Literary Terms

  1. Alliteration- the repetition of a beginning consonant sound
  2. Allusion - a direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly

known, such as event, book, myth, place, or work of art

  1. Biography-a story of someone’s life written by someone else
  2. Character-the people (and sometimes animals) in a story
  3. Flat Character- character in a story that has only one prominent trait, such as greed or

cruelty.

  1. Round Character- character in a story that has many aspects to his or her personality.

The character may have a good side and a bad side; he or she may be unpredictable.

  1. Static Character- character in a literary work that does not change his or her outlook in

response to events taking place.

  1. Climax-the turning point of the story; point of highest interest or suspense
  2. Conflict-the central source of tension and drama in a story; the problem.
  3. Connection-when a story reminds the reader of a personal experience, a similar event

or another story.

  1. Denouement-the events following the climax that lead to the resolution
  2. Dialogue-written conversation between characters
  3. Diary-when someone writes their personal thoughts; usually not created for others to read
  4. Drama- a play
  5. Comedy-a play with a happy ending
  6. Tragedy-a play with a sad ending
  7. Exposition-what is happening when the story begins; includes characters and setting
  8. Flashback-taking the reader back to an earlier time.
  9. Foreshadowing-when the author gives clues about what will happen later in the story
  10. Hyperbole-an exaggeration; not meant to be taken literally (I am so hungry, I could eat a horse)
  11. Idiom-a figurative expression no meant to be taken literally.(it rained cats and dogs)
  12. Imagery-sensory details, words that make the reader see, hear, feel, taste
  13. Infer (inference) - to draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented
  14. Irony-the tone created when the reader says one thing but means another
  15. Verbal Irony-a contradiction between shat is said and what is meant
  16. Situational Irony-a twist of fate in which the results of a certain actions is not consisted with expected results.
  17. Dramatic irony - facts or events are unknown to a character but known to the reader or audience and other characters in the work.
  18. Metaphor-a comparison that does not use like or as.
  19. Mood-the overall feeling a reader gets from a story.
  20. Nonfiction-True or factual (Not False)
  21. Onomatopoeia-the words that sound like the sound or action they describe (Bullets whizzed by)
  22. Oxymoron- putting two terms together that are opposite: (jumbo shrimp)
  23. Personification-giving human qualities to something that is not human.
  24. Plot-the series of events in a story
  25. Sub Plot-a minor plot; a story within a story
  26. Poetry-writing in which the sound, rhythm, meaning and imagery are especially important.
  27. Point-of-view-the prospective or position from which the story is told.
  28. First Person-a character tells the story (I)
  29. Third Person-an outside person/narrator tells the story (He/She)
  30. Resolution-the solution to the conflict
  31. Satire-making fun of a person, a weakness, or of certain human behavior.
  32. Setting-the environment in which the story takes place: when and where.
  33. Simile-a comparison using like or as.
  34. Suspense- the quality that keeps the reader anxiously wanting to know what will happen next
  35. Symbol-an image, object, character or action that stands for an idea. (the flag stands for freedom)
  36. Theme-the message, lesson, or universal truth communicated by the author.
  37. Thesis - in expository writing, the thesis statement is the sentence or group of sentences that directly express the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition.
  38. Tone - similar to mood, describes the author's attitude toward his material, the audience, or both
  39. Transition - a word or phrase that links different ideas
  40. Soliloquy - recitation in a play in which a character reveals his thoughts to the audience but not to other characters in the play.