LITERARY TERMS THEME =the central idea of the text ; it raises a question about human nature or experience.

SUBJECT = the sequence of events the characters are involved in . PLOT = the sequence of conflicts that lead to a climax and resolution that makes sense ; the plot can be chronological when the events are presented in chronological order disrupted when the events are presented as they come to the mind of the narrator frame story a story within a story (ex. The Canterbury Tales) *The parts of the plot are : - The exposition ( the information telling us how and why the characters became involved in the conflict) - The initiating action (the event that brings the opposing forces into conflict ) - The rising action (the gradual advancement of the conflict ;the problems faced by the characters ) - The CLIMAX (The point of highest interest ,in which the protagonist takes consciously or not- the action that will determine the future course of events ) - The dnouement or resolution = the incidents by which the conflict caused by the initiating action is resolved . CHARACTERS can be : round (complex ) or flat (simple , dominated by one feature ) static (doesnt change from the beginning to the end ) or dynamic ( it undergoes changes for the better / worse ) A character can be governed by public values (courage ,modesty, faith.) or by private values ( intelligence ,beauty) A character can one of these : - a god (he/she is divine , superior to other beings )=> a myth - a godlike (he/she is a superior human being whose actions are marvellous) => a legend ,a fairy-tale or a folk-tale - a hero (he/she is a leader whose actions , either good or bad , are courageous) =>an epic or a tragedy - a non-hero (one of us , not superior to other people )=> a realistic novel or a comedy - an anti-hero ( he/she is of inferior intelligence to us ; the story is one of bondage , frustration , absurdity ) => modernist , postmodernist and absurd literature SETTING = the background ( time, space ,season, weather elements, physical props, clothing ,cultural elements )against which the conflict and actions occur . It is strictly connected with the plot, atmosphere , characters, the tone and even the message of the work. POINT OF VIEW = the approach from which the story is told .It determines what information the reader receives and how it is presented . A first person narrative ( the story is told by one of the characters from a first persons approach ) *a third person narrative ( the story is told by the author or an observer ,from a third persons perspective )

Omniscient point of view = the narrator ( the author ) pretends to know everything about the characters and the action ; the reader has to take his/her information for granted .(ex. Th. Hardy Tess..)(-third person) Detached autobiography = the story is told by one of the characters tells the story long after the events occurred , in a frame of mind greatly changed since the time of the story ,even due to the lesson learned from the experience .(ex. Ch. Dickens Great Expectations)(-1st person) Subjective narration =(1st pers.) the story is told by one of the characters shortly after the conclusion of the events ,still under their influence, in a subjective manner . He is addressing us ,not the general publicor another character .(ex. Mark TwainHuckleberry Finn) Objective narration = ( 3rd pers.) the narrator reduces his role to that of an eyewitness ,chooses not to present inner life , dealing with the surface of things , the way a camera does .( ex Ernest Hemingway) Observer narration = (1st pers.+3rd pers.) it is a single character-point of view ,of a subordinate one , indirectly involved in the action ;he assumes several roles : he may be a confident of the main character, or an eye-witness, or he may find out things from other characters .(ex. Nick Carraway in S. Fitzgeralds Great Gatsby or Mr. Lockwood in E .Brontes Wuthering Heights ) Multiple point of view = the main character is explained by means of the response of the other characters (ex. H. James The Portrait of A Lady) Interior monologue ( stream of consciousness)= the mental processes rendered: directly as they occur , in the 1st person (direct interior monologue) or indirectly as if explained , in the 3rd person (indirect interior monologue ). Dramatic monologue = we overhear somebody speaking aloud to another person ,which allows the character to reveal ,explain or betray himself/herself( ex. E.A.Poe The TellTale Heart) Diary narration = a1st pers. narrative recording responses to events as they occur ( Samuel Pepys ) Tone = the attitude of the author vs. the subject/character(s).It can be sympathetic, critical, ironical, sad , bitter, funny, sarcastic etc. Message = the lesson learned Allegory = a narrative in verse or prose , in which characters , action and sometimes setting represent abstract concepts apart from the literary sense of the story ; the characters are often personifications of abstract ideas .(ex. Dantes Inferno) Archetype = a symbol , story pattern , or character type that recurs frequently in literature evoking associations with the original one ( ex. Cain and Abel>Absalom, Absalom) Alliteration = the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning or within the word ( the furrow followed free- S. T .Coleridge)

Assonance = the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds in stressed syllables (ex. :can hate be bate ?) Blank verse = unrhymed iambic pentameter (ex. :Milton- Paradise Lost: I may assert Eternal Providence / And justify the ways of God to men . ) Epic = a narrative poem (usually handed down in oral tradition ) dealing with heroes and adventures (ex.: The Odyssey) Epithet= a descriptive expression mentioning a quality of a person or object being described (ex .: the silent moon) Foreshadowing =a clue given to the reader for what is going to happen . Free verse = a type of poetry , free from conventional verse forms(metre , rhyme) but using rhythm (ex. W .Whitmans Song of Myself) Internal rhyme= a type of rhyme that matches stressed syllables or words in the middle and the end of a line .(ex: We were the first that ever burst /Into that silent sea .) Metaphor = a comparison from which the real term was replaced by the comparing one : A precious stone into the silver sea = England (Shakespeare) Myth = a traditional story connected to the beliefs of a people (it has less historical background than the legend ex. Prometheus # King Arthur) Parable = a brief fictional work that illustrates or teaches a lesson of lie (ex: The parable of the prodigal son ) Syntactical parallelism= the repetition of the same syntactical structure in two or more subsequent sentences ( So long as man can breathe and eyes can see/ So long lives this , and this gives life to thee.- Shakespeare , Sonnet18) Parody = an imitation of a serious work ( Cervante s Don Qixote= a parody of romances of chivalry) Personification = attributing an abstract or lifeless thing human qualities (ex: Nor shall Death brag thou wonders in HIS shade. Shakespeare, Sonnet18) Satire = social and political criticism by means of witty ridiculing a character with the intention of self-reform; irony and sarcasm are forms of satire ( irony triggers laughter , sarcasm is more biting and bitter ex: J. Swift) Soliloqui = a long monologue of a character in which he/she speak their mind (Hamlet To be or not to be.) Symbol= a concrete image that signifies something bigger / greater / loftier