Literary Terms

A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life.

The “voice” of the person telling the story.

A figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration, or overstatement, for effect.

Often intense; the major turning point in the plot.

An imaginative pattern appearing in literature across cultures, and repeated through the ages.

A reference to something that is known from history, literature,or other branch of culture.

How people in the story are depicted; can be direct and indirect.

The major events of a story, and how they are arranged.

The mental pictures and sensory feelings that readers experience with a passage of literature.

Time and place of the story.

Background information about the characters provided at the beginning of a story.

An idea indirectly expressed in a literary work; best stated in a complete sentence.

 External and internal; the central problem of the story.

The opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero of the story.

 A re-occurring symbol that underscores an important idea in the story.

The resolving of plot threads and complications at the end of a story.