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Literary Terms for Exam Prep

Terms in this set (30)

Red Herring
Something intended to draw attention away from the problem at hand.
Foil
A character or thing that emphasizes the distinct characteristics of another character or thing by contrast.
Dialect
A variety of a language that has differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar from other varieties of the same language.
Ambiguity
Uncertainty in meaning or intentions.
Verbal Irony
This results when someone intentionally means the opposite of what they say.
Dramatic Irony
The audience knows important information that one or more characters do not know
Epithet
A special form of repetition used in epic poems.
Epic
A long poem that tells the story of a hero and his deeds.
Syllable
A part of a word that has one single sound or beat when the word is spoken.
Couplet
Two consecutive lines that rhyme with each other but with no other lines in the stanza.
Malapropism
Unintentional use of one word for another which is similar to it in sound.
Iambic Pentameter
The poetic pattern that sounds like the rhythm people use when speaking.
Syntax
The order of words.
Symbol
A person, place or thing in a work of literature that stands for something beyond itself.
Exposition
The part of the story that sets up the rest of the story.
Paraphrasing
Restating someone else's idea in your own words.
Hyperbole
A type of figurative language that takes exaggeration to an extreme.
Point of View
The perspective from which a story is told.
Climax
The turning point in the plot to which all preceding actions are leading.
Simile
Comparisons between two unlike things that use the words like or as.
Metaphor
A comparison of two unlike objects or ideas not using the words like or as.
Personification
A figure of speech that attributes human behavior to things that are not human.
Onomatopoeia
A word that imitates the sounds it makes.
Inference
An opinion reaches by reasoning from facts or observations.
Protagonist
How an author draws/creates a character through his or her narrator.
Setting
The time and place of a story.
Antagonist
The second most important character who is rival or opponent of the main character.
Mood
The state of mind, the emotional atmosphere which a person, place or thing inspires in us.
Internal Conflict
A main character's struggle within, or emotion, and/or with his thoughts and feelings.
Irony
When the opposite of what you expect to occur, happens.
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