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oral literature

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literature that is passed from one generation to another by performance or word of mouth

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folk tale

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a short, simple story that is handed down, usually by word of mouth, from generation to generation

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Puritan

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a member of a group of English Protestants of the late 16th and 17th centuries who regarded the Reformation of the Church of England under Elizabeth as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship

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primary source

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materials written or created by people who were present at events

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secondary source

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accounts written by people were not directly involved in or witnesses to an event

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imagery

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the descriptive words and phrases that a writer uses to re-create sensory experiences through the five senses

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lyric poem

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a short poem in which a single speaker expresses thoughts and feelings

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analogy

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a point-by-point comparison between two things for the purpose of clarifying the less familiar of the two subjects

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Romanticism

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a movement in the arts that flourished in Europe and America throughout much of the 19th century. Its writers glorified nature and celebrated individuality. Their treatment of subject was emotional rather than rational, intuitive rather than analytic

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Transcendentalism

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a philosophy of transcendentalism, an American offshoot of German romanticism, was based on a belief that "transcendent forms" of truth exist beyond reason and experience

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alliteration

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the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words often to impart musical quality, create mood, reinforce meaning, emphasize particular words, or to unify lines or stanzas

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assonance

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the repetition of vowel sounds within words often to impart musical quality, create mood, reinforce meaning, emphasize particular words, or to unify lines or stanzas

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consonance

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the repetition of consonant sounds within and at the ends of words

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situational irony

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a contrast between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen

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dramatic irony

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when readers know more about a situation or a character in a story than the characters do

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external conflict

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struggle between opposing forces that is the basis of a story's plot. External conflict pits a character against nature, society, or another character

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internal conflict

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conflict between opposing forces within a character

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meter/rhythm

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____ is the repetition of a regular rhythmic unit in a line of poetry. ____ refers to the pattern or flow of sound created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables, particularly in poetry

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rhyme scheme

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pattern of end rhyme charted by assigning a letter beginning with the letter a, to each line. Lines that rhyme are given the same letter

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loaded language

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consists of words with strongly positive or negative connotations intended to influence a reader's or listener's attitude

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connotation

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the emotional response evoked by a word

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denotation

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a word's literal meaning

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parallelism

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the use of similar grammatical constructions to express ideas that are related or equal in importance

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rhetorical question

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questions that do not require a reply. Writers use them to suggest that their arguments make the answer obvious or self-evident

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allusion

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an indirect reference to a person, place, event, or literary work with which the author believes the reader will be familiar

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metaphor

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figure of speech that compares two things that have something in common. It do not use words like or as, but make comparisons directly

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simile

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figure of speech that compares two things that have something in common, using a word such as like or as

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repetition

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technique in which a sound, word, phrase, or line is repeated for emphasis or unity. It often helps to reinforce meaning and creates an appealing rhythm.

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diction

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A writer's or speaker's choice of words. It includes both vocabulary (individual words) and syntax (the order or arrangement or words). Diction can be formal or informal, technical or common, abstract or concrete.

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theme

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underlying message that a writer wants the reader to understand. It is a perception about life or human nature that the writer shares with the reader. In most cases, themes are not states directly but must be inferred

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end rhyme

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when rhyme comes at the end of a line of poetry

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internal rhyme

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rhyme that occurs within a single line of poetry

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stanza

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a group of lines that form a unit in a poem. It is usually characterized by a common pattern of meter, rhyme, and number of lines

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mood/atmosphere

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the feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader. The writer's use of connotation, imagery, figurative language, sound, rhythm, and descriptive details all contribute

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narrator

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The character or voice that relates the story's events to the reader

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1st person narrator

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the narrator is a character in the work who tells everything in his or her own words and uses the pronouns I,me, and my

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3rd person limited narrator

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the narrator stands outside the action and focuses on one character's thoughts, observations, and feelings

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3rd person omniscient narrator

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the narrator is an all-knowing, objective observer who stands outside the action and reports what different characters are thinking

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aphorism

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a brief statement, usually one sentence long, that expresses a general principle or truth about life

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anecdote

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a brief story that focuses on a single episode or event in a person's life and that is used to illustrate a particular point

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paradox

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a statement that seems to contradict itself but may nevertheless suggest an important truth

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style

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the distinctive way in which a work of literature is written. It refers not so much to what is said but how it is said. Word choice, sentence length, tone, imagery, and use of dialogue all contribute to a writer's style

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symbol

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a person, place, or object that has a concrete meaning in itself and also stands for something beyond itself, such as an idea or feeling

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characterization

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the techniques a writer uses to develop characters. Physical description; actions, words, thoughts, and feelings of characters; the narrator's own direct comments

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foil

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a character whose traits contrast with those of another character

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protagonist

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the main character in a work of literature, who is involved in the central conflict of the story. Usually, the ____ changes after the central conflict reaches the climax

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antagonist

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usually the principal character in opposition to the protagonist

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foreshadowing

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a writer's use of hints or clues to indicate events that will occur in a story

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autobiography

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focuses on an aspect of a writer's life. Use the 1st-person point of view, combining objective description with the expression of subjective feelings

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objective

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view based only on facts

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subjective

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personal view or opinion

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dialogue

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the conversation between two or more character in either fiction or nonfiction

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stage directions

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the playwright's instructions for the director, performers, and stage crew. Usually tell the time and place of the action and explain how characters move and speak. Also describe scenery, props, lighting, costumes, music, or sound effects

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dialect

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the distinct form of a language as it is spoken in one geographical area or by a particular social or ethnic group. A group's _____ is reflected in characteristic pronunciations, vocabulary, idioms, and grammatical constructions. Writers often use unconventional spellings to suggest the way words actually sound. Writers use it to establish setting, to provide local color, and to develop characters

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setting

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refers to the time and place in which the action occurs. In addition to time and place, it can include the larger historical and cultural contexts that form the background for a narrative

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plot

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sequence of actions and events in a literary work. Generally, they are built around a conflict. It usually progress through stages: exposition, rising action, climax, and falling action

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exposition

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provides important background information and introduces the setting, characters, and conflict

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rising action

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the conflict becomes more intense and suspense builds as the main characters struggle to resolve their problem

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climax

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the turning point in the plot when the outcome of the conflict becomes clear, usually resulting in a change in the characters or a solution to the conflict

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falling action

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occurs and shows the effects of the climax. As it begins, the suspense is over but the results of the decision or action that caused the climax are not yet fully worked out

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resolution

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often blends with the falling action and reveals the final outcome of events and ties up loose ends

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free verse

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poetry that does not have regular patterns of rhyme and mater. Its lines often flow more natural that do rhymed, metrical lines and thus achieve a rhythm more like that of everyday human speech.

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catalog

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a list of people, things, or attributes.

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Gothic Literature

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characterized by grotesque characters, bizarre situations, and violent events. Originating in Europe, it was a popular form of writing in the United States during the 19th century, especially in the hands of such notables as Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Interests in the gothic revived in the 20th century among southern writers such as William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor

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allegory

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a work with two levels of meaning, a literal one and a symbolic one. In such a work, most of the characters, objects, settings, and events represent abstract qualities. Personification is often used in traditional allegories. As in a fable or parable, the purpose of an allegory may be to convey truths about life, to teach religious or moral lessons, or to criticize social institutions

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quatrain

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four-line stanza

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slant rhyme

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Rhyme that is not exact but only approximate (aka off rhyme)

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speaker of a poem

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the voice that talks to the reader. In some poems, the speaker can be identified with the poet. In other poems, the poet invents a fictional character, or a persona, to play the role of the speaker.

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epithet

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brief descriptive phrase that points out traits associated with a particular person or thing

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structure

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way in which a literary work is put together - the arrangement of its parts.

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Harlem Renaissance

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a cultural movement in 1920s America during which black art, literature, and music experienced renewal and growth, originating in New York City's Harlem district

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Modernism

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literary movement that roughly spanned the time period between the two world wars, 1914-1945. Its works are characterized by a high degree of experimentation and spare, elliptical prose. Its characters are most often alienated people searching unsuccessfully for meaning and love in their lives.

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