Mrs. Webb's Fiction Terms

A principal character or force in opposition to a protagonist (main character)

is a symbolic image or idea that appears frequently in a story

Central idea, an underlying message about life or human nature that a writer wants the reader to understand

A figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or humorous effect

A common figure of speech where the meaning is different from the literal meaning of its words

A figure of speech in which human qualities are given to an object, animal, or idea

The use of similar grammatical constructions to express ideas that are related or equal in importance

A technique of creating emphasis by saying less than is actually or literally true

The way a writer creates and develops characters’ personalities

a story within a story. It has a “surface story” and another story hidden underneath.

A pattern character in literature that is found in a variety of works/ stock characters

Is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things that are basically unlike but have something in common

an attitude or a feeling associated with a word

A technique in which a sound, word, phrase, or line is repeated for emphasis or unity

A person, a place, an object, or an activity that stands for something beyond itself

Form of language that is spoken in a particular geographic area or by a particular social or ethnic group

An indirect reference to a famous person, place, event, or literary work

Is the feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader

Writer’s or speaker’s choice of words

Catagories into which works of literature is classified

The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words (Sister sally sits by the sea shore)

The attitude a writer takes toward a subject

Consists of descriptive words and phrases that re-create sensory experiences (hint: 5 senses)

The use of words whose sounds echo their meanings/ words spelled the way the sound they make

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, using the word like or as

A special kind of contrast between appearance and reality- usually one in which reality is the opposite of what it seems

A writer’s use of hints or clues to suggest events that will occur later in a story