Answer:
A literary convention is a commonly used device or aspect of a certain kind of work. If you are reading a certain type of literary work, you can expect it to conform to certain conventions. For example, plays are typically divided into acts and scenes, and characters generally speak to each other with dialogue. In Shakespeare's dramas, characters communicate their inner thoughts through the use of soliloquies. If you do not understand this particular literary convention, it will be difficult for you to make sense of what is going on--you might think that the character is speaking to other characters rather than privately expressing their inner thoughts. Some literary forms, like the novel, for example, have fewer conventions.