| Term | Definition |
|---|
| alliteration | Fine feathered friends |
| aside | When Juliet turns to the audience and makes comments that her mother “doesn’t hear”. |
| dramatic irony | When Paris is talking to Juliet about their wedding but we know she is already married. |
| foreshadow | The deaths of the mice and the puppy before Lennie touches Curley’s wife. |
| hyperbole | He could eat a horse he is so hungry |
| comic relief | The jokes told by Mercutio during his death scene |
| conceit | The elaborate comparison that Capulet makes likening Juliet and her tears to a small boat on the ocean |
| verbal irony | “No, I’m not hurt. What is a little broken leg to someone like me?” |
| metaphor | My life is a pit of gloom. |
| oxymoron | O wolvish lamb. |
| paradox | Absence makes the heart grow fonder. |
| personification | The tree reaches out for the sun. |
| pun | A thief who steals celery could be accused of stalking. |
| simile | My love is like a red, red rose… |
| allusion | She is so gorgeous she is another Helen. |
| apostrophe | Oh, Summer. You are gone too soon and school is starting again. |
| climax | Tthe moment in the story when Lennie kills Curley’s wife. |
| contemporary interpretation | Modern critics bemoan the plight of Helen, who has no control over her destiny. |
| denouement | The moment In the story when George kills Lennie and the others join him. |
| dialect | “Hey, you want to go out huntin’ with me?” |
| direct characterization | Lennie is tall and big with a sort blank face and a sweet disposition. |
| epic | The story of Beowolf which has a vast setting, larger than life heros and villains, a long journey and so on. |
| epic hero | Odysseus, who is a larger than life character who exemplifies the best of the Greek values. |
| exposition | the part of the story where we meet George and Lennie and learn a little about them and the situation they are in. |
| external conflict | Lennie is in opposition to the townsfolk of Weed who believe the lie about what he did to the girl in red. |
| falling action | The time in the story after the death of Curley’s wife when George is trying to figure out what to do. |
| first person point of view | I was there and this is what I saw happen to me and my friends… |
| foil | Mercutio, who is much more lively and funny than Romeo |
| imply | Well, I saw him climbing out his window the night of the robbery so… |
| indirect characterization | Sam’s eyes went wide when he saw her walk in the room and he turned away so he wouldn’t have to talk with her. (She is an enemy to Sam.) |
| infer | I can tell from his clothing and his fancy way of talking that he’s not from around here. |
| internal conflict | “I know I should tell the truth, but I don’t want to look like a goody-two-shoes.” |
| metonymy | The White House issued a statement on the new policy. |
| monologue | Capulet’s ranting speech that goes on for half a page without interruption and is directed at all the other characters on stage. |
| myth | The Gods of Olympus cause the wars between men. |
| narrative poem | The Poem, “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” which tells the story of the British attack and how Paul Revere warned the people of New England. |
| nonfiction | A biography or a book on healthy dieting for example. |
| novella | The original story “Ender’s Game” which is too long to be a short story. |
| odyssey | The settler’s of Oregon and California traveled all the way across the country to get to their new homes. |
| onomatopoeia | The clink of the horseshoes let Curley’s wife know the game was still going. |
| protagonist | Scout who is the main character in To Kill a Mockingbird |
| rising action | The part of the story where Lennie and George arrive at the ranch, start to get to know everyone and get in trouble with Curley. |
| round character | Juliet, who is young and enthusiastic and loyal and impetuous |
| sarcasm | “Yea, we really want a twerp like you to be our class president!” |
| setting | Of Mice and Men takes place in the central part of California during the Great Depression |
| soliloquy | Hamlet, alone on stage: “To be, or not to be, that is the question…” |
| static character | Curley, who is the same ornery, obnoxious fighter from the time we meet him until the story ends |
| symbolism | The farm is a metaphor for all the peace and happiness and safety that George and Lennie hope for in their lives. |
| theme | The Odyssey is about loyalty to one’s family. |
| third person limited | Kenji knew what he wanted. Everyone else just sat with a confused expression on each of their faces. |
| third person omniscient | Tom sat there thinking of about food, while Hannah was worrying about how they were going to get out of the jungle without a compass. |
| tragedy | King Lear’s sad fate is brought about by his pride and his failure to recognize his daughter’s true worth. |
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