information, fails to make connections between events in plot, or misinterprets motives/actions of characters, sometimes to manipulate, sometimes for comic effect
onomatopeia – (see Sound Devices)
oxymoron – a two-word expression that seems contradictory but which, upon deeper examination, contains truth (e.g. “jumbo shrimp”) See “Top 20 Oxymorons.”
paradox - a statement or situation that seems contradictory but which, upon deeper examination, contains truth (e.g. “Youth is wasted on the young.”)
parallelism (see Analyzing Syntax h/out)
parody – (see Satire h/out)
pathetic fallacy – setting or environment mirrors the internal emotional state of the characters (e.g. person is sad & tearful; it rains)
pathos – feeling of pity, tenderness and sorrow aroused in reader
personification – a figure of speech that gives human characteristics to a non-human entity
plot – events of a narrative, in the order the author has chosen to present them; chronology may be distorted for effect. See story.
point of view (1st, 2nd, 3rd person; omniscient; limited omniscient) – the lens through which the audience sees the action
protagonist – main character in a work
prose – ordinary form of writing, as opposed to poetry; unit is the sentence
pun – play on words based on the similarity of sound between two words with different meanings (“Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.”)
quatrain – 4-line stanza in poetry; may or may not rhyme
refrain – repetition of a phrase (in prose) or lines of poetry
rhetoric – the art of using language to persuade and convince
rhythm (see Sound Devices)
rhyme (see Sound Devices)
rising action – the part of a dramatic plot which has to do with the complication of the action; begins with exciting/precipitating force and continues until the climax
roman à clef – French for “locked novel” – the key (clef) needed to open the novel is a knowledge of history; it is a novel in which the author has used real life/history in slightly disguised but still recognizable form for characters, plot and/or setting
sarcasm - (see Satire h/out); not quite the same as verbal irony
satire - (see Satire h/out)
scansion – the process of measuring the rhythm of a poem by counting the stressed/unstressed syllables to ascertain foot and meter
setting – the time and place of the action of the plot
simile – a comparison between two dissimilar objects that share a common characteristic, using “like” or “as”
soliloquy (see Basic Drama Techniques h/out)
sonnet (English/Shakespearean, Italian/Petrarchan) (see Sonnet note)
stanza – a unified grouping of lines of poetry within a poem; usually dictated by rhyme or meter; akin to a paragraph in prose
story – events of a narrative in the chronological order in which they actually happened (see plot).
stream of consciousness - writing in which a character's perceptions, thoughts, and memories are presented in an apparently random form, without regard for logical sequence, chronology, or syntax. Often such writing makes no distinction between various levels of reality--such as dreams, memories, imaginative thoughts or real sensory perception.
style – tricky to define: has to do with the distinctive traits in an author’s work, such as theme, diction, syntax, imagery, sound
subtext – ideas, feeling, thoughts not dealt with directly in the text but exiting underneath; character don’t always express their real thoughts, so readers must consider subtext.
suspense – the anticipation of an audience regarding the outcome of plot events; either we know what will happen but not who, when, where; or we know something will happen but not any of the details
suspension of disbelief – the agreement entered into by an audience when they agree to put aside questioning so they can believe in the world created by the film/play/story
symbol – a person, place or object that represents an abstract concept in addition to its literal meaning
synecdoche – the use of a part of a whole to represent the entire whole, e.g. “all hands on deck” – hands = sailors
synesthesia – an image that combines two or more senses, e.g. “cool blue” combines sight and touch
syntax (see Analyzing Syntax h/out)
theme – a work’s universal message about the human condition; a thematic idea is conceptual (e.g. “the horror of war”) but a theme statement carries a value message (e.g. “The horror of war is never fully comprehended by those who are willing to send soldiers into it.”)
thesis – a statement of opinion/argument about a topic that the author will support throughout a non-fiction persuasive text
tone – author’s/speaker’s attitude towards subject matter/audience; always clarify which you are discussing (see Tone Words h/out)
topic – subject matter of a work
tragedy - essentially, a genre where the hero undergoes a reversal of fortune brought about by his own tragic flaw, leading to an unhappy ending (see Tragedy h/out)
understatement – (opp. hyperbole)
verse – a line or lines of poetry
voice/register (see Write Traits h/out + A Quick Look at Voice h/out)
allegory – a story of some complexity that corresponds to another situation on a deeper level; characters, plot events, setting all correspond to that other situation (e.g. Animal Farm & Russian Revolution); often used for satire or teaching moral lesson
alliteration (see Sound Devices)
allusion – a reference to a person, event, place or work outside the literary text; can be art, movie, history, etc.; often Bible or classical mythology in English lit.
anachronism -
antagonist – character who opposes the protagonist, thus causing conflict
analogy
anecdote
anticlimax – (adj. anticlimactic) the lesser, the trivial, or the ludicrous occurs at the pont where the reader expects something greater and more serious
antihero – protagonist of a modern work (the antihero does not appear until modern lit.) who has converse of most of the traditional aspects of the hero; the antihero is graceless, inept, sometimes cowardly, stupid or dishonest.
antithesis (see Analyzing Syntax h/out)
aphorism -
apostrophe – an address by the speaker to an absent, dead or inanimate audience
archetype - (see h/out)
aside (see Basic Drama Terminology h/out)
assonance (see Sound Devices)
atmosphere – feeling given off by place, setting or surroundings
audience
bathos – effect resulting from a strenuous but unsuccessful effort to achieve dignity or pathos; unintentional anticlimax, dropping from the sublime to the ridiculous (e.g. a film is supposed to make you weep but only succeeds in making you laugh)
bildungsroman/coming of age novel – a novel that follows a character over a period of time in which the character matures/loses innocence/gains experience
blank verse – unrhymed iambic pentameter; often used by Shakespeare in his plays
cacophony (see Sound Devices)
caesura – (see Sound Devices)
caricature – exaggerated representation of a character, often by overemphasizing small number of features; often used for comic or satiric purposes
catharsis (see Tragedy h/out + Ms. Wiley’s art)
character (dynamic, flat, foil, rounded, static) – dynamic chars change by the time the plot reaches resolution; static chars do not. Rounded characters are seen by the aud. from many aspects; flat chars are seen only from one aspect. A foil is a secondary char who contrasts the main char & therefore makes the main char’s personality more obvious.
characterization techniques – described as direct or indirect -- direct: author tells reader what to think about char; indirect: aud. must infer through what char. does, says, what others say/think about him; description
chiasmus - (see Analyzing Syntax h/out)
chorus (see Basic Drama Techniques h/out)
climax – highest point of plot after which all conflicts come to resolution & no new conflicts can begin
colloquial – expressions used in informal conversation but not accepted as good usage in formal speeches or texts; not as informal or “street” as slang
comedy (see Comedy h/out)
conceit - a paradoxical metaphor causing a shock to the reader by the strangeness of the objects compared. Often draws on specialized areas of experience to describe love, e.g. law, medicine, philosophy, religion. Some examples of surprising comparisons in metaphysical conceits: lovers and a compass (in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”, John Donne), and the soul and timber (in “Virtue”, George Herbert)
conflict – described as internal or external; a struggle between two forces: human vs. human; ind. vs. society; human vs. nature; human vs. self
connotation – the associated, suggested meanings of a word (opp. denotation)
consonance – (see Sound Devices)
convention – the time-honoured, traditional and expected way of carrying out some aspect of literature or drama
couplet – rhyming pair of lines in the same meter; often used by Shak. to conclude scenes or to conclude sonnets
denotation – the literal, dictionary definition of a word (opp. connotation)
denouement (falling action) – final unravelling of the plot; explanation or outcome
deus ex machina – Latin for “god out of the machine”. In ancient Greek plays, complex plot problems would be resolved when a machine was lowered from above containing an actor playing a god, who would use supernatural power to resolve the problem. Today, used to describe a plot device wherein some unexpected force suddenly appears to resolve a seemingly irresolvable problem
dialogue – there are 4 ways of representing thought & speech.
· Direct speech – exact words of a character are given within quotation marks (“I want to come with you, my darling!” she cried.)
· Indirect speech – speaker reports what a character has said (e.g. She said that she wanted to come.)
· stream of consciousness – the unstructured record of a character’s mental processes, especially when alone; stylistically unmediated by the author, therefore usually set down in sentence fragments in random order; the first person “I” is not used.
· Interior monologue – character is thinking to self in words, conscious of what he/she is thinking
dramatic monologue – a poem in which the speaker addresses a silent but recognizable/definable audience at a dramatic moment; the speaker will inadvertently reveal something about himself
dysphemism/euphemism – dysphemism makes something neutral sound more unpleasant/offensive (e.g. “Pass me the grease” instead of “Pass me the margarine”); euphemism makes something neutral/awkward sound more pleasant/inoffensive (e.g. “He passed away” instead of “He died”; please see Monty Python’s Dead Parrot sketch on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6Lq771TVm4&feature=related)
elegy – mournful lament for times past or for the dead (adj. elegiac)
end-stopped line - an end-stopped line of poetry is a unit of meaning that comes to its end as the line comes to an end; it makes the idea stand out & can provide a pause for reflection (opp. enjambement)
enjambement – the unit of meaning in poetry continues onto the following line (sometimes called “run-on line”), sometimes even continuing for several lines; this can build emotion, build suspense, or create dramatic effect by building to a caesura (opp. end-stopped)
epic – a lengthy narrative in elevated style presenting a hero in a series of adventures during a long, difficult quest that is important to a nation or race. The hero is a figure of stature who exemplifies the best qualities of his people; the setting is vast in scope, sometimes even cosmic; action consists of deeds requiring superhuman courage/strength; supernatural forces interest themselves in the action and intervene from time to time. e.g. Iliad, Odyssey, Beowulf, Gilgamesh.
epigram – concise, pointed, witty statement (adj. epigrammatic) (e.g. “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” – Oscar Wilde)
euphony (see Sound Devices)
falling action – see denouement
fantasy – a genre of fiction that answers the question “what if?”
figurative language – any use of language that is not to be taken literally but rather metaphorically/figuratively
figure of speech – any specific device (simile, metaphor, personification) which depends upon the reader understanding it on a metaphorical/figurative level
foreshadowing – a hint to the audience about upcoming plot events
free verse – poetry that follows neither regular rhyme nor regular rhythm patterns
genre – type or category; determined by content (horror, comedy, tragedy) or by structure and form (essay, novel, play, memoir)
haiku – a Japanese form of poetry; always has 3 lines, with 5 syllables in first line; 7 syllables in second line; 5 syllables in third line; often highly imagistic
hyperbole – exaggeration for effect (opp. understatement & litotes)
iambic pentameter – the meter closest to natural human speech; lines of 10 syllables divided into 5 unstressed/stressed feet called iambs (“today” is an iamb)
image/imagery – one image consists of language that is intended to trigger any of the 5 senses; imagery is a pattern of images connected through either the sense they appeal to or the subject matter of the images (e.g. sound imagery or nature imagery)
irony (situational, verbal, dramatic, tragic) (see Irony h/out)
juxtaposition (n), juxtapose (v) – to place two strikingly different details, events, characters next to each other; often used for dramatic, shocking or comic effect
light verse – tone is light-hearted & bantering; subject matter can be serious; style is easy & graceful, frequently colloquial & simple; poems tend to be charming & sometimes mordantly witty; frequently some serious or satiric intent
limerick – 5-line poem, often with bawdy or comic content; tends to have 9 syllables in l. 1, 9 syllables in l. 2, 6 syllables in l. 3, 6 syllables in l. 4, 9 syllables in l. 5 (this may vary slightly); always follows aabba rhyme scheme (e.g. There once was a man from Nantucket/Who kept all his cash in a bucket./But his daughter, named Nan,/Ran away with a man/And as for the bucket, Nantucket.)
litotes – a form of understatement which states the opposite of a negative (e.g. “The damage to the car was not insignificant.”)
lyric poetry – a type of poetry that is personal, subjective, often deeply emotional (so all love poetry is lyric); also known for its musicality (obvious through rhyme, rhythm & other sound devices).
melodrama (see Basic Drama Techniques h/out)
metaphor – a comparison of two dissimilar objects that share a common characteristic
metonymy – using an object closely associated with a larger whole to represent that whole (e.g. “the Crown rests its case” – Crown = Crown attorney, who works for gov’t in parliamentary democracy where the official head of state is still the Queen, as in UK, Canada, Australia)
mood – feeling about situation that characters are in, felt by audience and/or characters
motif – recurrent element (images, ideas) in a work. These ideas are not as significant as themes but have a cumulative effect and can assume symbolic importance.
motivation – the reason or force that drives a character to act
narrator – readers know they can trust a reliable narrator to be truthful; an unreliable narrator deliberately withholds information, fails to make connections between events in plot, or misinterprets motives/actions of characters, sometimes to manipulate, sometimes for comic effect
onomatopeia – (see Sound Devices)
oxymoron – a two-word expression that seems contradictory but which, upon deeper examination, contains truth (e.g. “jumbo shrimp”) See “Top 20 Oxymorons.”
paradox - a statement or situation that seems contradictory but which, upon deeper examination, contains truth (e.g. “Youth is wasted on the young.”)
parallelism (see Analyzing Syntax h/out)
parody – (see Satire h/out)
pathetic fallacy – setting or environment mirrors the internal emotional state of the characters (e.g. person is sad & tearful; it rains)
pathos – feeling of pity, tenderness and sorrow aroused in reader
personification – a figure of speech that gives human characteristics to a non-human entity
plot – events of a narrative, in the order the author has chosen to present them; chronology may be distorted for effect. See story.
point of view (1st, 2nd, 3rd person; omniscient; limited omniscient) – the lens through which the audience sees the action
protagonist – main character in a work
prose – ordinary form of writing, as opposed to poetry; unit is the sentence
pun – play on words based on the similarity of sound between two words with different meanings (“Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.”)
quatrain – 4-line stanza in poetry; may or may not rhyme
refrain – repetition of a phrase (in prose) or lines of poetry
rhetoric – the art of using language to persuade and convince
rhythm (see Sound Devices)
rhyme (see Sound Devices)
rising action – the part of a dramatic plot which has to do with the complication of the action; begins with exciting/precipitating force and continues until the climax
roman à clef – French for “locked novel” – the key (clef) needed to open the novel is a knowledge of history; it is a novel in which the author has used real life/history in slightly disguised but still recognizable form for characters, plot and/or setting
sarcasm - (see Satire h/out); not quite the same as verbal irony
satire - (see Satire h/out)
scansion – the process of measuring the rhythm of a poem by counting the stressed/unstressed syllables to ascertain foot and meter
setting – the time and place of the action of the plot
simile – a comparison between two dissimilar objects that share a common characteristic, using “like” or “as”
soliloquy (see Basic Drama Techniques h/out)
sonnet (English/Shakespearean, Italian/Petrarchan) (see Sonnet note)
stanza – a unified grouping of lines of poetry within a poem; usually dictated by rhyme or meter; akin to a paragraph in prose
story – events of a narrative in the chronological order in which they actually happened (see plot).
stream of consciousness - writing in which a character's perceptions, thoughts, and memories are presented in an apparently random form, without regard for logical sequence, chronology, or syntax. Often such writing makes no distinction between various levels of reality--such as dreams, memories, imaginative thoughts or real sensory perception.
style – tricky to define: has to do with the distinctive traits in an author’s work, such as theme, diction, syntax, imagery, sound
subtext – ideas, feeling, thoughts not dealt with directly in the text but exiting underneath; character don’t always express their real thoughts, so readers must consider subtext.
suspense – the anticipation of an audience regarding the outcome of plot events; either we know what will happen but not who, when, where; or we know something will happen but not any of the details
suspension of disbelief – the agreement entered into by an audience when they agree to put aside questioning so they can believe in the world created by the film/play/story
symbol – a person, place or object that represents an abstract concept in addition to its literal meaning
synecdoche – the use of a part of a whole to represent the entire whole, e.g. “all hands on deck” – hands = sailors
synesthesia – an image that combines two or more senses, e.g. “cool blue” combines sight and touch
syntax (see Analyzing Syntax h/out)
theme – a work’s universal message about the human condition; a thematic idea is conceptual (e.g. “the horror of war”) but a theme statement carries a value message (e.g. “The horror of war is never fully comprehended by those who are willing to send soldiers into it.”)
thesis – a statement of opinion/argument about a topic that the author will support throughout a non-fiction persuasive text
tone – author’s/speaker’s attitude towards subject matter/audience; always clarify which you are discussing (see Tone Words h/out)
topic – subject matter of a work
tragedy - essentially, a genre where the hero undergoes a reversal of fortune brought about by his own tragic flaw, leading to an unhappy ending (see Tragedy h/out)
understatement – (opp. hyperbole)
verse – a line or lines of poetry
voice/register (see Write Traits h/out + A Quick Look at Voice h/out)