Literary Terms

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Literary Terms
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1. Character

• A person, animal, or natural force presented as a
  person appearing in a literary work.

Jimmy built sand castles on the beach.
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2. Setting

• The time and place in which events in a short
  story, novel, play, or narrative poem occur.

• Jasmine was alone in The City of Lights, Paris.
  The Parisian lights reminded her of Christmas at
  home in the states.

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3. Conflict

• A struggle between two opposing forces or
  characters in a short story, novel, play, or
  narrative poem.
• (good vs. evil)

Little Red Riding Hood was finally able to get
away from the Big Bad Wolf.
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4. Plot

• The sequence of events or actions in a short
  story, novel, play, or narrative poem.

Sara wanted to do something with her father. She
finally discovered that her father loved kite
flying. She learned, and they were able to fly
kites together.
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5. Theme

• The general idea or insight about life that a
  writer wishes to convey in a literary work.

If you cant handle difficulties, they will
destroy you.
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6. Alliteration

• The repetition of consonant sounds at the
  beginning of words.
• Ex. Tongue twisters.
• (She sells seashells down at the seashore)

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7. Simile

• A figure of speech comparing two unlike things
  using words, such as like, as, than, or
  resembles.

The stars were like diamonds in the sky.
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8. Personification

• A figure of speech in which something non-human
  is given human characteristics.
• The thunder cloud danced slowly across the sky.

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9. Metaphor

• A figure of speech comparing two unlike things.
• Dad is a bear in the morning.

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10. Diction

• A writers choice of words. Vividness of
  language.

It groveled, seemingly, on all fours it snatched
and growled like some strange wild animal it was
covered with a quantity of dark, grizzled hair,
wild as a mane.
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11. Connotation

• All the emotions associated with a word.

The downtown area was a jumbled mess.
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12. Denotation

• The dictionary definition of a word

Proffer (PROF fur) to offer.

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13. Onomatopoeia

• A use of a word that makes a sound of what it is
  or does.
• (Pop, slam, whoosh, etc.)

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14. Imagery

• Details that appear to the senses.

The hot sun burned my face as the ice cream
soothed my dry mouth.
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15. Protagonist

• The central character of a drama, novel, short
  story, or narrative poem.

Scrooge waited for the first ghost.
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16. Antagonist

• A character that opposes the main character, an
  enemy, in a drama, novel, short story, or
  narrative poem.

The Ghost of Christmas Future showed Scrooge his
grim future if he didnt redeem himself.
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17. Point of View

• The vantage point of which a story is told.
• 1st person The story is told by one of the
  characters in his/her own words and the reader is
  told only what this character knows and observes.
• (I took my time to write my report for us.)
• 3rd person The narrator is not a character in
  the story at all.
• Omniscient All knowing observer who describes
  and comments on all the characters and actions in
  the story.

(He asked her the time.)
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18. Rhyme

• The repetition of sounds in two or more words or
  phrases that appear close to each other in a
  poem.
• End rhyme occurring at the end of lines.
• (Growling, scratching cat, why do you arch your
  back like that?)
• Internal rhyme occurring within a line.
• (The ugly witch on a broom likes to twitch as she
  sniffs the air.)
• Rhyme scheme the pattern of end rhymes.
• (She was full of fright. She took immediate
  flight.)

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19. Repetition

• The use of more than one of any elements of
  language a sound, a word, a phrase, a sentence,
  a grammatical pattern or a rhythmical pattern.
• (It was the best of time. It was the worst
• of time. It was the time to laugh. It was the
  time to cry .)

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20. Flashback

• A scene in a short story, novel, or play that
  interrupts the action to show what happened
  earlier.
• (Susan remembered seeing the same little boy
  eating cookies at her grandmothers kitchen table
  earlier .)

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21. Foreshadowing

• The use of hints or clues in a narrative to
  suggest what action is coming.
• On the safari, I saw a lion cub alone. Then I
  saw the bushes move and I heard heavy panting.

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22. Hyperbole

• A figure of speech using exaggeration or over
  statement for special effect.
• (The mosquitoes were so big, they put
• saddles on them.)

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23. Idiom

• A figure of speech that is unusual and different
  from the literal meaning.
• Jeremy, will you to stop monkeying around in
  class? The teacher scolded.

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24. Irony

• A contrast or an incongruity between what is
  stated and what meant, or between what is
  expected to happen and what actually happened.

She ended up marrying the guy she despised.
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25. Syntax

• The physical arrangement of words in a sentence.

He absolutely, completely, wholly, and utterly
hated to work. But, he loved to listen to music
and to eat.
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26. Euphemism

• A mild or indirect expression used instead of one
  that is harsh or unpleasantly direct.
• (pass away instead of died,
• not very bright instead of stupid)

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27. Archetye

• The term applied to an image, a descriptive
  detail, a plot pattern or a character type that
  occurs frequently in literature, myth, religion,
  or folklore.
• (Cinderella, damsel in distress, evil
  step-mother, knight in shining amour, Robin Hood.)

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28. Tone

• The attitude the writer takes toward his or her
  subjects, characters, and readers.
• (It can be described by a single adjective.)
  HAPPY!!! SAD!

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29. Mood

• The prevailing feeling or emotional climate of a
  literary work, often developed, at least in part
  through description of setting and development of
  atmosphere.
• (sad, melancholy, happy, scary,)

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30. Allusion

• A reference to a well known person, place, even
  literary work, or work of art.
• (He was rich as King Midas They parted like the
  Red Sea.)