Lit Terms 1
main character
protagonist
main idea in a text that always makes an assertion
claim/thesis
a specific type of literature
genre
falling action in a story
denouement
a common figure of speech whose meaning is different than the literal meaning of the words.
idiom
saying one thing and meaning another (sarcasm)
verbal irony
the dictionary meaning of a word
denotation
author's word choice
diction
strong contrast between reality and expectations in a story
irony
order or arrangement of words in a sentence
syntax
commission of word or words, three periods are used
ellipses
a character whose main role is to highlight or emphasize, by contrast, the development in other characters.
foil
combining 2 normally opposite ideas (living dead)
oxymoron
sequence of events in a story is interrupted by an earlier event
flashback
an inclination to a particular judgement on a topic or issue
bias
to draw conclusions from facts or evidence
infer
a trite, overused statement or idea
cliche
a statement that may seem contradictory and absurd but is often true (less is more)
paradox
main idea, topic or message in literature (always a statement)
theme
hint or clue about something that will happen later in the story
foreshadowing
a brief reference to a famous person, place, event or literary work
allusion
emotional implications that a word may carry
connotation
saying something in a polite or more politically-correct way
euphemism
humorous play on words
pun
recurrent image, symbols or concepts that unify a work
motif