LITERARY TERMS REVEIW

Imagery• the use of figures of speech to create vivid images that appeal to one of the senses

• Sight, sound, smell, touch, taste

Characterization• the methods an author uses to reveal a character’s personality

• indirect – the author or speaker reveals a character’s personality through the character’s own words, thoughts, and actions and through the words, thoughts, and actions of other characters

• direct – the author or narrator makes direct statements about a character’s traits

Details• facts revealed by the author or speaker that support the attitude or tone in a piece

of poetry or prose

• Tone: the attitude of a writer, usually implied, toward the subject or audience

Simile• comparison of two things using “like” or “as”, or other specifically comparative words

The clouds were low and hairy in the skies,

Like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes…

(Robert Frost, “Once by the Pacific;” 1928)

She is as in a field a silken tent

At midday when a sunny summer breeze

Has dried the dew and all its ropes relent,

So that in guys it gently sways at ease.

(Robert Frost, “The Silken Tent;” 1942)

Metaphor• a direct comparison of two different things

Theme• a central idea of a work

Diction• Word choice

• Denotation-dictionary meaning of a word

• Connotation-the positive and negative images associated with a word• Often associated with feelings or bias

• Home, residence, abode, house, shack

• Often contributes to tone-the author’s attitude toward his/her subject