Literary Terms Review

the reason an author writes about a particular topic (e.g., to persuade, to entertain, to inform, to explain to analyze, etc.); the reason an author includes particular details, features, or devices in a work

• author's purpose

• mood

• motif

• personal narrative

the method in which an author constructs a character by explicitly stating aspects of his/her personality and appearance (direct characterization) or by revealing aspects of a character through their actions, thoughts, speech, other characters, etc. (indirect characterization)

• plot

• sarcasm

• characterization

• theme

in literature, the opposition of persons or forces that brings about dramatic action central to the plot of a story. Conflict may be internal, as a psychological conflict within a character, or external (e.g., man versus man, man versus nature, or man versus society)

• context

• conflict

• characterization

• conflict

the emotions or set of associations attached to a word that is implied rather than literal (e.g., feeling blue)

• setting

• connotative meaning

• denotative meaning

• figurative language

the words, sentences, or passages that precede or follow a specific word, sentence, or passage

• mood

• motif

• setting

• context

the dictionary definition of a word; the literal or cognitive meaning

• connotative meaning

• tone

• voice

• denotative meaning

word choice that may be determined by the writer or speaker’s style, purpose, and need to communicate accurately, appropriately, and understandably to a specific audience expression

• context

• conflict

• diction

• denotative meaning

language not intended to be taken literally but layered with meaning through the use of imagery, metaphors, and other literary devices

• figurative language

• sarcasm

• diction

• author's purpose

the atmosphere or feeling created by the writer in a literary work or passage; mood can be expressed through imagery, word choice, setting, voice, and theme. For example, the mood evoked in Edgar Allan Poe’s work is gloomy and dark.

• motif

• mood

• sarcasm

• diction

the recurring or dominant structure of a literary work; the intentional repetition of a word, phrase, event, or idea as a unifying theme

• author's purpose

• mood

• plot

• motif