Literary Terms

•     Forms of Prose Fictions

1. Novel- a long narative in leterary prose.

2. Novella- (or short Novel) is a written, frictional prose narative longer than a novellete, but shorter than a novel.

3. Short Story-a work of friction that is usually written in prose, often in a narative format.

•    Elements of Prose Fiction

4. Narative techniques- the methods involved in telling a story.

5. Point-of-view- the way in which the narator approaches his/hers material and the audience.

6. Characterization-the way in which a writer creates characters in a anrative so as to attract or repel the reader's sympathy.

7. Setting- the time or place in which a play takes place.

8. Theme- the abstarct subject of a work; its the central idea or ideas which may or may not be explicit or obvious.

9. Plot- the plan of a literary work, especially of dramas and novels.

10. Style- the characteristic manner in which a writter expresses himself/herself, or the particular manner of an individual literary work.

•   Literary Devices

11. Imagery- is used in literature to refer to the descriptive language that evokes sensory experience.

12. Symbol- something which represents something else (often an idea or quality) by analogy or association.

13. Irony- A manner of speaking or writing that is dispersed through all kinds of literayture; irony consists of saying one thing and meaning another.

14. Satire- literature which exhibits or examines vice and folly and makes them appear ridiculous or contemptible.

15. Allusion- a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of a place, event, literary work, myth, or work of art either directly or by implication.

• Structural Devices

16. Stream of conciousness- the attempt to convey all the contents of a character's mind-memory, sense, perception, feelings, intuition, thoughts- in relation to the stream of experience as it passes by, often at random.

17. Interior Monology- an attempt to convey in words the process of conciousness or thought (as means of narating story).

18. Flashback- a  sudden jump backwards in time to an earlier episode or scene in the story or novel, play or film.

19. Foreshadowing- the technique of suggesting or prefiguring a development in a literary work before it occurs.

20. Time Frame- a given inteval of time especially in relation to a particular event or process.

21.Motif-  a recurrrent thematic element.

22. Juxtaposition- to put side by side or close together.

•      Other Words

23. Social- of or having to do with human beings living together as a group in a situation which their dealings with one another affect their common well-fare.

24. Political- of or concern with government, the state, or politics.

25. Historical- of or concerned with history as a science.

26. Religious- characterised by adherance to a religion or a religion devout, pius gladly.

27. ethnic- designated or of a population subgroup having a common cultural heritage as distinguished by customs, characteristics, language, common history etc.

28. Moral- a pratical lesson about right and wrong conduct.

29. intellectual- the ability to reason or understand.

30. Cultural- the training and refinement of the intellect, interest,taste, skills and arts.

•     Types of Fictions

1. Mystery-this type of fiction tends to center on a wily detective type to solve the crime. most mysteries tend to focus mostly on crimes, most often, murder.

2. Romance-is an huge category aimed at diverting and entertining  women. It usually consists of evidence of love, extravagance,adventure etc, along with a heroic lover overcoming impossible odds to be with his true love.

3. Women's Fiction- some key characteristics of these books include a focus on relationships, one or more strong female protagonists, women triumphing over unbearable circumstances, and the experiences of women unified in some way.

4.Science/Fantasy fiction- novels depict distant worlds and futuristic technologies that whirl readers far away from the here and now and yet provoke contemplation of contemporary issues.

5. Suspense/ Thriller- are tense, exciting, often sensational works with ingenious plotting, swift action, and continuous suspense. In this genre, a writer's objective is to deliver a story with sustained tension, surprise, and a constant sense of impending doom that propels the reader forward.

6.Western- these novels about life on America's post Civil War western frontier usually involve conflicts between cowboys and outlaws, cowboys and Native Americans, or Easterners and Westerners.

7. Horror-Filled with gut-wrenching fear, this popular genre keeps readers turning the blood-filled pages. From a writer's perspective, the defining characteristic is the intention to frighten readers by exploiting their fears, both conscious and subconscious: fears of supernatural forces, alien visitations, madness, death, dismemberment, and other terrifying notions.

8. Young Adult- This genre includes any type of novel with a protagonist in the 12 to 16 age range that speaks to the concerns of teenagers.


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