Literary terms for WTL midterm

Memoir

• A historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources

Soliloquy

• An act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play

Dramatic Irony

• The expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect

Primary Source

• In the study of history as an academic, a primary source (also called original source or evidence) is an artifact, a document, a diary, manuscript, autobiography, a recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under study

Author's purpose

• An author's purpose is his reason for or intention in writing

Point of View

• The position of the narrator in relation to the story, as indicated by the narrator's outlook from which the events are depicted and by the attitude toward the characters

Foreshadowing

• A warning or indication of a future event

Inference

• A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning