Lit Terms

The presentation of an abstract idea through concrete means. Two Levels; an obvious surface level story and a deeper religious, political, or philosophical meaning. Often has characters named for the idea they represent.

An indirect reference in a piece of literature, movie, song, etc. to a person, event, piece of literature, etc. that came before. Assumed the reader will understand the reference.

Something that appears out of its proper historical time period

The character pitted agains the protagonist. A mean or cruel character would be a villan. Does not have to be mean.

A protagonist who does not exhibit the qualities of a traditional hero (nobility & bravery or positive, honest qualities)

When a literary character speaks directly to an inanimate object

The original model from which something is developed or made. In literature, these things may come from previous stories and/or myths or from the "collective unconcious"

• Literary movement in the late 1950's, characterized by:
• - a rejection of social mores
• - feeling of oppression by dominant culture
• - advocacy of antiestablishment views

• A novel that recounts the development of an individual from childhood to maturity, to the point at which the protagonist recognizes his/her place in the world.
• Coming of age.

Literature that appears in a variety of anthologies, etc. that would be included in what we would call ...

In depth reflection on and analysis of a piece of literature

A character in a literary work who, over the course of the work, changes in some significant way

A character in a literary work who has a lack of depth of personality/character

A character who, through his contrast to the protagonist, serves to accentuate that character's personality traits/qualities

• Characteristics include:
• - dramatically, violent and/or disturbing
• - destructively passionate love
• - grand but gloomy settings

A literary movement starting in the 1920's in predominantly African-American Harlem in NYC. Highlighted African-American culture for the first time in America

The use of language to appeal to a reader's five senses to place him/her in the situation described

A situation when things do not turn out as expected

What a character believes is true is known by audience to not be true

When what occurs contradics a reader's or character's predictions

What is said is not ment (sarcasim)

Used to describe literature that combines realistic and fantastic elements

A movement that followed WWI, in which writers sought to experiment with new literary froms & styles

General feeling created in the reader by the work

An unifying element in a piece of literature.

Literary movements of the late 19th & early 20th centuries that assumes humans have little control over what happens

Away of emphasizing an idea through the use of gramatically similar constructions

A quality in a work or a portion there of that makes the reader feel pity, sorry or tenderness

The vantage point from which a narrative is told

Literary movement that followed WWII, characterized by radically experimental works of literature. Often highlights the alienation of inidividuals and the meaningless of human existence.

The most important or leading character in a work

• Literary ideal characterized by:
• - Accurate depiction of every day life in a given place or period
• - Accuracy in portraying the speech and behavior of characters

A character who, over the course of a literary work, does not change

A type of character that regularly appears in certain literary forms

Something that suggests, something larger than itself, something that represents something else

The attitude of the author toward the subject matter of a literary work

Belief that all human beings are innately divine, but they can discover higher knowledge (moral knowledge) without logic

A narrator who, for some reason, cannot or does not fully comprehend the world around him or whose information cannot be trusted