KEY TERMS Literary texts: Literary texts are passages that are stories, dramas, or poems. (RL1) Inference: To infer means to come to a reasonable conclusion based on evidence found in the text. By contrast, an explicit idea or message is fully stated or revealed by the author. The author tells the reader exactly what he or she needs to know. (RL1) Theme: The theme of a literary text is its lesson or message. For example, a story could be about two friends who like to do things together, and the theme might be the importance of friendship. (RL2) Central idea: The central idea is the most important point or idea that the author is making in a text. The central idea is also known as the main idea. (RL2) Objective summary: An objective summary is an overview of a text. It captures the main points but does not give every detail and does not include opinions. (RL2) Plot: The specific order of a series of events that form a story is known as the plot. (RL3) Resolution: In most stories, there is a conflict or problem. The resolution is the solution to the problem or the end of the main dramatic conflict. (RL3) Characterization: Characterization refers to the way an author develops a character over the course of a text. (RL3) Figurative language: To understand figurative language, you need to distinguish between literal and figurative meanings of words and phrases. Literal refers to the actual meaning of a word or phrase. For example, if someone tells you to open the door, you can open a physical door. If someone tells you to open the door to your heart, you are not expected to find a door in your chest. Instead, you open up your feelings and emotions. (RL4, L5) The following are examples of figurative language: 1. Personification: When an author describes an object as if it were a person, he or she is using personification. For example, The trees sighed in the afternoon breeze. The trees cannot really sigh but seemed to as they moved gently in the breeze. (RL4, L5) • 2. Simile: A simile is a comparison using like or as. For example, She is as pretty as a picture. (RL4, L5) • 3. Metaphor: A metaphor is a direct comparison that states one thing is another. It isn’t meant to be literal, but descriptive. For example, if someone describes recess by saying that it was a zoo, he or she is using a metaphor. Recess was chaotic, with lots of different people running around; it was not literally a zoo. (RL4, L5) • 4. Hyperbole: Hyperbole is exaggeration beyond belief. My father can lift two tons is an example of hyperbole. (RL4, L5) Connotative meaning: A meaning beyond the explicit meaning of a word is known as a connotative meaning. For example, the word childlike connotes innocence. Connotations are meanings inferred from certain words. (RL4) Tone: Tone is the attitude of an author about a subject or an audience. The author chooses words and language to create a tone and express a viewpoint in a text. (RL4) Structure: In a literary writing, writers use structure to convey meaning. This structure helps break longer pieces of writing into smaller portions that are grouped together because they happened around the same time or because they share a similar meaning. (RL5) • 1. Chapter: A chapter is a section of a book. Books are often divided into chapters. (RL5) • 2. Scene: A scene is a section of a drama or play. Plays are often divided into scenes. (RL5) • 3. Stanza: A stanza is a section of a poem. Poems are often divided into stanzas. (RL5) Setting: Setting refers to where and when a story takes place, including the time of day, the season, or the location. (RL5) Point of view: The perspective from which a story is told is called the point of view. The point of view depends on who the narrator or speaker is and how much he or she knows. The point of view could be first person (I went to the store), second person (You went to the store), or third person (He went to the store). (RL6) Narrator: The character who tells the story in a literary text from his or her point of view is called the narrator of the story. (RL6) Speaker: The speaker is the voice of a literary text that speaks about the writer’s feelings or situation. The speaker is not always the author because the author may be writing the text from a different perspective. In poems and stories, the speaker may not be an actual person but an imagined one. In poems, the speaker is often not named or identified by gender or any other characteristics. (RL6) Compare and contrast: Though similar, comparing is analyzing two things, such as characters or stories, in relation to each other, while contrasting is specifically analyzing the differences between two things, such as two different characters or stories. (RL9) Genre: A genre is the category of a text, such as fiction or nonfiction. Each genre has a particular style, form, and content. (RL9)