Literary Terms

Sound words. Ex. Buzz,sizzle, crack, cuckoo, bang, etc.

An account written about one’s own life. 1st person perspective.

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

Author's word choice.

Literature in the form of prose, writing that describes imaginary events and people.

A writer of a literary work.

The overall message or lesson learned from a literary work.

Pronouns you, your, yours are used in the story.

Pronouns she, her, him, he, it, them, their are used in the story.

Important hints that an author drops to prepare the reader for what is to come.

A comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as”.

A saying that is specific to a language and doesn't have literal meaning.

The uncertainty or anxiety you feel about what will happen next in a story.

Reference to another literary work.

Pronouns I, me, we, us, our are used in the story.

Retelling a story or article in your own words.

A purposeful exaggeration for emphasis or humor.

Type or category of stories, plays, music, or movies.

An object or element used to represent another concept.

Language that appeals to the senses.

The struggle between opposing forces in a literary work.

Giving non-human objects human characteristics.

The sequence of events in a literary work.

The choices an author makes to reveal a character’s personality.

An occurrence that happened before the current point in the story.

The vantage point at which a story is told.

Writing that is based on facts, real events, and real people.

The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of closely connected words.

Word choice, sentence structure, figurative language, meaning in the text, and tone all create an author’s__________.

Implied meaning of a word. The way a word makes you feel.

A remake, mock, or mimic of a literary piece for the purpose of humor.

A comparison between two unlike things NOT using "like" or "as"

The time and place in which the events of a work of literature occur.

The conversations between characters in a literary work.

The dictionary definition of a word.