LITERARY TERMS

1. Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words.
Example: And sings a solitary song /That whistles in the wind.

2. Allusion is a brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or fictitious, or to a work of art. Casual reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event.
An allusion may be drawn from history, geography, literature, or religion.
Example: When Jenna Fox is waking, there is a series of statements that sound like Genesis from The Bible.

3. Antagonist is the person or force who opposes the primary character is a work. It is the that which fights against, the bad guy.
Example: The fox works against both "Little Red Riding Hood" and the "Three Pigs".

4. Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds but not consonant sounds.
Example: fleet feet sweep by sleeping greeks.

5. Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds, but not vowels.
Example: lady lounges lazily , dark deep dread crept in

6. Characterization is the method used by a writer to develop a character. The method includes (1) showing the character's appearance, (2) displaying the character's actions, (3) revealing the character's thoughts, (4) letting the character speak, and (5) getting the reactions of others.
Example: We learn about Jenna Fox by her description of herself, her behavior, her thoughts, what she says, and how others relate to her.

7. Climax is the most intense or highest point in the plot of a work. It is the point where the conflict is either resolved or transformed.
Example: The highest point in “Little Red Riding Hood” is when the wolf is defeated.

8. Conflict is the struggle found in fiction. Conflict may be internal or external and is best seen in (1) Person in conflict with another Person: (2) Person in conflict in Nature, (3) Person in conflict with self, (4) Person in conflict with society, or (5) Person in conflict with fate.
Example: Jenna is struggling with the truth about her situation and the figuring out who she wants to be.

9. Couplet is a pair of lines of verse the same length that usually rhyme.
Example: “By the pricking of my thumbs
Something wicked this way come.”

10. Dialogue is the conversation carried on by the characters in a work.
Example: “What are you doing?” he said.
“Eating figs,” I answered.

11. Drama is the form of literature known as plays; but drama also refers to the type of serious play that is often concerned with the leading character’s relationship to society.
Example: The Crucible, The Wild Duck, Romeo and Juliet

12. Essay is a piece of prose that expresses an individual’s point of view; usually, it is a series of closely related paragraphs that combine to make a complete piece of writing.
Example: Short opinion pieces in the newspaper often take the form of an essay.

13. Exposition is writing that is intended to explain something that might otherwise be difficult to understand. In a play or novel, it would be the portion of the plot that gives the background or situation surrounding the story.
Example: A VCR manual or the first chapters of The Adoration of Jenna Fox

14. Flashback is action that interrupts to show an event that happened at an earlier time which is necessary to better understanding.
Example: Jenna views scenes from her past while watching the discs.

15. Foil is someone who serves as a contrast or challenge to another character.
Example: The kids at the charter school are very different characters than Jenna and by comparing them, one can see both more clearly.

16. Foreshadowing is the use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in literature.
Example: Jenna’s glimpses of memory, especially of the accident suggest that secrets are being kept from her and that we will learn more.

17. Hyperbole is exaggeration or overstatement.
I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.
Example: He's as big as a house.

18. Imagery is language that evokes one or all of the five senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching.
Example: The water, so smooth on my hand, running through my fingers to the scratchy fine sand.

19. Irony is an implied discrepancy between what is said and what is meant.
Three kinds of irony:
1. verbal irony is when an author says one thing and means something else.
2. dramatic irony is when an audience perceives something that a character in the literature does not know.
3. irony of situation is a discrepancy between the expected result and actual results.
Example: Sarcasm. When a character is hiding behind a screen and the other characters on stage don’t know he is there, but we, the audience do. When the character who is trying to get more money is robbed.

20. Metaphor is a comparison of two unlike things using the verb "to be" and not using like or as.
Example: He is a pig. Thou art sunshine.

21. Narration is writing that relates an event or a series of events: a story.
Example: The Adoration of Jenna Fox, American Born Chinese, “The Three Little Pigs.”

22. Oxymoron is putting two contradictory words together.
Example: hot ice, cold fire, wise fool, sad joy, military intelligence, eloquent silence

23. Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates the sound it represents.
Example: splash, wow, gush, kerplunk

24. Personification is giving human qualities to animals or objects.
Example: a smiling moon, a jovial sun

25. Plot is the conscious ordering of events by the author. It is the order that the story is presented.
Example: We learn about Jenna’s past as she is learning about. It is not presented to us in chronological order but instead as Jenna figures it out.

26. Points of View: The narrative perspective of a work of literature: First person (I), Third person (s/he) or Second person (you).
Example: I walked into the room. He walked into the room. You walked into the room.

27. Poetry is the form of writing that uses meter, verse, and stanza as its structure. Poetry is different from prose or drama as forms of writing.
Example: A ballad, a haiku, a sonnet, a couplet..

28. Prose is the ordinary type of writing using standard paragraphs, sentences, and punctuation. It is “story” type writing. It differs from drama and poetry.
Example: Newspaper writing, magazine writing, novels, and short stories.

29. Protagonist is the main character or hero(ine) of the story. It is he or she who moves forward.
Example: Jenna is the main character in The Adoration of Jenna Fox.

30. Repetition is the repeating of a word, a phrase or an idea for emphasis or for rhythmic effect.
Example: “someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door…”

31. Simile is the comparison of two unlike things using like or as.
Example: He eats like a pig. Vines like golden prisons.

32. Soliloquy is a speech delivered by a character when he or she is alone on stage. It is as though the character is thinking out loud.
Example: Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” speech.

33. Story is all of the elements of plot in chronological order. It includes scenes and events that precede the actual plot as well as those that may occur “off stage” or after the plot has ended.
Example: Jenna wakes up and watches discs of her past. Jenna meets Mr. Bender. Jenna goes to school.

34. Puns are a play on words. A word is used in a way that has a double meaning or plays on the sound or meaning of the word.
Example: The dying man says, “Ask for me tomorrow and you will find me a grave man.”

35. Setting is determining Time and Place in fiction.
Example: The Adoration of Jenna Fox takes place in California in the near future.

36. Symbol is using an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning.
Example: In Jenna Fox, Lily’s seeds are a symbol of nature that has not been altered by human technology.

37. Theme is the general idea or insight about life that a writer wishes to express. It is a moral, message or statement – NOT a single word or topic.
Example: The fable of the “Three Little Pigs” expresses the message that there is no substitute for hard work and those who are lazy will have trouble.

Some of these definitions are based on Writings Inc and http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/