ECCR Word List

ECCR
Literary Terms and Definitions

1. Allegory-a work in which the characters and events are to be understood as representing other things and symbolically expressing a deeper, often spiritual, moral, or political meaning
2. Alliteration-a poetic or literary effect achieved by using several words that begin with the same or similar consonants, as in "Whither wilt thou wander, wayfarer?
3. Allusion-an indirect reference to somebody or something
4. Ambiguity-a situation in which something can be understood in more than one way and it is not clear which meaning is intended
5. American Dream-the idea that everyone in the United States has the chance to achieve success and prosperity
6. Analogy-a comparison between two things that are similar in some way, often used to help explain something or make it easier to understand
7. Anecdote-a short personal account of an incident or event
8. Antagonist-somebody or something opposing or in conflict with another
9. Anthropomorphism-the attribution of a human form, human characteristics, or human behavior to nonhuman things
10. Assonance-the similarity of two or more vowel sounds or the repetition of two or more consonant sounds, especially in words that are close together in a poem.
11. Cadence- a set rhythm
12. Character-the set of qualities that make somebody or something distinctive, especially somebody's qualities of mind and feeling
13. Cliché-a phrase or word that has lost its original effectiveness or power from overuse
14. Connotation-an additional sense or senses associated with or suggested by a word or phrase. Connotations are sometimes, but not always, fixed, and are often subjective
15. Consonance-repetition of the same or similar final consonant sounds on accented syllables or in important words
16. Deconstructionism – taking a piece of literature apart to see what has been left out or overlooked
17. Denouement-a final part of a story or drama in which everything is made clear and no questions or surprises remain
18. Dialect-a regional variety of a language, with differences in vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation
19. Dialogue-the words spoken by characters in a book, movie, or play, or a section of a work that contains spoken words
20. Diction-a speaker’s or writer’s choice of words
21. Epistemology – study of knowledge
22. Essay-a short analytic, descriptive, or interpretive piece of literary or journalistic prose dealing with a specific topic, especially from a personal and unsystematic viewpoint
23. Existentialism - Human life is grounded in existence and subjectivity is the fountain of all human deliberate actions.
24. Exposition-one of the four major forms of discourse, in which something is explained or set forth
25. Flashback-a scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in s story to depict something that happened at an earlier time
26. Foreshadowing-hints or clues to indicate or suggest something, usually something unpleasant, that is going to happen
27. Frame Story-a narrative that provides the framework within which a number of different stories, which may or may not be connected, can be a tale within a tale
28. Free enterprise-the doctrine or practice of giving companies the freedom to trade and make a profit without government control
29. Hyperbole-deliberate and obvious exaggeration used for effect, e.g. "I could eat a million of these”
30. Idealism - theory which claims that something "ideal" or non-physical or non-material or non-extended is the primary reality
31. Ideology – beliefs, values, and ideals that support society
32. Idiom-a fixed distinctive expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from the combined meanings of its actual words
33. Imagery-the figurative language, especially metaphors and similes, used in poetry, plays, and other literary works to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, a thing, a place, or an experience
34. Incongruity-something that does not seem to fit in with or be appropriate to its context
35. Irony-a discrepancy between appearances and reality
a. verbal irony is when an author says one thing and means something else.
b. dramatic irony is when an audience perceives something that a character in the literature does not know.
c. irony of situation is a discrepancy between the expected result and actual results.
36. Literary discourse - role of literature in society as a key to understanding the power of a prevailing ruling class
37. Memoir-a biography or an account of historical events, especially one written from personal knowledge
38. Metaphor-a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as than, or resembles; types of metaphor: direct, implied, extended, dead, mixed
39. Methodology – research methods specific to particular discipline
40. Modernism-bold new experimental styles and forms that swept the arts during the first third of the 20th century
41. Mood-the overall emotion created by a work of literature
42. Motivation-the reasons for a character’s behavior
43. Naturalism - a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings
44. Oxymoron-a phrase in which two words of contradictory meaning are used together for special effect, e.g. "wise fool" or "legal murder"
45. Parallel structure-relating to two things that are comparable because they are similar and share many characteristics
46. Parody-a piece of writing or music that deliberately copies another work in a comic or satirical way
47. Personification-an embodiment or perfect example of something; human qualities to objects or abstract notions.
48. Persuasion-one of the four forms of discourse, which uses reason and emotional appeals to convince a reader to think or act in a certain way
49. Plot-series of related events in a story or play, sometimes called the story line
50. Point of view-the vantage point from which the writer tells story
a. Objective Point of ViewWith the objective point of view, the writer tells what happens without stating more than can be inferred from the story's action and dialogue. The narrator never discloses anything about what the characters think or feel, remaining a detached observer.
b. Third Person Point of ViewHere the narrator does not participate in the action of the story as one of the characters, but lets us know exactly how the characters feel. We learn about the characters through this outside voice.
c. First Person Point of ViewIn the first person point of view, the narrator does participate in the action of the story. When reading stories in the first person, we need to realize that what the narrator is recounting might not be the objective truth. We should question the trustworthiness of the accounting.
d. Omniscient and Limited Omniscient Points of ViewA narrator who knows everything about all the characters is all knowing, or omniscient. A narrator whose knowledge is limited to one character, either major or minor, has a limited omniscient point of view.
51. Postmodernism - concentrates on the tensions of difference and similarity erupting from processes of globalization
52. Pragmatism - practical
53. Protagonist-main character; the one who initiates or drives the action
54. Pun-a humorous use of words that involves a word or phrase that has more than one possible meaning
55. Realism - the faithful representation of reality
56. Regionalism-literature that emphasizes a specific geographic setting and that reproduces the speech, behavior, and attitudes of the people who live in that region
57. Repetition-unifying property of repeated words, sounds, syllables, and other elements that appear in a work
58. Resolution-the conclusion of a story, when all or most of the conflicts have been settled
59. Rhetorical question-a question asked for effect that neither expects nor requires an answer
60. Satire-the use of wit, especially irony, sarcasm, and ridicule, to criticize faults in an attempt to bring about a change
61. Setting-the time and location in which a story takes place
a. geographical location
b. time period
c. socio-economic characteristics
d. specific building or room
62. Short story-a brief work of prose fiction
63. Simile-a figure of speech that draws a comparison between two different things, especially a phrase containing the word "like" or "as," e.g. "as white as a sheet"
64. Stereotype-an oversimplified standardized image of a person or group that does not allow for any individuality and is often based on racial, social, or religious prejudices
65. Style-a distinctive and identifiable form in an artistic medium such as music, architecture, or literature; the specific way in which a writer uses language
66. Subjective/objective writing-used to express personal opinions, experiences, feelings and ideas/based on facts rather than thoughts or opinions
67. Suspense-the state or condition of being unsure or in doubt about something
68. Symbol-something that stands for or represents something else, especially an object representing an abstraction
69. Theme-the subject of a discourse, discussion, piece of writing, or artistic composition
70. Tone-a writer’s attitude about the work or characters in it or the audience
71. Tragedy-a story in which the hero either dies or comes to some other unhappy end
72. Understatement-a statement, or a way of expressing yourself, that is deliberately less forceful or dramatic than the subject would seem to justify or require
73. Vernacular-the everyday language of the people in a country or region, as distinct from official or formal language
74. Verisimilitude – depicting realism