Literary Terms

Definition: What are hints and clues that tell a reader what may happen next?

Definition: What is it called when inanimate (not alive) objects are given life-like qualities?

Definition: A (solo) monologue made by a character (long) where he expresses true feelings to the audience?

Example: The flames reached the child hovering in the corner.

Definition: a scene that interrupts the present to explain an event that happened earlier

Example: "This race is going to be the death of me!"

Ex: I want to wear a camouflage shirt, but I can't find one; A horse is a very stable animal

Definition: What is something that maintains its own meaning while also stands for something greater than itself.

Definition: What element of plot begins a story and exposes the setting, characters, and initial conflict?

Example: You see a rainbow after a terrible storm and think of all the hope and promise the future has to offer.

Definition: What type of irony is it when a character says the opposite of what is really happening?

Example: When she saw the dove soar high above her home, she knew the worst was over.

Example: The bacon sizzled and the timer dinged.

Example: The leaf spun to the ground like a helicopter.

Example: The wedding cake had me in tiers!

Definition: What type of irony is when something happens that is opposite of what was expected to happen?

Definition: A play on words is called a _____.

Ex: Moviegoers see a girl walk into a closet where a murderer just went. As viewers we know, but the girl doesn't.

Definition: What is an extreme exaggeration?

Examples: Buzz; crack; splat; zoom; ding

Ex: two friends running against one another in a race...a boy trying to survive in the woods

Example: The house stared angrily at its new occupants.

Examples: In Romeo and Juliet examples are love, sacrifice, tragedy, struggle, hardship, and devotion.

Definition: a type of character who opposes the protagonist; a rival of the hero

Example: The word heart has feelings of love and heartache associated with it.

Definition: A comparison of two unlike things without using "like" or "as" is called a ________________.

Examples: Cinderella; Snow White; Belle; Pocahontas

Definition: What type of irony is it when the audience knows something that a character doesn't?

Examples: Bucking bronco's behave boldly...Manic Monday's make me mad!...Bed Bath and Beyond

Definition: Device in which a word/ group of words is repeated at the beginning of two or more sentences?

Example: The Soc's in the novel The Outsiders.

Example: dove=peace; flag=freedom

Definition: What element of plot wraps up the drama before we reach the resolution?

Definition: the sequence (order) of events in a story

Definition: A solo by a char. (short) where he expresses true feelings to crowd-other char. may be present.

Ex: In Cinderella the clock strikes and she rushes home before prince finds out her secret.

Example: The novella Of Mice and Men takes place in the 1930s in southern California.

Definition: What is the repetition of consonant sounds for rhythmic effect?

Definition: The way an author presents and develops a character is called ______________.

Definition: What is a struggle/problem between opposing forces or characters?

Definition: What is the main idea of a piece of literature--usually teaches us a lesson or moral?

Definition: What type of character stays the same throughout the course of a literary work?

Definition: What type of character changes throughout the course of a literary work?

Example: "Where are you going?" Nicole asked. "To the library," replied Jeremy.

What are the five elements of the plot diagram (in order)?

Definition: What are descriptive words or phrases that create an image/picture in the reader’s mind?

Example: He is quite the Romeo with the ladies!

Examples: 1st person, 3rd person (limited, omniscient)

Definition: The uncertainty or anxiety a reader feels about what will happen next. (keeps you on the edge of your seat)

Example: ¨Bill was short and stocky, and his bald spot was widening with every passing year.¨

Definition: A comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as" is called a ________________.

Examples: sly vs. sneaky; cultured vs. snobby; chilly vs. refreshing; plain vs. natural

Definition: What is the perspective from which a story is told?

Example: I've told you a million times to clean your room!

Definition: What is the atmosphere that is created within a piece of writing?

Definition: conversation between characters

Example: Breaking a mirror and saying, "Oh! What fine luck I have!"

Example: Henry was a lion on the battlefield.

Example: This bag weighs a ton!

Definition: Reference to something that is known from literature, history, religion, politics, sports, etc.

Definition: What is the attitude of the author towards the subject that he/she is writing about?

Example: The heart is defined as the organ that circulates blood through the body.

Definition: What are words that imitate sounds?

Example: Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets upset, boy wins girl back in the end.

Ex: We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight on the seas and oceans. -Winston Churchill

Definition: the meanings/feelings associated with a word (the way a word makes you feel)

Definition: the time and place in which a story takes place

Definition: the main character in a piece of literature who strives against an opposing force