Literary Terms & - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Literary Terms &

Story ElementsSlide2

Character

Characterization: refers to a characters personality or the method by which the writer reveals this personality.

Direct Characterization: the writer tells you directly about the character.

Indirect Characterization: the writer lets you learn about the characters through their thoughts or through what other characters think about them.Motivation: character’s reason or reasons for saying or doing something.Slide3

Character

Character Traits: all of those qualities that make a person unique.

Examples of common character traits:

Adventurous, friendly, loud, anxious, rude sad, evil, foolish, intelligent, lucky, stubborn, sweet, tired, honest, hopeful, curious, greedy, popular, young, worried, loving, confused, clumsy, lazy, ambitious, shy, loyal, silly, humorous, etc.Write down at least five character traits that represent you.Slide4

Protagonist

The principal or main character around which a literary work usually revolves.

Examples:

Katniss from Hunger GamesRapunzel from TangledBatman (any of the movies)Slide5

Antagonist

The character who opposes the central character, causing conflict.

Examples:

Mother Gothel from TangledJoker from The Dark KnightScar from The Lion KingSlide6

Foil

Character who contrasts another character.

Example:

Edward and Jacob from TwilightSlide7

Point of View: the position of the narrator in relation to the story.

Perspective:

Shaped by many factors, including his or her gender, age, cultural heritage, and personal experiences.

Empathy: Ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.Point of ViewSlide8

First-person Narration:

the story is told by one of the characters in it, with the character referring to himself or herself as “I.”

Third-person Narration:

the narrator is a voice outside the story who refers to all the characters as he, she, or they.Omniscient Narrator: When a third-person narrator is all-seeing and all-knowing. An omniscient narrator can tell us things that the characters in the story do not know. This narrator can enter the minds of the characters, telling us what they think and feel and how they view events.Point of ViewSlide9

The theme of a story is the general idea or insight into life that the story presents.

ThemeSlide10

Abandonment

Ambition

American Dream, The

Coming of AgeSurvivalCrueltyDeath

EducationFamily

FateFreedomGrief

Heroism

Identity

Illness

Individual and Society

Isolation

Justice

Love

Nationalism

Nature

Oppression

Pride

Race

Regret

Rejection

Religion

Violence

Spirituality

Success

Theme

Common themes found throughout literature:Slide11

Symbol

A person, place, or thing that is present as a representation of a larger meaning.

Your Turn: List as many symbols as you can in our daily lives.Slide12

Setting

The location and time period where the plot takes place.Slide13

Style

The combined defining elements of how language is used within a literary work, by an author, or as a category of expression.Slide14

Genre

Various classifications of literary works.

Examples:

MysteryComedyFantasyScience FictionDramaRomanceSlide15

Dialogue

The representation of conversation within a literary work.

Slang = informal language used by particular group of people.Slide16

Allusion

A reference to a famous person, place, or event.

The Bible is the most alluded piece of literature.Slide17

Figurative Language

Words that affect a meaning other than the usual or literal meaning of the words. (Simile, metaphor, personification, etc.)Slide18

Metaphor

To compare similar things or ideas without using the words

like

or as.Slide19

Simile

To compare different things or ideas by using the words

like

or as.Slide20

Personification

Attribution of human qualities to an inanimate thing.

Examples:

The pen danced across the paper.Opportunity was knocking at your door.The wind howled.Time creeps up on you.The storm attacked the town.Slide21

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration to give emphasis or focus.

Examples:

I’ve told you a million timesIt was so cold I saw polar bears wearing jackets.I am so hungry I could eat a horse.He is as skinny as a toothpick.Slide22

Foreshadowing

A feeling, object, or occurrence that forewarns of an event and which is only fully understood in hindsight.Slide23

Paradox

A statement that initially seems to contradict itself but, in fact, includes a fundamental truth.

Examples:

It was BittersweetWise foolThe beginning of the endNobody goes to that restaurant because it is too crowded.Slide24

Irony

When the expected outcome differs from what actually happens.

Examples:

Firehouse catching on fireTow truck getting towedDying in your living roomGetting hit by an ambulanceSlide25

Idiom

An expression that is clear only to those who are familiar with the language of its origin; cannot be understood based on its literal meaning.

Examples:

Sick as a dogChip on your shoulderRub someone the wrong waySlide26

Pun

The use of similar or identical sounding words to create an alternate meaning to the sentence in which they are used.

Examples:

I’ve been to the dentist so many times, so I know the drill.I went to buy some camouflage pants yesterday and couldn’t find any.Being struck by lightning is a shocking experience!Slide27

Oxymoron

To combine two words with contrasting meanings to convey a single idea or thought.

Examples:

Jumbo shrimpLeast favoriteRandom orderAct naturallySlide28

Cliché

An expression that has been used too often that its meaning and impact are no longer effective.

Examples:

Opposites attractAll is fair in love and warRead between the linesWhat goes around comes aroundSlide29

Euphemism

A polite word or phrase used in place of an offensive or crude word or phrase.

Examples:

“Passed away” instead of “died”“Correctional facility” instead of “jail”“Between jobs” instead of “unemployed”“Flatulence” instead of “farts”Slide30

Onomatopoeia

Words that imitate sounds.

Examples:

Zip, bang, boom, swoosh, splash, fizz, beep clap, buzz, drip, zoom, achoo, belch, etc.Slide31

Alliteration

Repetition of the same sound beginning several words in sequence.Slide32

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of words in a phrase or sentence.Slide33

Assonance

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds found within or at the end of words and phrases.

In this example by Carl Sandburg, in

Early Moon, the long “o” sounds old or mysterious. “Poetry is old, ancient, goes back far. It is among the oldest of living things. So old it is that no

man kno

ws how and why the first poems came.”Slide34

Imagery

The use of figurative language to paint a sensory picture for the reader.

Example: “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth

A host, of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.Continuous as the stars that shineAnd twinkle on the Milky WaySlide35

Plot

Exposition — gives background on setting and characters

Complication — the problem or challenge that main character(s) must resolve

Rising Action — emotion and conflict build as the character(s) deal(s) with complication(s)Climax (or turning point) — the highest point of emotion; the complication is at its worstFalling Action — the complication begins to move toward resolutionResolution — the complication is resolved in some waySlide36

Plot

Types of Conflicts

Internal

Mental or emotional struggle that occurs within a character.External

Struggle that occurs between a character and outside forcesPerson vs. person

Person vs. nature

Person vs. fateSlide37