Literary Terms

the person who wrote the story or passage

a text structure examining how conflicts or obstacles are overcome

the final outcome of the story

surrounding words which provide the meaning

An American hero folktale full of extreme exaggerations

the author's attitude about his/her topic

a word or phrase that imitates the sound (i.e. whoosh)

words that have similar meanings

a folktale

gives human qualities to animals or objects 

the deliberate use of exaggeration

a statement meaning the opposite of what is literally stated

the feeling or atmosphere in the story set by the author

a text structure that starts with specific ideas and works toward a general idea

a type of literature that tells a made-up story

the storyline of a literary piece

gives the main idea and important details of a passage

a comparison of two unlike things using the words "like" or "as"

the use of one thing to stand for or represent another

words that have opposite meanings

a type of literature that tells about real-life people

the main problem the character faces

the way the author uses phrases/sentences to make the story distinctive

the person who is telling the story

a text structure presenting events in the order in which they occur

a suggested or implied meaning--either positive or negative

a feeling of uncertainty or dread about what will happen next

a text structure exploring the reason something happened and its result

the time and place of the story's events

a reference to a well-known work of literature

a play written to be performed by actors

a guess based on a known fact

gives clues that suggest what might happen in the future

when someone not in the story tells the story

the direct words of character(s), set off by quotation marks

the use of vivid description to create a picture in the reader's mind

interrupting the story with events from the past

restating something using different words

a classification of literature

the narrator's outlook on the events of a story

a comparison that shows a relationship between two things

a folktale about gods and goddesses

a subject or topic of a passage

persuasion techniques

a comparison of two unlike things not using the words "like" or "as"

a text structure that starts with a general idea and works toward specific ideas

a statement that cannot be proven--someone's own belief

when a character in the story tells the story using "I"

creating a "special effect" by saying a word over and over

a seemingly contradictory combination of words (i.e.  jumbo shrimp)

the overall meaning of a piece of writing

a person or other creature in a story

a saying that cannot be literally translated (i.e. kick the bucket)

the dictionary definition of the word

a text structure showing similarities and differences

the person(s) to whom the writing is addressed

a strong prejudice for one side over another

a personal, sharply ironical taunt or expression

the point of greatest interest or suspense in the story

a text structure which gives description based on physical location