Assonance: repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds “That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.”

Alliteration: recurrence of consonants. “dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon” “Nature’s first green is gold, It’s hardest hue to hold”

Allusion: A reference in a literary work to something that is external to the text. (Think of music in which one artist samples another.)

Characterization: the means an author employs in presenting and developing characters. *ACTION *DESCRIPTION *ACTIONS OF OTHERS (Caricature: Ludicrously exaggerated CHARCTERIZATION)

Conflict: the struggle b/w opposing forces. (It’s central to storytelling) It’s really the interaction between CHARACTERS, usually the Protagonist and Antagonist It can also be in the mind of the central figure.

Dialogue: The conversational language spoken by the CHARACTERS in a literary work. it’s at best when it’s a stylized version or what a character might actually say in a situation. Good dialogue attempts to record the idiom of characters as psychologically and socially observed.

Hyperbole : Exaggeration or overstatement frequently employed for humorous purposes.

Imagery: a verbal representation of a sense impression. *Visual *Auditory *Olfactory *Tactile *Taste- oriented. Literal or Figurative They are often an essential part in defining the emotional content, and meaning of a literary work.

Irony (a) a statement contradicts its literal meaning Irony (a) a statement contradicts its literal meaning. Ex: a narrator fails to recognize or admit the significance of what is described. (b) Situational irony occurs when events develop in a pattern opposite to what is expected. (c) Dramatic irony occurs when characters in a literary work are proceeding without being aware of factors affecting their fate that are known to the audience.

Metaphor: An implied comparison of dissimilar objects. SIMILE: explicit comparison. “like or as” Metaphors apply words to objects where there is no normal, literal, or expected association: “Life’s but a walking shadow”

Motif: unifying elements in a work. It may be a phrase, IMAGE, SYMBOL, citation, or some other narrative detail that recurs and helps to elaborate a THEME.

Oxymoron: A statement with two apparently contradictory components W.B. Yeat’s: “terrible beauty” It is effective as a result of its incongruity.

Personification: The attribution of human qualities to non-human objects.

Setting: *place *historical period *social circumstances The setting has significant implications for: Atmosphere Character Plot Theme Action Conflict

CHARACTER ACTION OBJECT SITUATION SETTING can be a symbol Symbolism : Any CHARACTER ACTION OBJECT SITUATION SETTING can be a symbol if it has a clear literal function AND it represents something beyond itself. Flora, the horse in Alice Munro’s “Boys and Girls,” is used symbolically to make a statement about the end of an early phase of the NARRATOR’s life. A baseball bat in a baseball player’s hands means something entirely different than a bat in an angry man’s.

Tone: The cast of VOICE that reveals the SPEAKER’s or writer’s attitude to the audience.

Juxtaposition: the act or instance of placing two or more things side by side.

Parallelism: To have items in pairs or a series. The reader will use parallelism to see similarity . Important in making connections between seemingly different items.

Questioning Identify: to establish the identity or to place things in order, determine position.

Questioning Explain: to make known. To make plain or understandable.

Questioning Analyze: To determine the nature or relationship of parts.

Can you make connections outside of the text? Questioning Deeper Meaning: Can you make connections outside of the text?