Style
The perspective (visual, interpretive, bias, etc) a text takes when presenting its plot and narrative.
Point of View
A figure of speech that compares two people, objects, elements, or concepts using “like” or “as.”
Example: She is a lovely as a summer day.
Simile
A system of actions in a purposeful sequence represented in an artistic work. Aristotle defines it as that which has a beginning, middle, and an end.
Plot
Alliteration
Catcher in the Rye is told from the ________ person perspective/point of view
First
Spoken exchanges between characters in a dramatic or literary work, usually between two or more speakers.
Dialogue
An implied comparison between two usually unrelated things that suggests one thing is the other; a linking verb is often used to connect the ideas.
Example: Those shoes are fire.
The relationship between the protagonist and the antagonist; the "big problem" in the story.
Conflict
In Harry Potter, Voldemort is this kind of character
Antagonist
Romeo & Juliet is this genre of text, that although read in book form, is best experienced on stage.
Play
The primary character in a text, often positioned as “good” or the character with whom readers are expected to identify. The conflict of the movie is centered on the protagonist. Protagonists usually oppose an antagonist.
Protagonist
An object or element incorporated into a narrative to represent another concept or concern. Broadly, representing one thing with another.
Example: In The Shining the color red represents the gore and violence of the Overlook hotel.
Symbolism
A writer’s use of hints or clues to indicate events that will occur later in the story. The use of this technique both creates suspense and prepares the reader for what is to come.
Foreshadowing
"I became well red by reading in the sun" is an example of this literary term
Pun
The Bluest Eye jumps around in time, using this literary device to explore things that happened in the past
Flashback
A universal idea, lesson, or message explored throughout a work of literature.
Theme
Exaggerated language, description, or speech that is not meant to be taken literally, but is used for emphasis.
Example: “I’ve been waiting here for ages” or “This bag weighs a ton.”
Hyperbole
When the writer interrupts the chronological sequence of a story to relate an incident which occurred prior to the beginning of the story.
Flashback
Disney movies are known for giving animals or objects human characteristics (think Beauty & The Beast). This is called...
Personification
If Beale Street Could Talk takes place in New York City in the 1970s. This is called a book's _________
Setting
Word choice, or the specific language an author, narrator, or speaker uses to describe events and interact with other characters.
Diction
A reference to some person, place or event that has literary, historical or geographical significance.
Example: Taylor Swift's "Love Story":
“…That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles and my daddy said ‘Stay away from Juliet‘…”
Allusion
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
In Romeo & Juliet, roses come up frequently which help develop the theme of love, perhaps especially dangerous love (thorns). This is called a...
Motif
Go Ask Alice is written in diary form, in letters, and thus is written in this style.
Epistolary Form