Literary Criticism

• A literary analysis is a careful examination of the mechanism of a literary work and a discussion of how that mechanism functions to reveal meaning.
• An interpretation is a logical analytical conclusion about a work based on the facts of the story.
• Literary Studies is the study of written works of the imagination, including poetry, drama, and narrative fiction.
• Literary Studies is a complex matter that involves examining the richness and diversity of experience through unusual uses of language.
• Literary Studies is an interdisciplinary field that engages with countless other disciplines.
• A literary genre is a category of literary composition determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even length.
• Genres move from more abstract, encompassing classes, which are then further subdivided into more concrete distinctions.
• The distinctions between genres and categories are flexible and loosely defined, and even the rules designating genres change over time and are fairly unstable.
• Fiction is composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue and action.
• A fable is a narration demonstrating a useful truth, especially in which animals speak as humans; legendary, supernatural tale.
• A fairy tale is a story about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children.
• Fantasy fiction invites suspension of reality and is set in strange or other worldly settings or characters.
• Fiction is narrative literary works whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact.
• Fiction in verse is a full-length novel with plot, subplot(s), theme(s), major and minor characters, in which the narrative is presented in (usually blank) verse form.
• Folklore is the songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people or "folk" as handed down by word of mouth.
• Historical fiction is a story with fictional characters and events in a historical setting.
• Horror fiction evoke a feeling of dread in both the characters and the reader.
• Humor fiction is full of fun, fancy, and excitement, meant to entertain; but can be contained in all genres.
• Creative license: Exaggeration or alteration of objective facts or reality for the purpose of enhancing meaning in a fictional context
• Exposition: Where an author interrupts a story in order to explain something, usually to provide important background information
• Irony (a.k.a Situational irony): Where an event occurs which is unexpected, and which is in absurd or mocking opposition to what is expected or appropriate.
• Dialogue: Where characters speak to one another; may often be used to substitute for exposition.
• Imagery: Language which describes something in detail, using words to substitute for and create sensory stimulation, including visual imagery and sound imagery
• Metaphor: A direct relationship where one thing or idea substitutes for another
• Dramatic irony: Where the audience or reader is aware of something important, of which the characters in the story are not aware
• Onomatopoeia: Where sounds are spelled out as words; or, when words describing sounds actually sound like the sounds they describe
• Blank verse: Non - rhyming poetry, usually written in iambic pentameter
• Hyperbole: A description which exaggerates
• Iambic pentameter: Poetry written with each line containing ten syllables, in five repetitions of a two-syllable pattern wherein the pronunciation emphasis is on the second syllable
• Figurative language: Any use of language where the intended meaning differs from the actual literal meaning of the words themselves
• Foreshadowing: Where future events in a story, or perhaps the outcome, are suggested by the author before they happen
• Anthropomorphism: Where animals or inanimate objects are portrayed in a story as people, such as by walking, talking, or being given arms, legs and/or facial features
• Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds within close proximity, usually in consecutive words within the same sentence or line
• A legend is a story, sometimes of a national or folk hero, which has a basis in fact but also includes imaginative material.
• Mystery fiction deals with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets.
• Mythology is a collection of legends or traditional narratives, often based in part on historical events, that reveal human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods.
• Poetry is verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that creates emotional responses.
• Realistic fiction is a story that can actually happen and is true to life.
• Science fiction is a story based on the impact of actual, imagined, or potential science, usually set in the future or on other planets.
• A short story is a fiction of such brevity that it supports no subplots.