Eng Terms 2
Terms
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- Allegory
- A story (fic/non-fic), in which charactors, things, and events represent qualities or concepts. The interaction of these characters, things, and events represent abstact vices or virtues. (ie: fables)
- Climax
- Outcome of the main action of a story. The point at which the reader can see what the complications were leading to. (Usually a decisive encounter b/w conflicting characters)
- Coherence
- Consistency of various parts of a story. Speech/actions of character follows his nature. Certain consequences to follow from a particular act, etc.
- Conflict
- Active opposition of characters, ideas, ways of life. A dynamic test of the capacities of one thing or person to overcome whatever competes with/frustrates it/him. Considered soul of fiction.
- Diction
- Word choice (element of style) and arrangement. Different types and arrangements of words have significant effects on meaning.
- Didactic
- A term used to describe fic/non-fic that teaches a specific lesson or moral and shows how people should behave. (distinguish b/w admirable and contemptible behavior)
- Foreshadowing
- Hints of things to come. A foolish, impulsive judgment on a small matter hints that a character may be simlilarly susceptible in the great crises of life. (sometimes seen by prophecies, author's language, or dialogue)
- Imagery
- 1. Figures of speech (Simile/Metaphors) or 2. All descriptions that prompt the reader to visualize characters in their setting. Set off imaginative analogies that extend the implications of the story beyong its literal limits
- Irony
- Discrepancy b/w what is expected and what is revealed. Found in language usage or in the working out of the action of a story. Surprise endings always depend on some sort of irony (usually crude). Difference b/w character's understanding of his/her situation and reader's estimate.
- Motivation
- Internal/external forces which compel a character to take action. Sometimes these forces are psychological, sociological, or a matter of hostility or opportunity in the physical environment. Should be consistent with character.
- Omniscience
- Author speakers directly to the reader about events that will come in the future and other matters beyond the knowledge of the central character or of all the characters. Constrasts with adhering just to the POV of a single character.
- Paradox
- Statement that appears to be contradictory or inconsistent with common sense - though it may be true.
- point of view
- events of a story may be told as they appear to one or more participants/observers. 1st person - narrator. 3rd person - limit his/her report to what could have been observed or known by one of the characters at any given point in the action, or of several characters.
- satire
- by ridicule, satirist aims to correct deviations from normal conduct or reasonable opinion. Exaggerate deformities to the point at which their absurdity is obvious.
- setting
- physical and cultural environment within which an action takes place. The stage that serves to demonstrate the qualities of a protagonist. Arena suitable for conflict.
- style
- writer's habitual way of expressing himself/herself. Consider vocabulary, sentence patterns, and other compositional elements.
- symbol
- an act, person, thing or spectacle that stands for something else, usually something less obvious than the symbol
- tension
- emotional and intellectual force generated by different potentials. Tension b/w primary and secondary meanings of a word, phrase, etc. Maybe tension b/w comic tone and pathetic subject matter.
- theme
- unifying point or meaning of a story. Theme is implicit in the outcome of the action. Rarely directly stated, but can be closely paraphrased by author's observation or statement of a character
- tone
- metaphorical term for tone of voice in which a speaker relates an episode. Reveals a storyteller's attitude towards material. Speaker might be trying to make light of something that frightened him/her. Fear will seem magnified by the attempt to disguise it.
- understatement
- playing down or under emphasizing a statement. Rhetorical trick intended to bring the imagination of the reader into play with a resulting magnification of emotional response. ie - Ernest Hemingway
- unity
- shape and consistency of a story. when all the elements and devices of storytelling have been harmonized and noting extraneous has been included in the text
- voice
- may be the characteristic mode of expression of a first-person narrator. Total, individualistic effect of all the devices a writer uses; combo of tactics that distinguishes his/her work
- mood
- prevailing feeling of a story, generated by language, setting, and the quality of the action. The term is naturally analogous to the moods of our experience.
- Effaced narrator
- In 3rd person narration, part of the description and narrative is givin in a language attributable to the charater whose point of view has been assumed by the author, while other parts are in a language that must be attributed to the author's own understanding and observations. (Speaker standing behind his/her character)