Key Literary terms:

The tropes / figurative or metaphorical

language (metaphor, simile, and

personification)

Metaphor

Metaphor - A direct comparison of two things

that are largely dissimilar, but have one

common characteristic (nonliteral

comparison).

Love is a rose. Love = abstract / Rose =

concrete

The linebacker is a lion in battle.

Simile

Simile - Using like or as to compare things.

Your smile glimmers like the sun.

Like a roller coaster, life has its ups and downs

Personification

Personification - Speaking of non-human

things in human terms.

The yellow leaves waltz to the whispering

wind's melody.

The melancholy moon weeps over the sleeping

willows.

Allusion

Allusion - A reference to something (story or

character) outside of the essay, story itself:

classical (beauty of Venus or Aphrodite; the brawn of

Hercules; excessive as Dionysus),

biblical (betrayed like Judas; wise like Solomon; a

Good Samaritan),

historical (fell like Rome; fascist as Hitler ) or

contemporary (speedier than the Flash; Chaotic like

the Joker;).

Theme

Theme - The general idea or message that a

story reveals. The theme is generally implicit

or implied rather than explicitly stated.

A theme of Orwell's Animal Farm could be

that all revolutions inevitably fail – “Four legs

good, two legs bad” then “four legs good two

legs better” when the pigs walk upright.

Conflict

Struggle between opposing forces.

Protagonist = main character

Antihero lacks at least one heroic quality (for

example, disillusioned, craven, etc.)

Antagonist = person or force that works

against the main character (for example, the

joker, a demon, a hurricane, or temptation)

Plot

Plot - The artistic arrangement of events. This

is how the writer constructs the pace and

suspense. It is the cognitive map or layout of

the story.

The traditional short story has the following

parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling

action, and resolution (dénouement).

Symbol

Symbol - One thing “represents” or stands for

something else- A raven foreshadows (hints at)

evil or death while a dove suggests peace.

An allegory is a type of symbolism in which

there is a literal and a representative level

(Faith as a character’s name and the

protagonist’s own “faith”).

A symbolic act is an action with emblematic

depth – rebirth, forgiveness, etc. (water =

baptism)

Analogy

Analogy - An extended comparison. This

comparison may be a simile or a metaphor that

explores more than one likeness. It might also

compare something simple with something

more complex often for the purpose of

explanation or clarification. (The War on

Drugs)

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia - A word that echoes the

object it describes.

The flick of a light

The buzz of a bee

The snap, boom, and crash in the attic

Rhetoric

Rhetoric - The art of communicating well.

This includes oral and written communication.

It means you maintain an appropriate tone, and

you reason logically. It means you effectively

use figurative language to convey an artistic

edge. It also means your message is

unambiguous, that is your purpose is clear and

you offer examples and illustrations that make

sense to your audience.

Paradox

Paradox - Greek for, "conflicting with

expectation." A statement that seems

contradictory, yet it makes sense.

Children are the poor person's wealth.

A paradox that is comprised of two words side

by side is known as an oxymoron (wise fool).

Irony

Irony - The opposite of what you expect, or

when appearance differs from reality.

Verbal irony is the intentional use of words to

suggest a meaning other than literal: "What a

mansion!" (said of a shack); "There's nothing

like sunshine!" (said on a foggy day).

Irony continued

Situational or cosmic irony happens when something is

incongruous. It is like a twist of fate: The Olympic swimmer

who drowns in her bathtub.

Dramatic irony happens when the reader or audience knows

something that a character does not know: In Breaking Bad the

DEA agent is unknowingly the brother- in – law to the drug

lord, a former science teacher who needed money to pay for

his cancer treatments

In the Movie Tootsie, we know the main character is a male

acting as a women, but many characters do not, which adds

humor.

Satire and Sarcasm

Satire - To ridicule people, institutions, or

society in an attempt to foster change.

Sarcasm - Bitter, cutting remarks expressing

contempt. ("Some friend you are!" said to the

friend that will not lend a coin for a phone

call.)

Thesis Statement

Thesis statement - Offers a unifying idea

about a topic. "Capital punishment should be

outlawed because it does not deter crime, is

dealt out disproportionately to minorities, and

innocent people are sometimes executed as

DNA evidence has displayed.”