Graphic Novel Terms
These contain a character’s internal thoughts.
What is a thought cloud/balloon?
This prefix means "not" or "the opposite of".
What is un-?
This suffix turns a word into a person who does an action.
what is -er?
This term describes a recurring element, such as an image, symbol, or idea that has symbolic significance in a story.
What is a motif?
This device compares two things using like or as.
What is a simile?
These contain information about a scene or setting or character that can’t be shared via dialogue.
What is a caption?
This prefix means "before".
What is pre-?
This suffix means "full of".
What is -ful?
This term refers to the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.
What is characterization?
This device gives human qualities to non-human things.
What is personification?
These squares or rectangles in a graphic novel that contain a single scene
What is a panel?
This prefix can mean "again" or "back", as in redo or return.
What is re-?
What is -sion (or -tion)?
This term is used to refer to a common or overused theme or device.
What is a trope?
This device compares two unlike things without using like or as.
What is a metaphor?
This is the name for the blank space between panels on a Graphic Novel page.
What are gutters?
In the sentence "The submarine traveled underwater", this prexif means "under" or "below".
What is sub-?
This suffix means "capable of" or "worthy of".
What is -able/ible?
This narrative device is defined as: A contrast between what is said and what is meant (verbal), or between what happens and what is expected to happen (situational/dramatic)
What is irony?
This device is an exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literarlly.
What is hyperbole?
This term describes the way some images draw the eye more than others, creating focus using colour and shading in various ways
What is graphic weight?
This prefix means "between" or "among".
What is inter-?
This suffix turns a verb into a noun meaning "the act or process of".
What is -ation?
This term describes how the author’s personal beliefs, experiences, and values shape their perspective and influence how they portray characters, events, and information.
What is authorial bias?
This literary device uses an obkect, person, or place to represent a bigger (typically abstract) idea.
What is symbolism?