Terminology

Point of view (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd; objective, limited omniscient, omniscient)

• 1st person: narrator is referring to him or herself (I, me, my, mine)
• 2nd person: addressing the reader (you, your, yours)
• 3rd person: observer's perspective (she, he, her, his, their, theirs)
• Objective: when the observer remains detached from the character
• Limited Omniscient: when the narrator has limited knowledge to one character
• Omniscient: narrator knows all thoughts, feelings and actions of all characters

Setting (historical, geographical, physical)

• Historical: a setting that helps the reader understand a story or event
• Geographical: Specific place were a story is taking place
• Physical: where a story takes place, the surroundings

character (flat, round, static, dynamic)

• Flat: uncomplicated, two dimensional, don't change throughout a course of work 
• Round: complex, undergo development
• Static: undergoes little or no inner change
• Dynamic: undergoes an important inner change

plot: used to describe the events that make up a story in a sequential order

exposition: insertion of important background information in a story

rising action: series of events that leads to the point of greatest interest

climax: the turning point of the story, the point were the rising action reaches the falling action

stream of consciousness: a persons thoughts and conscious reactions to events in a continuos flow

central consciousness: the story is told through the view of only how the main protagonist sees and experiences it

unreliable narrator: when a narrators credibility has been compromised

epiphany: moment in the story where a character achieves a realization, awareness or a feeling of knowledge

motif: an element of subject that is constantly presented through the whole work

“unlike gesture” in O’Connor: some gesture of a character that is unlike any previous gesture in the story, the action is both right but unexpected, one that indicated where the true heart of the story lies, ex- when the grandmother is faced by the Misfit alone in "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

novel: fictitious prose narrative, describes fictional characters and events with a degree of realism

foreshadowing: indication of a future event

abstract diction: language that describes qualities that cannot be perceived with the five senses

alliteration: occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of words

allusion: indirectly calling something to mind without actually saying what it is

apostrophe: when the speaker directs speech to a third party

approximate rhyme: rhyme where sounds are similar but not exactly the same

archetypes: constantly recurring symbol or motif in literature

assonance: repetition of the same sound of vowel

blank verse: poem with no rhyme but has iambic pentameter

cacophony: harshness in sound of words or phrases

caesura: break between words within a metrical foot

closed form: structure of poetry characterized by regularity and constant poem elements

concrete diction: words that stimulate some kind of sensory response to reader

connotation: idea or feeling that a words invokes 

consonance: agreement or compatibility between opinions or actions

denotation: direct meaning from a word or expression

diction: the choice and use of words and phrases

dimeter: metrical line of verse with two feet

dramatic irony: drama that is understood by the audience but not characters in story

dramatic poetry: any dramatic work written in lines of verse

elegy: a poem of reflection, typically a lament for the dead
end rhyme: when the words at the end of a poems lines rhyme

end-stopped line: when a line of poetry ends with a definite punctuation mark

enjambment: continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet or stanza

epic: long poem, typically concerning a serious subject with heroic deeds and events significant to a culture of nation

epigram: short poem, typically with a witty or ingenious ending

epigraph: short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter, usually suggests a theme

essay (essai): short piece of writing on a particular subject

euphony: quality of being pleasing to the ear, harmonious combination of words

figures of speech: word or phrase used in a nonliteral sense to add rhetorical force to a spoken or written work

form: arrangement of the elements in a composition

free verse: a poem without rhyme or regular meter

haiku: poem from the Japanese origin, seventeen syllables, 3 lines: 5, 7, 5 syllables. Usually evokes images of nature

half rhyme: when the stressed syllables of ending consonants match but the preceding vowel sounds don't match

hyperbole: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally

imagery: visually or figuratively descriptive language

imperfect rhyme: rhyme with only partial matching of sounds

internal rhyme: rhyme that occurs within a line of a verse 

irony: expression of ones meaning by using the opposite, used for humorous effect

lyric poetry: short, songlike poem 

masculine rhyme: rhyme on a single stressed syllable at the end of a line of poetry

meditation: written or spoken discourse expressing thoughts on a subject

metaphor: figure of speech that compares two unlike things with a common characteristic, usually something compared to an object or thing 

meter: unit of rhythm in poetry, the pattern of the beats, also called a foot

metonymy: substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant

narrative poetry: poetry that tells a story, makes use of the voices of a narrator and character, usually written in metered verse

near rhyme: words that sound the same but do not rhyme perfectly

octave: poem or stanza of 8 lines

ode: lyric poem that addresses a particular person or thing

open form: reject classic organization and structure of a poem and impose your own rules to your poem

pastoral: portraying idyllically the life of shepherds or of the country 

pentameter: line consisting of five meters

persona: aspect of someones character that is presented to or perceived by others

personification: attribution of a personal nature or human characteristic to something non-human or the representation of an abstract quality in human form

Petrarchan sonnet: sonnet form consisting of an octave with the rhyme scheme abbabba and of a sestet with either cdecde or cdcdcd

prose poem: piece of writing in prose having obvious poetic qualities (i.e. intensity, compactness, prominent rhymes, imagery)

quatrain: stanza with 4 lines

rhyme: when sounds between words correspond together

rhyme scheme: ordered patter of rhymes at the end of lines of a poem or verse

rhythm: strong, regular, repeted patter of movement or sound

run on line: (enjambment)- incomplete syntax at the end of a line of poetry

scansion: process of determining and graphically representing the metrical character of a line of verse

Shakespearean sonnet: written in iambic pentameter, 3 quatrains and a final couplet with the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg 

slant rhyme: rhyme with words of similar sounds but not identical

simile: figure of speech comparing two unlike things, without like or as

speaker: narrative voice in a poem

stanza: grouping of lines in a poem

symbol: something that represents something else, usually something material representing something abstract

synecdoche: figure of speech where part is made to represent the whole

synesthesia: technique used to present ideas, character, places in a manner that appeals to the senses

tone: attitude of a piece of writing, situation, place

understatement: figure of speech used to intentionally make a situation seem less important than it really is

whole rhyme: when the stressed vowel sound and subsequent sounds are identical in two words

quest: long/arduous search for something

grotesque: comically or repulsively ugly or distorted, usually characters who induce both empathy and disgust

Beat Generation: group of authors whose literature explored and influenced American culture in the post-World War II era. Most work was published in the 1950s

“Howl”: poem by Allen Ginsberg in 1955