Keystone Exams: Literature

A character that symbolically embodies well-known meanings and basic human experiences, regardless of time period

A playwright's written instructions provided in the text of a play about the setting or how actors should move and act

An author's choice of words, phrases, sentence structures and figurative language, which combine to help create meaning

The repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words

A judgment based on reasoning rather than on a direct or explicit statement; a conclusion based on facts

Groups of letters placed after a word to alter its meaning or change it into a different kind of word

The genre of literature represented by works intended for the stage

A struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions

Nonfiction written primarily to convey factual information (ex. textbook, newspaper, report, directions, brochure)

Presents action that occurred before current time of the story. (Ex. dreams, recollections)

An exaggeration or overstatement

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

The position of the narrator in relation to the story, as indicated by the outlook from which the events are depicted

A literary organizational form that presents the order in which tasks are to be performed

Support provided to mark an assertion as reasonable

A literary approach that ridicules or examines human vice or weakness

Points of information in a text that strongly support the meaning or tell the story.

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

A form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings.

The author's choices regarding language, sentence structure, voice, and tone in order to communicate with the reader

The voice used by an author to tell a story or poem. The voice is often a created identity

Any story that is the product of imagination rather than of fact. Characters and events are a creation of the author.

Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling

To capture all of the most important parts of the original text, but to express them in a shorter space.

The author's intent either to inform or teach someone about something, to entertain people, persuade, or convince

Various sentence structures, styles, and lengths that can enhance the rhythm of or add emphasis to a piece of text

The author's central thought; the chief topic of a text expressed or implied in a word or phrase.

Text that includes literary elements and devices usually associated with fiction to report on people, places, or events

Groups of letters placed before a word to alter its meaning

The author's method of structuring a text; the way a text is structured from beginning to end.

To give reasons through an explanation to convey and represent the meaning or understanding of a text

A narrative device, often used at the beginning, that provides necessary background information

A prefix or a suffix

A category used to classify literary works, usually by form, technique or content

The portion of the story following the climax in which the conflict is resolved.

The generally accepted importance of a work representing a given culture

A written account of another person's life

The position or claim the author establishes; supported with valid evidence, reasoning, and opposing viewpoints

This point of view presents the events of the story from outside of any single character's perception

The fluency, rhythm, and liveliness in a text that make it unique to the author.

Specific word choices in a text that strongly support the tone, mood, or meaning of the text

Examine and judge carefully. To judge or determine the significance, worth or quality of something; to assess

The center of interest or attention

The rhyming pattern, meter, grammar, and imagery used by a poet to convey meaning.

The part of the story where the plot becomes increasingly complicated.

Though unexpressed in the actual text, meaning that may be understood by the reader

Place together characters, situations, or ideas to show common and/or differing features in literary selections

A trend or pattern of shared beliefs or practices that mark an approach to literature (ex. Realism, Naturalism)

Traits that mark a work as imaginative or narrative disclosure (ex. plot, theme, symbol)

An implied or indirect reference in literature to a familiar person, place, or event

An essential technique used in literature (ex. characterization, setting, plot, theme)

A device in literature where an object represents an idea

A major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work; may be stated or implied

Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling

The overall structure or shape of a work that frequently follows an established design. May refer to meter, lines, rhyme

Words and phrases that help the reader reason out the meaning of an unfamiliar word

Information aimed at positively or negatively influencing the opinions or behaviors or large numbers of people

Elements of literature that emphasize sound (ex. assonance, consonance, alliteration, rhyme, onomatopoeia)

The "personal" point of view; relates events as they are perceived by a single character

A comparison of two unlike things in which a word (like, as) is used

A dramatic speech, revealing inner thoughts and feelings, spoken aloud by one character while alone on the stage

A person, animal, or inanimate object portrayed in a literary work

Words that have several meanings depending upon how they are used in a sentence

A word that is similar in meaning to another word.

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

A conclusion drawn from specific information that is used to make a broad statement about a topic or person

The part of the story that is characterized by diminishing tensions and the resolution of the plot's conflicts

Clearly expressed or fully stated in the actual text

A variety of a language distinct from the standard variety of pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary

Descriptive or figurative language in a literary work; the use of language to create sensory impressions

An extended speech spoken by one speaker, either to others or as if alone

A story, actual or fictional, expressed orally or in text.

The generally accepted importance or value of a work to represent human experience regardless of culture or time period

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

The range of associations that a word or phrase suggests in addition to its dictionary meaning

The comparison of two unlike things in which no words of comparison (like, as) are used

A personal view, attitude, or appraisal

A piece of information provided objectively, presented as true

The use of a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or usual meaning

A conversation between characters or speakers in a literary work; specifically the speech of characters

The method an author uses to reveal characters and their various traits and personalities

Traits that mark a word as reportorial, analytical, informative or argumentative (facts, data, charts, graphics)

An organizational device used in literature to create expectation or to set up an explanation or later development

Text that aims to present ideas and evoke an emotional experience in the reader through the use of meter, imagery, words

Examples could be: name-calling, bandwagon, red herring, emotional appeal, testimonial, repetition, generalization

Text that is not fictional; its emphasis is factual

To make a judgement or decision based on reasoning rather than direct or implicit statement

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

Any visual cues on a page of text that offer additional information to guide the reader's comprehension

The turning point in a narrative; the moment when the conflict is the most intense

The process or result of identifying the parts of a whole and their relationships to one another

The time and place in which a story unfolds

The structure of a story. The sequence in which the author arranges events in a story.

A word that is the opposite in meaning to another word

The written text of a play; includes dialogue between characters; work to be performed on stage, radio, or TV

The emotions of a work derived from literary devices such as dialogue and literary elements such as setting

A recurring subject, theme, or idea in a literary work

To make understandable, plain, or clear

An object or abstract idea given human qualities or human form

Distinguish, tell apart, and recognize differences between two or more items.