Keystone Literature Terms

The range of associations that a word or phrase suggests

A person, animal, or thing telling the story or giving an account of something

Attempting to persuade the reader by using a famous person to endorse product or idea

Point of view in which the narrator knows the thoughts, actions, feelings of all characters

The ordering of words into meaningful verbal patterns such as phrases, clauses, and sentences

A conclusion drawn from specific information that is used to make a broad statement

Generally accepted value of a work to represent human experience regardless of culture or time

Example: Sally hits seashells by the seashore.

Point of view usually told by the narrator of a story (uses I, me, my)

POV in which the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of one character (uses he, they)

Elements of literature that emphasize sound

To capture all of the most important parts of the original text, but much shorter/in own words

The author's method of structuring a text

The attitude of the author toward the audience, characters, subject or the work itself

A word that is similar in meaning to another word (e.g., sorrow, grief, sadness)

The subtle presence of a positive or negative approach towards a topic

The opposite meaning of a word

Traits that mark a work as a report, informative, or argumentative (facts, data, etc.)

Tool used by the author to enliven and provide voice to the text(e.g., dialogue, alliteration)

The part of the plot that becomes increasingly complicated

An attempt to distract the reader with details not relevant to an argument

An oversimplified statement about a group based on limited information

The prevailing emotions or atmosphere of a work derived from literary devices

Stating a conclusion as part of the proof of one's argument

One or more letters occurring as a bound form attached to the beginning, end, or base of a word