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Act

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a major unit of action in a drama or play. Each act can be further divided into smaller sections called scenes.

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Allegory

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a story in which people, things and actions represent an idea about life; allegories often have a strong moral or lesson.

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Anecdote

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a brief account of an interesting incident or event that usually is intended to entertain or to make a point.

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Aside

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an actor's speech, directed to the audience, that is not supposed to be heard by other actors on stage. An aside is used to let the audience know what a character is about to do or what he or she is thinking.

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Audience

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the particular group of readers or viewers that the writer is addressing. A writer considers his or her audience when deciding on a subject, a purpose for writing and the tone and style in which to write.

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Author's purpose

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an author's purpose is his or her reason for creating a particular work. The purpose can be to entertain, explain or inform, express an opinion, or to persuade.

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Autobiography

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a form of nonfiction in which a person tells the story of his or her life.

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Biography

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the story of a person's life that is written by someone else.

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Cause and Effect

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two events are related as cause and effect when one event brings about or causes the other. The event that happens first is the cause; the one that follows is the effect. character: a person who is responsible for the thoughts and actions within a story, poem, or other literature. Characters are extremely important because they are the medium through which a reader interacts with a piece of literature. Every character has his or her own personality, which a creative author uses to assist in forming the plot of a story or creating a mood.

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Characterization

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all of the techniques that writers use to create characters

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Antagonist

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a character in a story or poem who deceives, frustrates, or works against the main character, or protagonist, in some way. The antagonist doesn't necessarily have to be a person. It could be death, the devil, an illness, or any challenge that prevents the main character from living "happily ever after."

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Caricature

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a picture or imitation of a person's habits, physical appearance or mannerisms exaggerated in a comic or absurd way.

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Foil

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a character who serves as a contrast or a conflict to another character

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Hero/Heroine

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a character whose actions are inspiring or noble; often the main character in a Novel, play, story, or poem. He or she may also be referred to as the "hero" of a work.

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Main characters

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the characters who are central to the plot of a story; main characters are usually dynamic and round.

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Minor characters

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a less important character who interacts with the main characters, helping to move the plot along and providing background for the story. Minor characters are usually static and flat.

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Character trait

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a character's personality; a trait is not a physical description of a character.

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Direct characterization

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the author directly states a character's traits or makes direct comments about a character's nature.

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Dynamic character

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a character who changes throughout the course of the story

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Flat character

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a character about whom little information is provided

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Indirect characterization

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the author does not directly state a character's traits; instead the reader draws conclusions and discovers a character's traits based upon clues provided by the author

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Round character

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is a character who is fully described by the author (several character traits, background information, etc.

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Static character

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a character who does not change or who changes very little in the course of a story.

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Chorus

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repetition in literature of one or more lines at regular intervals; sometimes called the refrain.

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Chronological order

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the order in which events happen in time.

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clarifying

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the reader's process of pausing occasionally while reading to quickly review what he or she understands. By clarifying as they read, good readers are able to draw conclusions about what is suggested but not stated directly.

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Cliché

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a type of figurative language containing an overused expression or a saying that is no longer considered original

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Comedy

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a dramatic work that is light and often humorous in tone and usually ends happily with a peaceful resolution of the main conflict.

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Comparison

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the process of identifying similarities.

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Analogy

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a comparison of two or more like objects that suggests if they are alike in certain respects, they will probably be alike in other ways as well.

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Author

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the writer of a book, article or other text.

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Fiction

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prose writing that tells an imaginary story. Fiction includes both short stories and novels.

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Dialogue

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The conversation between characters in a drama or narrative. A dialogue occurs in most works of literature.

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Connecting

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a reader's process of relating the content of a literary work to his or her own knowledge and experience.

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Context clues

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hints or suggestions that may surround unfamiliar words or phrases and clarify their meaning.

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Contrast

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the process of pointing out the difference between things.

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Dialect

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a form of language that is spoken in a particular place or by a particular group of people. dialogue (di-UH-log): The conversation between characters in a drama or narrative. A dialogue occurs in most works of literature.

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Drama

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a drama or play is a form of literature meant to be performed by actors before an audience. In a drama, the characters' dialogue and actions tell the story. The written form of a play is known as a script.

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Drawing conclusions

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combining several pieces of information to make an inference is called drawing a conclusion.

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Dramatic monologue

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a literary device that is used when a character reveals his or her innermost thoughts and feelings, those that are hidden throughout the course of the story line, through a poem or a speech. This speech, where only one character speaks, is recited while other characters are present onstage. This monologue often comes during a climactic moment in a work and often reveals hidden truths about a character, their history and their relationships.

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Elegy

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a type of literature defined as a song or poem that expresses sorrow or lamentation, usually for one who has died.

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Epiphany

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a sudden moment of understanding that causes a character to change or to act in a certain way. epitaph: a short poem or verse written in memory of someone

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Essay

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a short work of nonfiction that deals with a single subject.

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Descriptive essay

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one that describes a particular subject.

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Expository essay

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one whose purpose is to explain and give information about a subject.

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Formal essay

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highly organized and thoroughly researched.

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Humorous essay

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one whose purpose is to amuse or entertain the reader.

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Informal essay

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lighter in tone and usually reflects the writer's feelings and personality.

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Narrative essay

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an essay that tells a story.

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Persuasive essay

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attempts to convince a reader to adopt a particular option or course of action.

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Evaluating

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the process of judging the value of something or someone. A work of literature can be evaluated in terms of such criteria as entertainment, believability, originality, and emotional power.

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Fable

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a brief tale that teaches a lesson about human nature. Fables often feature animals as characters.

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Fact and opinion

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a fact is a statement that can be proved. An opinion, in contrast, is a statement that reflects the writer's or speaker's belief, but which cannot be supported by proof or evidence.

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Fantasy

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a work of literature that contains at least one fantastic or unreal element. fiction: prose writing that tells an imaginary story. Fiction includes both short stories and novels.

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Flashback

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an interruption of the chronological sequence (as in a film or literary work) of an event of earlier occurrence. A flashback is a narrative technique that allows a writer to present past events during current events, in order to provide background for the current narration.

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Folklore

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traditions, customs and stories that are passed down within a culture. Folklore contains various types of literature such as legends, folktales, myths, and fables.

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Folktale

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a simple story that has been passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. Folktales are told primarily to entertain rather than to explain or teach a lesson.

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Humor

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the quality that provokes laughter or amusement. Writers create humor through exaggeration, sarcasm, amusing descriptions, irony, and witty dialogue.

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Foreshadowing

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when the writer provides clues or hints that suggest or predict future event in a story. free verse: poetry without regular patterns of rhyme and rhythm. Often used to capture the sounds and rhythms of ordinary speech.

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Generalization

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a broad statement about an entire group.

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Historical fiction

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fiction that explores a past time period and may contain references to actual people and events of the past

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Horror fiction

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fiction that contains mysterious and often supernatural events to create a sense of terror.

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Legend

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a story handed down from the past about a specific person, usually someone of heroic accomplishments.

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Inference

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is a logical guess based on evidence based on evidence in the text.

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Interview

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a meeting in which one person asks another about personal matters, professional matters or both.

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Main Idea

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the most important point that a writer wishes to express

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Memoir

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a specific type of autobiography; like autobiography, a memoir is about the author's personal experiences. However, a memoir does not necessarily cover the author's entire life

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Moral

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a lesson that a story teaches. A moral is often stated directly at the end of a fable.

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Motivation

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the reason why a character acts, feels or thinks in a certain way.

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Myth

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a traditional story that attempts to explain how the world was created or why the world is the way that it is. Myths are stories that are passed on from generation to generation and are of unknown authorship.

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Narrative

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any writing that tells a story. Most novels and short stories are placed into the categories of first-person and third-person narratives, which are based on who is telling the story and from what perspective.

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Nonfiction

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is prose writing that presents and explains ideas or that tells about real people, places, objects or events. Some examples of nonfiction include autobiographies, newspaper articles, biographies, essays, etc.

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Novel

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a work of fiction that is longer and more complex than a short story. In a novel, setting, plot and characters are usually developed in great detail.

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Oral history

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stories of people's lives related by word of mouth. These histories usually include both factual material and personal reactions.

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Paraphrasing

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the restatement of a text by readers in their own words or in another form.

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Parody

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a literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author's work for comic effect or ridicule.

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Persuasion

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persuasive writing is meant to sway readers' feelings, beliefs, or actions. Persuasion normally appeals to both the mind and the emotions of readers.

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Predicting

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the process of gathering information and combining it with the reader's own knowledge to guess what might occur in the story.

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Primary source

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a firsthand account of an event; primary sources include: diaries, journals, letters, speeches, news stories, photographs, and pieces of art.

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Propaganda

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text that uses false or misleading information to present a slanted point of view.

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Prose

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the ordinary form of spoken and written language; that is, language that lacks the special features of poetry. Examples of prose include: essays, stories, articles, speeches, etc.

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Questioning

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the process of raising questions while reading in an effort to understand characters and events

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Realistic Fiction

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imaginative writing set in the real, modern world. The characters act like real people who use ordinary human abilities to cope with problems and conflicts typical of modern

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sarcasm

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the use of praise to mock someone or something; the use of mockery or verbal irony

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Satire

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a literary technique in which ideas or customs are ridiculed for the purpose of improving society.

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scanning

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the process of searching through writing for a particular fact or piece of information.

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Scene

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a section in a play presenting events that occur in one place at one time.

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Science Fiction

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prose writing in which a writer explores unexpected possibilities of the past or the future by using scientific data and theories as well as his or her imagination.

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secondary source

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a secondary source presents information compiled from or based on other sources.

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Short Story

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brief work of fiction that generally focuses on one or two main characters who face a single problem or conflict.

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Soliloquy

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Soliloquy- a speech delivered by a character who is alone on the stage.

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Stage Directions

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the instructions to the actors, director and stage crew in the script of a play.

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Stereotype

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a broad generalization or an oversimplified view that disregards individual differences.

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story mapping

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a visual organizer that helps a reader understand a work of literature by tracking setting, characters, events and conflicts

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Summarizing

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the process of briefly recounting the main ideas of a piece of writing in a person's own words, while omitting unimportant details.

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Suspense

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a feeling of growing tension and excitement. Writers create suspense by raising questions in readers' minds about what might happen.

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Synecdoche

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a literary technique in which the whole is represented by naming one of its parts (genus named for species), or vice versa (species named for genus). Example: "You've got to come take a Look at my new set of wheels." The vehicle here is represented by its parts, or wheels.

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Tall Tale

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a humorously exaggerated story about impossible events.

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Theme

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a common thread or repeated idea that is incorporated throughout a literary work. A theme is a thought or idea the author presents to the reader about life or human nature. Generally, a theme has to be extracted as the reader explores the passages of a work. The author utilizes the characters, plot, and other literary devices to assist the reader in this endeavor. The author often intertwines the theme throughout the work, and the full impact is slowly realized as the reader processes the text. The ability to recognize a theme is important because it allows the reader to understand part of the author's purpose in writing the book.

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Tragedy

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a dramatic work that presents the downfall of a character or characters. The events in a tragic plot are set in motion by a decision that is often an error in judgment caused by the main character's tragic flaw. Succeeding events inevitably lead to a disastrous conclusion, usually death. In a classical tragedy, the tragic hero must be of high status or importance.

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Tragic hero

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the hero of a tragedy that possesses a tragic flaw that leads to his demise

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Urban Legend

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a contemporary story that is told in many rumored versions that have little basis in fact.

Prose and Drama Literary Terms – Flashcards

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