Literature Narrative and Critical Response

C1 · 100 entries · Five themes

Literature Narrative and Critical Response

Created by , British English teacher.

Open a theme, then select a word or phrase for its meaning and an example.

1. Narrative perspective (20 entries)
  1. shifting perspective
  2. establish a voice
  3. limited perspective
  4. shift perspective
  5. reveal a bias
  6. interior monologue
  7. direct address
  8. narrative distance
  9. retrospective narration
  10. omniscient narrator
  11. unreliable narrator
  12. withhold information
  13. shifting viewpoint
  14. double perspective
  15. narrative persona
  16. collective narrator
  17. sustain a voice
  18. shift register
  19. omniscient voice
  20. voice of authority
2. Characterisation (20 entries)
  1. character arc
  2. psychological depth
  3. backstory
  4. moral ambiguity
  5. antagonist
  6. humanise a figure
  7. complicate a motive
  8. protagonist
  9. complicate sympathy
  10. intrusive commentary
  11. dramatic irony
  12. emotional detachment
  13. dramatic tension
  14. withheld knowledge
  15. readerly expectation
  16. characterisation
  17. intrusive narrator
  18. estrangement
  19. sympathetic portrayal
  20. antihero
3. Structure and pacing (20 entries)
  1. foreshadowing
  2. crescendo
  3. heighten tension
  4. accelerate the pace
  5. exposition
  6. bring threads together
  7. parallel plot
  8. delay disclosure
  9. invite rereading
  10. heighten suspense
  11. undercut the mood
  12. cumulative effect
  13. emotional aftereffect
  14. break the rhythm
  15. parallelism
  16. comic timing
  17. suspend a beat
  18. twist
  19. punchline
  20. anticlimax
4. Theme and symbolism (20 entries)
  1. imagery
  2. echo a theme
  3. thematic link
  4. motif
  5. sustain a metaphor
  6. extended metaphor
  7. pathos
  8. social critique
  9. recurring motif
  10. evoke an association
  11. symbolic echo
  12. rework a motif
  13. personification
  14. intensify a contrast
  15. simile
  16. image cluster
  17. cadence
  18. tactile imagery
  19. alliteration
  20. quip
5. Critical interpretation (20 entries)
  1. critical interpretation
  2. gripping
  3. ambiguity of meaning
  4. alternative reading
  5. textual evidence
  6. support a reading
  7. critical lens
  8. close reading
  9. narrative effect
  10. qualify a judgement
  11. balanced assessment
  12. tonal shift
  13. plausibility
  14. genre convention
  15. challenge a reading
  16. defend an interpretation
  17. contextual reading
  18. critical consensus
  19. contested reading
  20. acknowledge a counterreading