8th Grade Literary and Vocabulary Terms
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Created by:
baxd01 on October 29, 2009
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Classes:
MCP Class of 2015, Fremont Middle School 8th Grade English
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176 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Alliteration | the repetition of initial sounds, as in "scorching summer sensations." |
| Allusion | reference to a well-known person, place, thing, idea, event, etc. |
| Analogy | a comparison of two or more similar objects, suggesting that if they are alike in certain respects, they will probably be alike in other ways as well |
| Antagonist | a character who opposes the main character |
| Anthology | a published collection of works or parts of works by an author or several authors |
| Assonance | the repetition of vowel sounds |
| Ballad | a narrative passed on in the oral tradition |
| Bard | a poet, Shakespeare is sometimes referred to as the Bard |
| Bibliography | a list of written sources of information |
| Characterization | method the author uses to acquaint readers with characters |
| Indirect | learn about characters through what they say, what others say about them, and what they do |
| Direct | directly told through exposition |
| Main Character | the most important figure in a literary work. |
| Minor Characters | the "support cast" for the most important figure in a literary work. |
| Dynamic Character | a figure in a story that undergoes important changes as a plot unfolds. |
| Static Character | a figure in a story who remains the same no matter what. |
| Cliché | an overused, predictable, and therefore uninteresting expression or idea |
| Climax | The point of greatest interest in a story or play. |
| Colloquial | of speech and informal writing, conversational |
| Conflict | the struggle between opposing forces. |
| Connotation | meaning suggested by a word beyond its definition, what a reader believes the word means |
| Consonance | repetition, at close intervals, of final consonant sounds of accented syllables or important words |
| Couplet | a rhymed pair of lines |
| Denotation | a dictionary definition |
| Dialect | a major subdivision of a language |
| Dialogue | conversation carried on by the characters in a literary work |
| Elegy | usually a lyric poem on death or some other somber subject. |
| Epic | a long narrative poem recounting the exploits of larger-than-life character in important and heroic acts |
| Euphemism | use of a less direct, less offensive word or phrase |
| Fable | a short, simple story that teaches a lesson. It usually includes animals that talk and act like people |
| Farce | literature based on a highly humorous and highly improbable plot |
| Fiction | writing from a writer's imagination. It can be inspired by actual events or completely made up. |
| Figurative Language | using figures of speech to heighten meaning i.e. metaphor, simile, personification |
| Flashback | interruption in the narrative to show an episode from the past |
| Foil | someone who serves as a contrast or challenge to another character |
| Folk Tale | the customs, legends, songs, and stories of a people or nation once handed down in the oral tradition |
| Foreshadowing | a hint to the reader of what is to come |
| Genre | a form or type of literature: novel, short story, poem, play, etc. |
| Humor | a quality that provokes laughter or amusement. |
| Hyperbole | an extreme exaggeration |
| Idiom | in language, a customary expression, "She has rats in her hair." |
| Imagery | the sensory details that relate to the senses and create pictures in our minds |
| Invocation | calling upon a divine power for aid. Many poems begin with an invocation asking for inspiration |
| Irony | a contrast between what appears to be and what really is. |
| Jargon | language of a trade or profession |
| Memoir | a form of autobiographical writing in which a writer shares his or her own personal experiences and observations of significant events or people. |
| Metaphor | an implied comparison, "A green plant is a machine that runs on solar energy" |
| Meter | A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem. |
| Monologue | in drama, an extended speech by one person alone, with or without an audience |
| Mood | the emotions the literature makes the reader feel |
| Moral | a lesson that a story teaches. |
| Myth | a traditional story connected with religion of a people usually explaining something in nature |
| Non-fiction | writing about real people, places, things, and events. Essays, news stories, speeches, etc. |
| Novel | a long work of fiction. |
| Ode | a lyric poem usually composed in complex stanza form and generally intended to praise or commemorate |
| Onomatopoeia | words that sound like the thing being spoken about, Boom, Crack, Sizzle, Screech |
| Parable | a brief fictional work that teaches a lesson |
| Paradox | statement that seems contrasting to common sense yet may be true: "Coach said it was a good loss." |
| Paraphrase | rewording |
| Parody | a form of literature intended to mock a particular literary work or its style, a comic effect is intended |
| Personification | giving human qualities to non-living objects |
| Plagiarism | LITERARY THEFT, when a writer duplicates another writer's work without giving proper credit |
| Poet Laureate | the officially recognized or chief poet of a nation |
| Poetic Devices | terms used to describe features of a poem |
| Poetry | a kind of rhythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery designed to appeal to our emotions and imagination. _____ is usually arranged in lines, often has a regular pattern of rhythm, and has a regular rhyme scheme. |
| Point of View | the relationship between the teller of the story and the characters in it. |
| Prose | literary writing not marked by rhyme or meter |
| Protagonist | main character |
| Pun | a play on words; a humorous way to use a word |
| Repetition | repeating a word or phrase to stress its importance, especially in poetry |
| Rhetoric | the art of persuasion by speech or writing |
| Rhyme scheme | pattern of rhyme in a stanza |
| End rhyme | the rhyming of words at the ends of lines of poetry |
| Internal Rhyme | a rhyme that happens inside a line of poetry ("use a log to hit a hog") |
| Rhythm | the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables |
| Rising Action | the stage of the plot that develops the conflict, or struggle. |
| Satire | a literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness, often with the intent of correcting, or changing the way things are. |
| Short Story | a work of fiction that centers on a single idea and can be read in one sitting. |
| Simile | a comparison using like or as, "She stood in front of the altar, shaking like a freshly caught trout." |
| Soliloquy | in drama, a speech in which character does not address others, but rather speaks aloud to himself |
| Sonnet | a type of short poem, usually 14 lines, popular in English since the Renaissance |
| Speaker | the person talking in a poem, not always the poet |
| Stanza | a group of two or more lines that form a unit in a poem. |
| Continuous Poetry | the lines follow each other without formal grouping, the only breaks being dictated by units of meaning, as paragraphs are in prose. |
| Stanzaic Poetry | poet writes in a series of stanzas; repeated units having the same number of lines, usually the same meter, and often an identical rhyme scheme |
| Fixed Poetry | traditional pattern that applies to a whole poem (i.e. haiku in Japan, and sestinas in France) In English poetry only two fixed forms have really taken hold: Limerick, Sonnet |
| Shape Poetry | made to look like the topic which it addresses (i.e. mountain, swimming laps) |
| Style | a manner of expression characteristic of the author |
| Symbol | something concrete that represents something else |
| Tall Tale | a humorously exaggerated story about impossible events, often involving the supernatural abilities of the main character. |
| Theme | the main idea of a piece of literature as it applies to human beings in general, not the plot |
| Tone | the author's attitude toward the subject matter |
| Tragedy | literature in which the character suffers disaster after a serious struggle but faces his or her downfall with heroic stature |
| Trilogy | a group of three related works |
| Understatement | a technique of creating emphasis by saying less than is actually or literally true. |
| Vernacular | the native language of any particular place |
| Voice | a unique use of language that allows a reader to "hear" a human personality in a writer's work. |
| Vignette | written or verbal sketch of a brief scene or incident |
| clutch | verb: to clasp or hold tightly |
| prodigy | noun: a person with an exceptional talent |
| liable | adjective: likely to |
| sidekick | noun: a close friend |
| crouch | verb: to stoop with bent knees |
| acute | adjective: sharp or keen |
| conceive | verb: to think of |
| vex | verb: to disturb or annoy |
| stifled | adjective: smothered |
| crevice | noun: crack |
| stealthily | adverb: cautiously; secretly |
| audacity | noun: shameless daring or boldness |
| vehemently | adverb: with intense emotion |
| derision | noun: ridicule |
| hypocritical | adjective: false or deceptive |
| lark | noun: a carefree or spirited adventure |
| junction | noun: a place where two roads meet |
| sinister | adjective: suggesting or threatening evil |
| assurance | noun: a guarantee or pledge |
| monotony | noun: tedious sameness |
| impromptu | adjective: unplanned |
| ajar | adjective: partially open |
| tentatively | adverb: uncertainly or hesitantly |
| tremor | noun: nervous trembling |
| commence | verb: to begin |
| beckon | verb: to signal to come |
| gnarled | adjective: roughened, as from age or work |
| ominous | adjective: threatening |
| Rorschach test | noun: the name of a personality test that uses inkblot designs |
| sensation | noun: a state of great interest and excitement |
| tangible | adjective: able to be seen, touched, or understood |
| specialization | noun: a focus on a particular area of study |
| absurd | adjective: ridiculously unreasonable |
| refute | verb: to prove as false |
| impair | verb: to weaken or damage |
| proportional | adjective: having a constant relation in degree or number |
| peril | noun: danger |
| grimace | noun: a facial expression of pain or disgust |
| fate | noun: a power that is thought to determine the course of events |
| credulity | noun: a disposition to believe too readily |
| compensation | noun: something, such as money, received in payment |
| resignation | noun: acceptance of something that is inescapable |
| apprehension | noun: nervousness |
| disgruntled | verb: to make unhappy |
| foreboding | noun: a sense of impeding misfortune |
| fortify | verb: to make strong |
| indignantly | adverb: angrily |
| pandemonium | noun: wild uproar or noise |
| remorse | noun: sorrow or regret |
| unabashed | adjective: obvious or bold |
| ramble | verb: to talk at length or aimlessly |
| foreman | noun: the leader of a work crew |
| grope | verb: to reach about with uncertainty |
| stoop | verb: to bend forward or down from the waist or middle of the back |
| contractor | noun: one who agrees to provide services for a specific price |
| irate | adjective: very angry |
| feeble | adjective: weak or faint |
| predicament | noun: an unpleasant situation from which it is difficult to free oneself. |
| propaganda | noun: information that supports a certain cause |
| deprivation | noun: the condition of not having one's needs met; a lack of |
| futility | noun: uselessness |
| sterile | adjective: barren; lacking vitality |
| languish | verb: to lose strength and vitality |
| counterpart | noun: one that has the same functions and traits as another |
| exotic | adjective: foreign; unusual; exciting |
| exploit | verb: to use for selfish purposes |
| impropriety | noun: an unsuitable or inappropriate act or quality |
| adequately | adverb: enough to satisfy a requirement or meet a need |
| eliminate | verb: to remove from consideration by defeating |
| annihilate | verb: to completely destroy or defeat |
| aggression | noun: hostile or destructive behavior or action |
| ban | verb: to prohibit |
| conviction | noun: a strong belief |
| insolent | adjective: insulting or arrogant |
| refrain | verb: to hold oneself back; to stop |
| diminish | verb: to become smaller or less |
| opposition | noun: the act of opposing or resisting |
| inertia | noun: resistance to motion, action, or change |
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