Literary Terms for Short Fiction and Non-Fiction Analysis
- Alliteration: repetition of initial consonant sounds.
- Allusion: a reference to a person or event in literature, mythology, or history assumed to be known to the reader.
- Colloquialism: informal conversational language.
- Diction: author’s choice of words. In good writing words are not chosen lightly but are carefully selected for their impact, including subtle connotations.
- Denotation: the precise, literal meaning of a word (i.e.the dictionary definition).
- Connotation:The individual associations implied or suggested by a word; they extend the meaning of a word beyond its literal meaning. (Associations will vary greatly by individual and their personal experiences, yet will-informed readers will often make the same connections.)
- Hyperbole: exaggeration.
- Personification: a type of metaphor that gives human qualities to objects or ideas.
- Irony:there are three types of irony: dramatic, situational, and verbal.
Dramatic Irony: A situation in which the audience knows of present or future circumstances that a character does not.
Situational Irony: When there is a discrepancy between expected results and actual results. Often the outcome is somehow perversely different than what was anticipated.
Verbal Irony: When a speakers says one thing but actually means something else. Examples include sarcasm and understatement.
- Satire: a literary device in which a person or group is held up to ridicule with the purpose of exposing or denouncing behaviour that is socially destructive, often through the use of irony or sarcasm. It is a humorous way to try and better society.
- Parody: A work that comments on, exposes, mocks, or otherwise ridicules an original artistic work, especially through ironic or satirical imitation of the original.
- Juxtaposition: placing words or ideas side by side for contrast
- Parallel structure: use of same forms (structures) for words, phrases, sentences
- Rhetorical question: question used to involve the reader
- Simile:A figure of speech that evokes imagery by explicitly comparing two dissimilar things, using the words like or as: “My love is like a rose”; “the thunder sounded like a mean dog’s growl.”
- Metaphor:A common figure of speech where a direct comparison or identification is implicitly made between two unlike objects (not using like or as): “Juliet is the sun”; “Thumb: an odd friendless boy raised by four aunts.”
- Pathos: That which arouses pity – characters that arouse a feeling of pathos are usually young, innocent, and undeserving of their fate.
- Bathos: A form of failed pathos because the latter is over-worked or excessive. It is when a writer “over-reaches” trying to create sympathy or pity as an effect and it fails.
- Onomatopoeia: Words which represent a sound (e.g. “Bang!”; “thump”; “click”).
- Phonetic Intensive: A word whose sound emphasizes its meaning, though not onomatopeaiac. Consider the words “flash” and “glimmering.”
- Tone: writer’s attitude towards his subject and/or audience. This attitude can best be discovered through the choice of diction which collectively reveals the tone.
Note: Avoid describing tone with vague generalities like “negative” or “positive,” but look for more descriptive words backed by specific examples of diction.
Additional Terms Specific to Non-Fiction
- Thesis: the writer’s argument or position. Note that this is different than the topic (what the essay is about).
Topic + Author’s Perspective = Thesis
- Anecdote: a brief, simple narration of an incident
- Analogy: a comparison that assumes that two objects or events that are alike in one respect will be alike in another
- Reference to authority: quoting an expert
- Reference to pop culture: reference to current fads, shows, songs, etc.
- Rhetoric: the art of using language to persuade or convince others, often employing one of logos (appealing to reason) or pathos (appealing to the emotions), after having established ethos (the authority to speak on the subject, usually because of experience or expertise).