Literary Terms
To inform, persuade, or entertain.
What is Author's Purpose?
Methods an author uses to describe a character’s personality and traits.
What is characterization?
Titanic
The Notebook
Beauty & the Beast
What is love?
Collapsing or crushing inward.
What is Implode
Showing or feeling great happiness/excitement.
What is gleeful?
When the author shares their personal thoughts or feelings.
What is commentary?
When the author or narrator explicitly tells the reader about a character’s personality, background, or physical appearance. I
What is direct characterization?
Spiderman
Batman
Phantom of the Opera
What is good vs. evil?
Failing to work correctly (like a brain or machine).
What is a misfire?
Acting quickly without considering the consequences.
What is impulsive?
The part of story structure that immediately follows the climax.
Falling Action
When the author reveals a character’s personality through their actions, speech, thoughts, appearance, and interactions with other characters
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What is indirect characterization?
Rocky
Unbroken
Creed
What is perseverance or determination (not giving up)?
Acting in a crazy or abnormal way.
What is deranged?
Planning actions carefully to get what you want, often without regard for others.
What is calculating?
A close study of a text to understand how an author's choices (craft) create meaning.
What is literary analysis?
The underlying reason behind a character’s specific actions.
What is motivation?
Robin Hood
12 Angry Men
Peppermint
What is Justice?
Making sudden, unsteady movements forward.
What is lurches?
Accepting that something bad will happen and cannot be changed.
What is resigned?
The central message, idea, or lesson the author is trying to communicate.
What is Theme?
A situation where an individual is forced to choose between two or more conflicting ethical options, where each choice carries significant moral weight.
What is a moral dilemma?
Terminator
Hunger Games
Avengers
What is Sacrifice?
Thinking deeply or seriously about something.
What is pensive?
Hard to read or understand; mysterious.
What is inscrutable?