| Term | Definition |
| irony | difference between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen |
| onomatopoeia | the use of words that sound like the noise they describe |
| myth | story including gods, goddesses, mortals, and heroes, that sometimes attempt to explain how things came to be |
| legend | a story about a person's heroic deeds |
| genre | a type or category of literature consisting of fiction, non fiction, poetry, and drama |
| fiction | writing that comes from the author's imagination but may be based on real people, places, or events |
| non fiction | factual information |
| drama | writing designed to be performed before an audience |
| autobiography | story of a person's life written by that person |
| biography | story of a person's life written by another person |
| setting | the time and place of a story |
| character | person, animal, creature, or object in a story |
| protagonist | the main character of hero |
| antagonist | the character or force working against the protagonist |
| static character | character who changes little or not at all |
| dynamic character | character who grows, changes, and matures |
| motive | the reason why or basis for a character's behavior |
| conflict | a problem or struggle |
| internal conflict | a problem or striggle within a character - man vs self |
| external conflict | a problem or struggle with a character and another character or force |
| plot | sequence of events from beginning to end |
| climax | the most exciting; most intense; turning point of a story |
| point of view | the perspective or viewpoint from which a story is told |
| first person point of view | the writer is a character in the story |
| third person point of view | the writer is not a character in the story |
| theme | the author's message |
| tone | the author's attitude toward the subject |
| mood | the atmosphere of the story |
| foreshadowing | the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot |
| flashback | an interruption in the present action to an earlier time |
| exposition | part of the plot that introduces the characters, setting, and conflict |
| repetition | repeating a word, phrase, sound throughout a literary work |
| symbolism | the use of one thing to stand for or represent another |
| cause and effect | ♥two events are related to eachother when one event brings out the other |
| dialect | language spoken by people in a particular region or group |
| dialogue | conversation spoken between characters |
| denotation | the dictionary meaning of a word |
| connotation | feelings or emotions associated with a given word |
| metaphor | comparison of two unlike things |
| simile | comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as" |
| compare | points out similarities; what is the same |
| contrast | points out differences |
| fact | a statement that can be proven |
| opinion | a statement that cannot be proven |
| imagery | writing that appeals to the senses - touch, sight, smell, hear, taste |
| personification | giving human qualities to animals or objects |
| figurative language | expressive language that is written to create a special effect or feeling |
| alliteration | the repetition of sounds, most often consonant sounds, at the begining of words. |
| hyperbole | an extreme exaggeration |
| science fiction | story based on real or imagined scientific development |
| fantasy | story that takes place in an unreal, imaginary world and often involve magic or characters with super human powers |
| folklore | tradtions and customs passed down within a culture |
| folktale | stories passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth |
| fable | a fictional story intended to teach a lesson in which animals speak and act like human beings |
| moral | a lesson taught by a story |