The Basics
The perspective a text takes when presenting its plot and narrative.
Point of View
“The repetition of the same sounds—usually initial consonants of words or of stressed syllabus—in any sequence of neighboring words” (Baldick 6).
Alliteration
A figure of speech that compares two people, objects, elements, or concepts using “like” or “as.”
Simile
The ways individual characters are represented by the narrator or author of a text.
Characterization
The height of conflict and intrigue in a narrative.
Climax
A term used to describe the way an author uses language to convey his or her ideas and purpose in writing.
Style
Word choice, or the specific language an author, narrator, or speaker uses to describe events and interact with other characters.
Diction
A figure of speech that refers to one thing by another in order to identify similarities between the two (and therefore define each in relation to one another).
Metaphor
The feeling or emotion evoked within the reader through certain elements of the text.
Mood
The section of the plot leading up to the height of conflict, in which the tension stemming from the story's central conflict grows through successive plot developments.
Rising Action
An object or element incorporated into a narrative to represent another concept or concern.
Symbol or Symbolism
Typically refers to saying one thing and meaning the opposite, often to shock audiences and emphasize the importance of the truth.
Irony
Exaggerated language, description, or speech that is not meant to be taken literally, but is used for emphasis. For instance, “I’ve been waiting here for ages” or “This bag weighs a ton.”
Hyperbole
A way of communicating information (in writing, images, or sound) that conveys an attitude.
Tone
Usually located at the beginning of a text, this is a detailed discussion introducing characters, setting, background information, etc. readers might need to know in order to understand the text that follows. This section is particularly rich for analysis because it contains a lot of important information in a relatively small space.
Exposition
Spoken exchanges between characters in a dramatic or literary work, usually between two or more speakers.
Dialogue
A style of writing that mocks, ridicules, or pokes fun at a person, belief, or group of people in order to challenge them. Often uses sarcasm, irony, or exaggeration to assert the author's perspective.
When a text references, incorporates, or responds to an earlier piece (including literature, art, music, film, event, etc).
Allusion
“[A] salient abstract idea that emerges from a literary work’s treatment of its subject-matter; or a topic recurring in a number or literary works” (Baldick 258).
Theme
“Literally, in Latin, the ‘god from the machine’; a deity in Greek and Roman drama who was brought in by stage machinery to intervene in the action; hence, any character, event, or device suddenly introduced to resolve the conflict” (Taffe 43).
Deus Ex Machina
A kind of literature such as romance, horror, and historical fiction.
Genre
A mode of writing in which the author traces his or her thoughts verbatim into the text.
Stream of Consciousness
A literary mode that attempts to convert abstract concepts, values, beliefs, or historical events into characters or other tangible elements in a narrative.
Allegory
A term used to describe an author’s use of vivid descriptions “that evoke sense-impressions by literal or figurative reference to perceptible or ‘concrete’ objects, scenes, actions, or states” (Baldick 121).
Imagery
The “falling action” of a narrative, when the climax and central conflicts are resolved and a resolution is found.
Denouement