Literary Terms and Critical Perspectives

English 110 with Cosgrove at University of North Carolina-Wilmington

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By: Liz Hare
Created: 2011-03-02
Size: 31 flashcards
Views: 36

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Short Story

short, fictional prose narrative, usually consisting of one unified episode or sequence of related events; relatively new genre of literature

Plot

sequence of events in a short story and their relation to one another

Characters

the people who are involved in what happens in a story. May be flat or static; or round or dynamic. Main character- protagonist/hero

Point of View

author’s choice of narrator for the story (see 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd person)

Style

the characteristic way an author uses language to create literature

Irony

when we know something the characters don’t; another means by which writers tell stories; some characters in the story may not know something that others do

Tone

the way the author conveys his or her unstated attitudes toward the story

Theme

a generalization about the meaning of the story

Satire

a work that ridicules some aspect of human behavior by portraying it at its most extreme

Parody

using comedy or humor to draw attention to another genre

Rising Action

the events that lead up to the climax and present us with a conflict

Climax

turning point of highest point of interest in a narrative; the point at which the most important part of the action takes place and the final outcome of the plot become inevitable.

Falling Action

the events of a narrative that follow the climax and resolve the conflict before the story is brought to an end

2nd Person

"you", least common

3rd Person

"he/she"

Close Reading

reading works of literature analytically in order to understand the author’s creation of design and pattern in a text

Formalist Criticism

look at the form/how well is it written?; sentence structure

Biographical Criticism

look at the author's past

Psychological Criticism

Freud, subconscious, applying from the author, psychoanalysis helps writers understand their feelings

Mythological Criticism

“our culture has a subconscious”, useful so we can make broader statements about something

Historical Criticism

look at dates, words/phrases may have new meanings

Sociological Criticism

relates to literature to society

Reader-Response Criticism

what the reader experienced/feels about it

Deconstructionist Criticism

contradicting to formalist criticism; breaks the literature down, taking it out of context

Gender Criticism

what does this text tell me about what it means to be a man/woman?

Cultural Criticism

more than one approach to studying literature; what does this say about our culture?

Distopian

futuristic, bad/negative life

Characterization

how the author uses character

End Orientation

inidication of how the story will end; conclusion of plot in the opening paragraph(s_

foreshadowing

hints of what is to come

About this deck

By: Liz Hare
Created: 2011-03-02
Size: 31 flashcards
Views: 36

About StudyBlue

“Simply amazing. The flash cards are smooth, there are many different types of studying tools, and there is a great search engine. I praise you on the awesomeness.”
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