| Term | Definition |
|---|
| alliteration | the repetition of initial consonant or vowel sounds in two or more successive or nearby words. |
| allusion | a reference to a well-known person, place, event, work of art, myth, or religion. |
| analogy | a comparison of two things that are somewhat alike. |
| antagonist | a character, institution, group, or force that is in conflict with the protagonist. |
| archetypes | primordial images and symbols that occur in literature, myth, religion, and folklore. |
| assonance | the repetition of vowel sounds in two or more words that do not rhyme. |
| climax | the high point in the plot, after which there is falling action. may coincide with crisis. |
| conflict | the struggle between characters and other characters, forces of nature, or outside forces beyond their control, internal conflict within a character who struggles with moral choices and matters of conscience. |
| consonance | the repetition of a consonant the end of two or more words. |
| couplet | a pair or rhyming lines in the same meter. |
| ellipsis | three periods (. . .) that signify the omission of one or more words. |
| epic | a long narrative poem about the adventures of gods or a hero. |
| epithet | a word or phase describing a quality of a person, place, or thing that is repeated throughout a work. |
| essay | a short nonfiction work about a specific subject. Essays may be narrative, persuasive, descriptive, expository, or argumentative. |
| extended metaphor | a metaphor that is elaborated on and developed in several phrases or sentences. |
| falling action | all action that takes place after the climax. |
| denouement | the falling action or final revelations in the plot. |
| figurative language | the use of figures of speech to express ideas. |
| foil | a character who, through contrast, reveals the characteristics of another character. |
| hyperbole | a figure of speech that uses exaggeration. |
| irony | the opposite of what is expected. a reality different from appearance. |
| metaphor | a figure of speech in which one thing is said to be another thing. |
| myth | a fictional tale about gods or heroes. allusions to greek, roman, norse, and celtic myths are common in english literature. |
| onomatopoeia | a figure of speech that uses words to imitate sound. |
| personification | a figure of speech that attributes human qualities to an inanimate object. |
| poetic devices | words with harmonious sounds including assonance, consonance, alliteration, repetition, and rhyme. |
| protagonist | the main character. |
| pun | a play on words. |
| repetition | a poetic device that uses the repeating of words, sounds, phrases, or sentences. |
| rhyme | words with identical sounds, but different spellings. |
| rhyme scheme | the pattern of rhyming words. the last word in each line is assigned a letter of the alphabet beginning with a. |
| rising action | the path of the plot leading to the climax. |
| sensory imagery | language that evokes images and triggers memories in the reader in the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. |
| simile | a figure of speech that compares two things that are not alike, using the words "like," "as," or "than." |
Combine with other sets
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