Lit Terms

Motif: any theme, image, symbol or idea the reoccurs through out the story.

Realism: A work of literature that depicts life and people as they really appear (all characters have flaws because all people have flaws). Themes: corruption, racism.

Romanticism: Works of literature that deal with the imagination, romantic adventures, spiritual connection w/ nature. Ex. The last Mohigans, Robin Hood.

Allegory: The presentation of an abstract idea through more concrete means, typical allegory is a narrative.

Picaresque Novel: Usually a satirical novel which depicts in realistic details the adventure of a roguish hero of low social class who survives by his or her wits in a corrupt society.

Bildungroman: A novel whose principal subject is the moral, psychological and intellectual development of a youthful main character.

Irony: a. Situation: a discrepanc between expectation and reality. A contrast between what is expected/ normal, and what actually happens.
b. Dramatic: When the reader knows something the character doesn't, or hasn't figured out yet.
c. Verbal: a speaker or writer says the opposite of what he or she actually means/ a discrepancy between what a speaker or writer says and what he or she believes to be true.

Satire: Work of literature that uses irony and hyperbole to attack and mock some aspect of society as a way to promote change.

Sarcasm: the use of irony to mock or convey contempt

Episodic Plot: S structure that features distinct episodes or a series of stories linked together by the same character. Huck Finn has 8 0r 9

Dramatic Foil: A character who, by contrast with the main character, serves to accentuate. bring out that character's distinctive qualities or characteristics.

Hyperbole: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Unreliable Narrator: A character that misinterprets things.

Euphemism: a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for on considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing

Parable: a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. * A short, realistic , and illustrative story intended to teach a moral or religious lesson; a type of allegory.

Oxymoron: A figure of speech that juxaposes two opposite or apparently contradictory words to present an emphatic and dramatic paradox for a rhetorical purpose or effect.

Antihero: a protagonist that doesn't fit the traditional description of a hero

Dialect:a particular form of a language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group

Metaphor: Comparison between two things not normally related.

Simile: Comparison between two things using like or as

Tone: The attitude of the author toward the reader or the subject matter of a literary work. can be serious, playful, mocking, angry, commanding, apologetic, ...etc.