| Term | Definition |
|---|
| allegory | A literary work in which all or most of the characters, events, and settings are symbols, usually has a moral or lesson |
| alliteration | repetition at close intervals of initial consonant words: "The furrow followed free." |
| allusion | a reference to something in literature, history, art, or music |
| anaphora | repetition of the same word or words at the start of two or more lines, sentences, phrases, or clauses |
| anecdote | a brief story told to make a point |
| antagonist | a character or force that opposes the main character. |
| apostrophe | A figure of speech in which a speaker addresses someone absent, dead, or imaginary, or an inanimate object: "Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean—roll!" |
| assonance | repetition at close intervals of vowel sounds: "Ah, broken is the golden bowl—the spirit flown forever!" |
| autobiography | an account of a person's life written by himself or herself |
| biography | an account of a person's life written by another person |
| characterization | the methods in which a writer creates people in a story so that they seem to exist |
| climax | the turning point in a story; the point of highest emotional intensity or suspense in a literary work. |
| conflict | the struggle, internal and external, between opposing forces in a work of literature. |
| connotation | The emotions and feelings that surround a word; they may be negative, neutral, or positive, depending on their content; what a word suggests beyond its surface definition |
| credibility | refers to the writer's ability to be trusted on the basis of his/her tone and objectiveness. |
| denotation | basic definition or dictionary meaning of a word |
| direct characterization | the writer makes statements about a character's personality and tells what the character is like. |
| drama | a story intended to be performed before an audience by actors on a stage; a play |
| dynamic character | a character who undergoes change during the story |
| exposition | background information given at the beginning of the story |
| external conflict | a struggle between a character and an outside force |
| falling action | all the action in a story after the climax. |
| fiction | a literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact |
| figurative language | language used for descriptive effect rather than literal meaning |
| first person point of view | the narrator tells the story from the "I" point of view |
| flashback | the author or character goes back to an earlier time in the story and explains something that will help the reader understand the whole story better |
| foil | a character or thing that emphasizes another character's attributes or personality by contrast |
| foreshadowing | the act of providing hints of what is to come later |
| historical fiction | sub-genre of fiction that often portrays fictional accounts or dramatization of historical figures or events. |
| hyperbole | A figure of speech that uses exaggeration for emphasis. |
| imagery | The use of words to create pictures in the reader's mind. |
| indirect characterization | the writer reveals information about a character and his personality through that character's thoughts, words, and actions, along with how other characters respond to that character, including what they think and say about him/her |
| internal conflict | a struggle between a character and himself or herself |
| internal rhyme | repetition of sounds within a line (but not at the end of the line) |
| irony | in the use of a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or expected meaning: verbal, dramatic, situational |
| memoir | a type of narrative nonfiction about a period in the writer's life |
| metaphor | A figure of speech in which a comparison is implied but not states, such as "The snow was a white blanket on the meadow" |
| mood | overall feeling or emotional climate for the reader |
| narrator | the speaker or character that tells a story. |
| non-fiction | a literary piece that tells of true life events and characters |
| onomatopoeia | The use of word or phrase that imitates or suggests the sound it describes—as in meow, hiss, buzz and plop. |
| oxymoron | two successive words contradict each other: for example, wise fool |
| personification | giving a non-human the characteristics of a human |
| plot | the story that is told in a novel or play that includes the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution |
| point of view | the vantage point from which the narrator tells the story |
| protagonist | the main character who usually must overcome obstacles and resolve the conflict |
| resolution | the sorting out or unraveling of a plot at the end of a play, novel, or story. |
| rhyme | repetition of end sounds |
| rising action | the action where the conflict develops and leads to the turning point |
| second-person point of view | the narrator addresses the reader directly using the pronoun "you" |
| setting | the time and place of a story |
| simile | comparison using 'like' or 'as' |
| soliloquy | in drama, a long speech given by a character who is alone on stage. |
| static character | a character that does not change from the beginning of the story to the end |
| stock character | the stereotypical character in which he or she is immediately known from other characters in history |
| style | author's way of writing |
| symbol | a person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and that also represents something more than itself |
| theme | the main idea of the story that usually has a moral that can be applied to life |
| third person limited | the narrator has full access to one character's thoughts, motives, and feelings |
| third-person omniscient | the "all-knowing" narrator has full access to multiple characters' thoughts, motives, and feelings |
| third-person point of view | the narrator uses words such as he, she, it, and they and avoids using I and we |
| tone | the reflection of a writer's or speakers attitude toward the characters, events, and ideas of a story |
| understatement | saying less than one means, for effect |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace