| Allegory | Writing that has a deeper meaning hidden beneath the obvious one. |
| Alliteration | Repetition of sounds at the beginning of words |
| Allusion | Referance, without explanation, to previous, well-known literature, character, or common knowledge, assuming the reader is familiar with its implications. |
| Antagonist | person who opposes or competes with the main character, hero, heroine; often the villain. |
| Character | person or animal that appears in a work of fiction |
| Climax | the high point in the plot where the reader is most intrigued and does not yet know the outcome. |
| Conflict | opposing elements or characters in a plot |
| Connotation | surrounding feelings and associations added to word meaning. |
| Denotation | dictionary meaning of a word |
| Dialogue | speaking and conversation between characters in stories, play, and in person. |
| Epitaph | inscription on tombstone or marker of the dead. |
| Fiction | any literature about imaginary events or people. |
| First-Person Narration | story told from first person point of view, usually using, "I" |
| Flashback | jumping backward in the chronology of a narrative, often through a dream or musing sequence |
| Foil | Character opposite or different from the protagonist used to highlight the protagonists traits - incidents or settings may also be used as foils. |
| Foreshadow | hints during the narrative about what can/will happen later- can be literal hints or symbolic hints |
| Hyperbole | use of extreme exaggeration for effect. |
| Idiom | phrase in common use that does not literally mean what it says. |
| Imagery | creation of mental pictures by perinent word choice and heightened description. |
| Irony | phrases or words with meanings quite different from what are actually stated. |
| Metaphor | Comparison of unlike things without using like or as. |
| Moral | a lesson the literature is teaching; fables usually teach a lesson about life. |
| Mythology | Traditional tales about Goddesses, Gods, heros, and other characters, often telling about the creation of the universe, talking about death, or otherwise philosophically explaining human existance |
| Oxymoron | use of paradoxical or opposite words for effect. |
| Paradox | contradictory statement that makes sense. |
| Personification | literary device where a writer attributes human qualities to object or ideas. |
| Plot | sequence of events |
| Point of View | Perspective from which the story is written. |
| Prose | literature written in sentences and paragraphs, as opposed to poetry or verses. |
| Protagonist | main character/ hero/ heroine in a written work. |
| Proverb | saying, usually short and generally believed to be true |
| Resolution | Clarification, solution, or outcome of the conflict in a story. |
| Setting | time and place of a story |
| Simile | Comparison of things using like or as. |
| Theme/ Thesis | main idea in a piece of literature; topic, or subject |
| Tone | mood brought forth by a story, poem, or other writing. |
| External Conflict | when a character struggles against some outside force, such as another person, nature, society, or fate. |
| Internal Conflict | exists within the mind of the character who is torn between opposing forces. |