Assessment Objectives Key Terms

Theme

The central idea or message conveyed in a literary work.

Characterization

The methods used by an author to create and develop characters in a story.

Enjambment

A poetic device where a sentence or clause continues beyond the end of a line without a pause, creating a sense of flow or urgency.

Passive Voice

A grammatical construction where the subject receives the action rather than performing it, often producing a detached or impersonal tone.

Contextual Analysis

The examination of how historical, social, political, and cultural circumstances influence a text’s content and form.

Linguistic Register

The level of formality or informality in language, which can shift according to contextual demands.

Enjambment

A poetic device where a sentence or clause continues beyond the end of a line without a pause.

Free Indirect Discourse

A narrative technique that blends the narrator’s voice with a character’s thoughts, allowing the reader to access the character’s perspective without explicit quotation.

Narrator

The voice that tells the story, which may be first‑person, third‑person, or omniscient.

Alliteration

The repetition of the initial consonant sound in adjacent or closely connected words.

Narrative Perspective

The lens through which a story is presented, influencing the depth of character insight and the reliability of the account.

Repetition

The intentional recurrence of words, phrases, or sounds to strengthen thematic elements and create rhythmic patterns.

Contextual factors

Historical, social, political, or cultural circumstances that inform a writer’s decisions about language and meaning.

Language choice

The specific selection of words, syntax, and rhetorical strategies that a writer uses to achieve particular effects.

Context of Reception

The social, historical, cultural, and political circumstances that influence how a text is read and interpreted by its audience.

Intertextuality

The relationship between texts, where one text references, echoes, or is influenced by another, affecting readers’ interpretations.

Diction

The deliberate selection of words and phrases by a writer, which influences tone, style, and meaning.

Narrative Voice

The perspective from which a story is told, encompassing the narrator’s point of view, reliability, and relationship to the events.

Narrator

The voice that tells the story, distinct from the characters and the speaker.

Persona

The voice or character adopted by a writer or speaker, often distinct from the author’s own voice.

Symbolism

The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities, adding deeper meaning to a text.

Foreshadowing

A literary device that hints at future events in a story, creating suspense and anticipation.

Narrative voice

The perspective from which a story is told, influencing reader engagement.

Tone

The author's attitude toward the subject, shaping the reader's emotional response.

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza in poetry.

Foreshadowing

A literary device used to give an indication or hint of what is to come later in the story.

Theme

The central idea or message conveyed in a literary work.

Characterization

The process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.

Register

Register refers to the level of formality or informality in language used in a particular context.

Narrative voice

Narrative voice is the perspective from which a story is told, influencing how the audience perceives characters and events.