Literary Terms Review

Descriptive words that paint a picture in the reader’s mind and call the five senses to mind

Words that imitate sounds

When something happens that is the opposite of what is expected or intended

A character who is the opposite of another character

Words characters say to each other in a piece of literature

A comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as”

The feeling a reader gets from a work of literature

Anything that stands for/represents something else

Word choice

A character in a story that opposes or is in conflict with the main character

a comparison of two unlike things

Reference in a piece of literature to a place, event, literary work, person, etc.

A struggle between opposing forces (person vs. person, nature, society, self, or technology)

A deliberate exaggeration or overstatement

The underlying message or central idea in a work of literature

The person who tells the events of a story

The perspective from which a story is told; first, second, or third person

When an author describes something non-human using human qualities

The moment of highest emotional intensity in a story; the turning point

When an author hints at something to come later

The author’s attitude toward the subject

The main character in a work of literature; this character changes throughout the text

Repetition of initial consonant sounds at the starts of words

The sequence of events in a literary work

The way an author reveals or develops a character’s personality (can be direct or indirect)

The time and place in which the events of a story take place