Basic Literary Terms (elementary)

Terms in this set (21)

The practice of beginning several consecutive or neighboring words with the same sound.

example: Peter Piper picked a pack of peppers.

Facts revealed by the author or speaker that support the attitude or tone in a piece of poetry or prose

Consists of words or phrases a writer uses to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and ideas descriptively by appealing to the 5 senses. Think of the writer as an "artist" painting his picture with words--very descriptive words.

Comparison of two unlike things NOT using "like" or "as."

example: Mary is a pig. (She is messy.)
My homework is a monster. (It is hard.)

The atmosphere or predominant emotion in a literary work (happy, sad, playful, scary, etc.)

The telling of a story in writing or speaking

The use of words that mimic the sounds they describe.

examples: swoosh, ding-dong, meow, pop, hiss, buzz, beep, plop, snip

personification

A kind of metaphor that gives non-living objects or ideas human characteristics.

example: The autumn leaves danced across the yard in the wind. (Leaves cannot really dance like humans, but the image is clear to the reader.)

The sequence of events or actions in a piece of writing (or play).

The perspective from which a story is told (first person, or third person).

The central character of a piece of writing.

A play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings.

example: I used to have a fear of hurdles, but I got over it.

The deliberate use of any element of language more than once-- sound, word, phrase, sentence, grammatical pattern, or rhythmical pattern.

Repetition of sounds in two or more words or phrases that appear close to each other in a poem.

A rhyme that occurs at the end of lines.

A rhyme that occurs within a line (not at the end).

The pattern of end rhymes.

In writing/reading, the time and place in which events take place.

A comparison of 2 different things or ideas through the use of the words "like" or "as."

examples: Her smile is like warm sunshine on a
rainy day.
He was as red as a lobster.

The work of a poet (poetry).

Writing or speaking in an ordinary manner without poetical structure or devices.

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