Antagonist
Whatever opposing force the protagonist struggles with such as another character ,environment , or something within the protagonist.
Active voice
A sentence is written in the active voice when the subject acts upon the verb or performs the action. Eg.the cat scratched the post
Artistic unity
There is nothing in the story which is irrelevant or which does not contribute t the total meaning
Aside
A technique in drama where a character speaks directly to the audience . The others characters on stage do not hear this character’s aside.
Atmosphere
The general feeling of a price of writing
Audience
The person or group of people that a writer or author is writing for ex the Vancouver sun is for news readers while the province is sports fans.
Autobiography
An account of someone’s life written by that person .
Ballad stanza
A common stanza form used in ballads, typically quatrains with an ABCD rhyme scheme and iambic rhythms which produce a bit of song quality to the poem most of shakesphere’s plays written in blank verse
Bias
An unfair or unreasonable preference or dislike of something/someone based on friendship, race , religion, gender, team rivalry ect. Ex. Many hockey fans are biased and want the ref to call penalties on opponents but forgive the same behaviour for players on the tea they support.
Biography
An account of a persons life written by another person.
Case study
A form of research that examines a single event or instance in depth as opposed to a larger group study .
Catastrophe
In drama particularly tragedy, the concluding action following the climax that contains the resolution of the plot.
Characterization
The method an author uses to describe or create a distinctive character. Methods include indirect and direct presentations. Characters can be revealed by what they do and say or through what other characters say about them.
Chorus
Common in Greek tragedies, the chorus is a group of actors, often masked,who provide commentary on the happenings in the play.
Climactic order
A method of organizing info that presents the least important info 1st and builds to present the most important info last.
Colloquial language
A way of expression, written or spoken , that is usually found in informal situations or in language confined to be a particular region ex. Hi ya Is an informal way of saying Hello
Comedy
Is a type of fiction or drama that depicts humorous plots where the protagonist is faced with a light hearted challenge and in the end overcomes it and the story or play ends happily.
Comic relief
A comic episode or element inserted in an otherwise series or tragic play to provide some relief from the heavy mood.
Complication
The point at which major conflicts or problems are presented
Conflict
The opposition between forces in the story.person vs person , person vs self, person vs environment
Consonance
Is the repetition of consonant sounds within words. Eg.loST and paST ,fliP and floP
Convincing character
One who is consistent , plausible, motivated to change if necessary.
Couplet
A pair of lines that are the same length, rhyme and form a complete thought.
Denotation
Is the literal dictionary meaning . Opposites of connotation eg. Good night, sweet prince and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest (sleep)
Descriptive essay
An essay that describes something or someone by providing details, including sensory details, to illustrate a point to a reader
Dues ex machina
Coincidental resolution, like the hand of God reaching down to impact the plot
Dialect
The speech that is characteristic of a particular region or of a class group of people. Although people in Canada and Scotland both speak English , they may still have trouble understanding each other due to differences in dialect.
Dairy
A personal journal or written account of experiences, feelings or observations.
Direct presentation
The author tells us directly , by exposition or analysis, what a character is like, or has someone else in the story tell us what he is like.
Indirect presentation: the author shows us the character in action; we infer what he is like from what he thinks or says or does.
Dissonance
In poetry, a combination of sounds that is unpleasant to hear
Drama
A piece of writing, especially with a serious topic, that is intended to be acted out for a presentation to an audience ex. A theatrical play, a tv show, a webcast drama
Dramatic form
A medium or a way of expressing dramatic meaning ex. Comedy, tragedy, mime, improvisation
Editorial
An article that gives opinions or perspectives on a topic
Emotional appeal
The deliberate attempt to stir and rouse specific emotions in those who see or hear a piece of writing or advertisement
Epic
An extended narrative poem that is exalted in style, heroic in theme and told in an elevated style. Odyssey, Iliad, paradise lost.
Euphony
Is soothing present sounds. Opposite of cacophony. Eg. Oh star -the fairest one in sight.
Escape literature
Written to entertain the reader ; takes the reader away from the real world.
Exposition
The works intro in which background info is given for the plot development
Fable
A short narrative in prose or verse which directly or indirectly points to a moral. Often uses non-human creatures or inanimate things as characters.
Fantasy
A piece of fiction involving such unreal characters and implausible events that the reader is not expected to believe it. Fantasy is often used to entertain or satirize people and customs ex. Lord of the rings
Farce
A form of fiction , usually drama, where humour is achieved through the creation of exaggerated of far-fetched situations of characters. Ex. Parts of taming of the shrew
Flashback
Where a writer presents info that happened before the story begins ex. Can occur in dreams , memories or in stories of past events.
Flat character
One who appears limited and one -dimensional
Formal language
Language that is elevated or uses a high level of diction commonly used in essays, lectures and traditional poetry.
Frame story
An overall unifying story within which one or more tales are related.
Graphic text
Text that is primarily graphic in nature or text that relies on a visual dimension to present info
Hero
The main character in a work of fiction, often the protagonist
Iambic pentameter
A type of meter in poetry which has five iambs to a line
Indeterminate ending
An ending that does not resolve the central conflict
Informal language
A language style that is conversational, relaxed, and real life.
Legend
A story that has been passed down generation after generation. Although the story may seem unbelievable, there is usually some basis in history
Literal language
Words or language that takes its meaning from the dictionary definitions, without any deeper or symbolic meaning.
Melodrama
A type of drama characterized by extreme behavior sand emotions, often using stereotypical characters in simplistic conflicts
Meter
The arrangement of a line of poetry by the number of syllables and the rhythm of accented syllables ( how many feet are in the line) 2feet diameter 3feet trimeter 4feet tetrameter 5feet pentameter 6feet hexameter 7feet heptameter 8feet octometer
Monologue
A passage in drama in which a single actor speaks alone to the audience .
Mood
The emotional atmosphere in a story. ( Hint: think of the mood music in a movie when selecting mood words. )
Mystery
A type of fiction whose plot centres around solving a crime or understanding a puzzle event
Myth
A traditional story about heroes or supernatural beings that attempts to explain natural phenomena or human behaviours and beliefs.
Narration
A style of writing that tells a story; a narrative style can be used in a novel, short story, poem, or essay where the writer is telling a story or recounting events
Narrative poem
Poetry that has plot. Narratives may be short or long, and the story it relates to may be simple or complex. It may be rhyming or non rhyming. Ballads, epics and lyrics are different kinds of narrative poems.
Objective point of view
The narrator only reveals what characters say or do . The narrator is like a video camera. Readers have to make their own judgements
Omniscient point of view
The narrator knows what all characters thoughts are and can reveal as much or as little as he wants
Octave
A group of eight lines either in stanza form or as the fist eight lines of a sonnet.usually rhymes abbaabba.
Pastoral
A poem that depicts rural life in a peaceful, idealized way
Plot manipulation
When the author gives a story a turn unjustified by the situation or the characters involved
Predicament
A situation or position which is virtually impossible to escape, or which presents a problem that is quite impossible to solve
Propaganda
info or ideas that are spread for the purpose of promoting some persons or groups opinions. propaganda is usually misleading as not other perspectives are considered
Protagonist
The central character
Quatrain
A stanza or poem of four lines it is the most common stanzaic form in English poetry
Refrain
A line or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem often after every stanza in music the refrain is called the chorus
Repetition
A literary device that involves the repeating of words phrases or structures for a desired effect ex. I came, I saw, I conquered.
Rhyme scheme
Rhymed words at the ends of lines Ex. Roses are red (a) Violets are blue (b) Sugar is sweet (c) So are you (b)
Rhythm
The beat or flow of the poem. More precisely the meter.
Rising action
A series of obstacles or problems that lead to the climax
Round character
One who displays depth and is described in detail.
Sarcasm
A form of irony whereby a person or writer says or writes the opposite of what is meant.
Ex. That was fun! ( when it was really boring)
Sestet
The last 6 lines of the Italian sonnet following the octave. Akin to the final couplet in Shakespearean sonnets
Setting
The environment of the story. Includes time,place,and even good mood
Soliloquy
In drama lines spoken by a character to him or herself rather than to another character. The character is ‘thinking aloud’ in order to reveal info about him or her or an event that the audience needs to know.
Stanza
A unified group of lines in poetry
Static character
One who stays the same
Stock character
One who is a stereotype or caricature
Statistical evidence
The use of statistics or numeric principles to support a theory or thesis
Story within a story
A literary device or conceit in which one story is told during the action of another story.
Style
A distinctive way in which a writer uses language, both choice and arrangement of words. Style is the way authors express what they have to say. Ex. Formal/ familiar/ plain/ complex
Surprise ending
An ending that the reader did not anticipate
Suspense
The element in a story that maintains the readers interest. Suspense may be created in several ways ex. Dilemma,flashback,foreshadowing,mystery.
Tragedy
A story or play in which the main character is brought to death or suffers extreme sorrow especially as a result of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or an inability to manage bad circumstances.
Romeo and Juliet
Voice
The dominant tone of a literary work that underlines the character or narrator
Wit
A clever and often humorous use of words. Many puns are a form of wit.