Literary Terms

 A struggle between two opposing forces or characters in a short story, novel or play.

A story told in verse and usually meant to be sung. 

A short, funny episode that interrupts an otherwise serious or tragic work of drama.

A term applied to a specific kind of figurative language,such as a metaphor or simile.

All of the action in a play that follows the turning point. 

Anything that is invented or imagined, especially a prose narrative. 

Unrealistic devices or procedures that the reader agrees to accept.

A contrast between what is expected to happen and actually does happen.

A long, uninterrupted speech that is spoken in the presenceof other characters.

A type of comedy based on a humorous situation, usualy with ridiculous characters..   

The mood or emotional quality of a literary work.  Often created with details about people.

A person’s account of his/her own life. 

An account of a person’s life written by another person.

A five-line poem or stanza that follows a specific pattern of syllables.

Poetry that has no fixed meter or pattern and depends on natural speech rhythms. 

A comparison between two unlike things with the intent of giving added meaning to one of them.

A story told in verse that is by an unknown author and meant to be sung.

A reversal of the usual order of words to achieve some kind of emphasis.

The emotion or association that a word or phrase may arouse. 

A long narrative poem that relates the deeds of a hero.

A brief story or poem that is told to present a moral or practical lesson.

Poetry that expresses a speaker’s personal thoughts or feelings.

A figure of speech in which great exaggeration is used for emphasis or humorous effect.

A character who undergoes an important and basic changes in personality or outlook. 

The repetition of consonant sounds before or after different vowel sounds. 

A generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry. 

Language that is not intended to be interpreted in a literal sense. 

Language that appeals to any sense or any combination of senses.

A character who undergoes an important and basic changes in personality or outlook. 

A highly imaginative type of fiction in which the events could not really happen.

 Any careful detailing of a person, place, thing, or event.

A form of discourse in which reason is used to influence or change people’s ideas or actions.

 A story handed down from the past and commonly believed to be based on historical events.

A brief account of an interesting or amusing incident.

  In general, a literary work that is amusingand ends happily

When the audience understands more of a situation than the character is aware of.

Conversation between two characters in a literary work.           

A series of difficulties forming the central action in a narrative.

The most common verse line in English Poetry. 

That point of greatest emotional intensity, interest, or suspense in a narrative. 

Words spoken by a character in a play, usually in an undertone, not intended to be heard

An event or detail existing out of its proper time in history.

A style of writing in which realistic characters, and dialogue are mixed with magical elements.

Verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter, where each line usuallycontains ten syllables.

The main character in a literary work, whose character deeds inspire the reader. 

A person or force in society or nature that opposes the protagonist or central character.

A descriptive adjective or phrase used to characterize someone or something. 

A literary device in which an earlier event is inserted into the chronological sequence.

An extended comparison showing the similarities between two things.

An extended comparison that mounts in excitement and usually ends in a climax.

The repetition of similar vowel sounds, usually close together in agroup of words.

A story told in verse in which a known writer imitates a folk ballad.

The traditional beliefs, customs, stories, songs,and dances of the culture.

The personality a character displays; the means by which an author reveals that personality

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme. 

The kind of writing that is intended primarily to present information.

A type of narrative nonfiction that presents the story of a period in person’s life.

An extended comparison using like or as to compare two seemingly unlike things. 

A character who sets off another character by contrast.

A fact or idea stated directly.

 The literal or dictionary meaning of a word. 

The tragic denouement, or unknotting of a play or story. 

In a poem, a word or row of words that may or may not form a complete sentence.

The ending of a piece of writing that provides closure to the piece.

 A writer’s choice of words, particularly for clarity effectiveness, and precision.

A practical lesson about right and wrong conduct. 

A narrative that contains another narrative.

A story acted out, usually on stage, by actors and actresses.

A piece of short writing that expresses a particular point of view.

A point of great tension in a narrative that determines how the action will come out.

The repetition of similar sounds, usually consonant clusters, in a group of words. 

The feelings or atmosphere that an author creates in a literary work.

A major division of a play.

A traditional story of anonymous origin that deals withgoddesses, gods and supernatural events.

The author’s reason for writing. 

Persons or animals, things or natural forces presented as person appearing in a short story.

An account, legend, or story that is passed along orally from generation to generation.

Two consecutive lines of rhyming poetry that are written in iambic pentameter..

 A representation of the speech patterns of a particular region or social group.

A work or phrase that has a special meaning different fromits standard or dictionary meaning.

A category or type of literature characterized by a particular form or style.

 A reference in one work of literature to a person, place or event.

The use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest what action is to come.

The use of specific details to re-create the language, customs and habits of a particular area