| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Literature | writings in every expression and form |
| Genre | a class or category of literature |
| Culture | the quality in a person or society that arises in every civilization |
| Diction | writers word choice |
| Theme | the central idea, concern, or purpose in a literary work |
| Imagery | the descriptive language used in literature to recreate sensory |
| Point of View | the perspectivefrom which a story is told |
| Figurative Language | writing or speech not meant to be interpreted literally |
| Metaphor | a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else |
| Simile | a figure of speech that compares two apparently dissimilar things using like or as |
| Synecdoche | a part is used to stand as a whole |
| Hyperbole | a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement |
| Personification | a figure of speech i which a non human thing is given human characteristics |
| Epic Simile | a simile developed over several lines of verse |
| Syntax | the study of the rules for the form of grammatical sentences |
| Rhetorical Strategies | way of writing to seduce a reader or persuade |
| Symbolism | a literary movement in the 1800s stress the importance of emotional states. |
| Plot | the sequence of events in a literary work |
| Main Idea | the lesson trying to be taught in a story |
| Poetry | a type of literature with no one single characteristic found in others |
| Haiku | 5,7,5 poem in syllables about nature |
| Free Verse | a poem expressing something with no rythm or exact length |
| Epic | an action story |
| Narrative Poem | poem telling a story |
| Allitertation | commencement of 2 or more words of a word group with the same letter |
| End Rhyme | rhyme of the terminal syllables of lines of poetry |
| Internal Rhyme | a rhyme created by 2 or more words in one line of poetry |
| Terza Rima | 11 syllable poem: first, middle, last lines rhyme |
| Consonance | harmony of consonants |
| Assonance | same vowel sounds in rhymes |
| Prose | ordinary form of spoken language |
| Fiction | work of literature which is not true |
| Non-Fiction | work of literature which is true in reality |
| Short Story | a short narrative |
| Novel | a book with chapters |
| Essay | a piece of writing about a discussed topic |
| Editorial | an article of the opinion of the publisher |
| Biography | a piece of literature of another persons life |
| Autobiography | a piece of literature about yourself |
| Drama | literature with vivid, emotional, complex situations |
| Character | a person or thing taking place in a piece of literature |
| Irony | use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning |
| Chronological | a series of events over time |
| In Media Res | in the middle of things |
| Flashback | a scene of the past a character has |
| Epistolary Narrative | narrative in a letter |
| Frame Narrative | outside story on the inside of a story |
| Myth | an unproved or false belief that's used to justify a social institution |
| Understatment | to state less strongly than the facts bear out |
| Paradox | a statement you think is false, but it is possibly true |
| Tone | the feeling the author expresses through his work |
| Classical Tragedy | a lover dies or what you think always happens at the end of a love story |
| Tragic Hero | a character who happens to use power and fate to save a tragedy |
| Deus Ex Machina | something coming in fast at the last minute to save the day |
| Aside | away from one's thoughts and considerations |
| Dialogue | speech of characters |
| Idiom | a saying not meaning what it says |
| Cognate | descended from same language |
Combine with other sets
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