Literary Terms 22-34

An implied analogy which imaginatively identifies one object with another.

The emotional or intellectual attitude which the author takes towards his subject of theme.

Anonymous stories having their roots in the primitive folk beliefs of races or nations and presenting supernatural episodes as means of interpreting natural events in an effort to make concrete and particular - a special perception of man or a cosmic view.

Anyone who recounts a narrative either in writing or orally

In psychoanalysis a libidinal feeling that develops in a child, especially a male child, between the ages of three and six, for the parent of the opposite sex. This attachment is generally accompanied by hostility to the parent of the child's' own sex. This complex is usually repressed, and when it persists, it can work emotional havoc.

A statement which while seemingly contradictory or absurd may actually be well-founded or true

Literally a mask. The term is widely used in the criticism of fiction to refer to a "second self" created by the author and through whom the narrative is told. The persona may not be a character in the story but an "implied author," that is, a voice not directly the author's but created by the author and through which he or she speaks. NOTE: All fiction is in the same senses a story told by someone; all self-consciously artistic fiction is told by someone created by the author and who serves, therefore, as a mask (a persona).

A figure of speech which endows animals, ideas, abstractions, and inanimate objects with human form, character, or sensibilities; the representing imaginary creatures or things has having human personalities, intelligences, and emotions; an impersonation in drama of one character or person, whether real or fictitious, by another person.

The purpose of which is to convince of the wisdom of certain line of action. A phase of argumentation whose purpose is to establish the truth or falsity of a proposition, but is distinct from it in that it is calculated to arouse to some action.

the active and conscious effort to change an attitude through the transmission of a message

An artificial rather than a natural ordering of events. Its function is to simplify life by imposing order upon it. The writer selects items which have a certain unity which point to a certain end, which have a common interrelationship, which represent not more than two or three threads of interest and activity. It brings order out of life. It selects only one or two emotions out of a dozen, one or two conflicts out of hundreds, only two or three people out of thousands, and a half-dozen episodes from possible millions. In this sense, then, it focuses life.

Sequence of events in a story

The ideal judgement which rewards virtue and punishes vice among the characters of a narrative.

The vantage point from which the author presents the actions of the story. If the author serves as an all-knowing maker, not restricted to time, place, or character, and free to comment at will, the point of view is usually called omniscient. At the other extreme, a character within the story; major, nimor, or merely a witness, may tell the story as he experienced it, saw it, heard it, and understood it. Such a character is usually called a first-person narrator; if he does not comprehend the implication of what he is telling, he is called a naive or disiengenous narrator. The aurthor may tell the story in the third person and yet present it is is seen and udnerstood by a single character - major, minor, or merely witness - restricting informaiton to what the character seees, hears, feels and thinks; and such a point of view is said to be limited to one character.

the perspective/vantage point from which a story is told

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

A comparison without using like or as

Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader

How the reader feels about the text while reading.

a temporary state of mind or feeling.

a traditional story presenting supernatural characters and episodes that help explain natural events

A traditional story about gods, ancestors, or heroes, told to explain the natural world or the customs and beliefs of a society.

a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.

a person, speaker or character who tells a story

according to Freud, a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father

a boy's sexual desires toward his mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for the rival father

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

a statement that seems contradictory but is actually true

a contradiction or dilemma

an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

Greek for "mask." The face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience.

a character in a novel or play; the outward character or role that a person assumes

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

the giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or idea

the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

A kind of speaking or writing that is intended to influence people's actions.

the process of creating, reinforcing, or changing people's beliefs or actions

When characters "get what they deserve" in the end of a story.

the fact of experiencing a fitting or deserved retribution for one's actions.