Literary Terms

The tying up of loose ends and the end of a story.

A list that defines words and terms used in the book.

The main character in a literary work who drives the plot forward.

The literal, dictionary definition of a word

Conflict between a character and something else.

The narrator is in the story (I, me, we).

Short summary of a funny event, often used to support a greater point

The repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.

The arrangement of the lines in a poem.

Speech delivered by a character when he is alone on stage.

A phrase made up of 2 contradicting words.

A one-sentence summary of a paragraph's main point

An introduction stating why the book was written.

Not written with a regular pattern.

Repetition of the beginning consonant sound.

A recurring pattern in literature.

An account of the personal experiences of an author.

A statement that can be proved to be true

Narrative technique presents thoughts as if they were coming straight from character's mind

Fourteen lines of iambic pentameter - popularized by Shakespeare.

The main idea of an essay that is supported with concrete evidence

The pattern of rhyming words that appears at the ends of two or more lines of poetry.

Has a regular pattern.

An often universal truth about humanity found in a story.

Repetition of an internal vowel sound.

A contradictory statement that presents a truth

The person or thing that opposes the protagonist.

A play on words, when a word has more than one meaning.

High point in a story, point of most intense interest, and point of no return.

Poems that express the observations and feelings of a single speaker.

A talk or public address

The ordinary form of written language, not poetry, drama, or song

A speech given by one character while others are on stage.

The opening lines of drama that give background info.

The framework used to organize ideas and information.

A long narrative poem about the adventures of an almost superhuman character.

Prose that explains ideas or is about real people, places, objects, or events.

Everyday speech (slang) consisting of fairly short sentences and simple vocabularly

The words used in a piece of literature

Additional material given at the end of the book.

A type of meter that has 10 syllables in a line of poetry.

Conversation carried on by one or more characters.

The part of a story or play that explains the background or makes conflict clear.

Highly imaginative writing that contains elements not found in real life.

Giving human characteristics to non-human things.

An unexpected situation considering the circumstances (usually pessimistic)

Writing or speech exaggerated for effect.

Published & acceptable style used when writing and formatting essays and research papers (MLA)

Persuasion through the use of facts, statistics, charts, and graphs

Words that create images in the mind.

A daily autobiographical account of events and personal reactions

A character whose actions are inspiring or noble, and who overcomes difficulties.

When someone says something they don't mean, but they are believed by others.

A comparison of two unlike things using the word 'like' or 'as'.

This is a commentary on an original document or firsthand account

A magazine/book that contains weather forecasts, statistics, or other facts of interest.

The third person narrator is all knowing and all seeing.

2 line stanza

Fictional stories that center upon scientific elements.

When the audience/reader knows something a character does not.

A character who changes (mentally) throughout a story.

Something seen that stands for something unseen (Dove+Peace)

Poems that tell a story.

A story that begins in the middle of the action.

A listing with chapter titles and page numbers.

A listing of sources used in an essay or research paper

A comprehensive reference book containing info and articles on a wide range of subjects

When something is different than it is suppose to be or thought to be.

A story that involves the reader in guessing who committed the crime or deed.

4 line stanza

A short, nonfiction work about a particular subject.

An essay written to tell the events of a story

Common cliche sayings that are often metaphorical (Don't judge a book by its cover)

A fictional tale that explains the actions of gods or heros.

Poem which tells a story of a person from the past and is often set to music.

The sequence of events in a literary work.

A list of topics that can be found in the book along with page numbers.

A reference book containing an alphabetical list of words along with their synonyms & antonyms

A book of maps.

An essay written solely for informative purposes

Exaggerating or stretching the truth for literary effect.

Reference book contains alphabetical list of words w/ defs., pronunciations and parts of speech

Conflict within a character.

Date the book was published

Time and place of literary work.

An author's account or story of another person's life.

When a story's sequence is interrupted and a character goes back to an earlier time.

A story about a person written by that person.

A reference to something mythical, biblical, or historical.

A Japanese form of poetry with three lines of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables.

The narrator is not a character in the story (he, she, they).

Spoken or written language that is grammatically and punctually correct

Comparison of two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'.

A character who remains the same (mentally) throughout a story.

The order in which words are used in a piece of literature

Persuasion through the use of professional and/or famous people

A statement that reflects a belief and cannot be proved

An essay written for the sole purpose of persuasion

The way an author reveals his characters, can be done directly or indirectly.

An author's unique way of writing that involves word choice and sentence patterns

The use of words that imitate sounds, as in buzz, hiss, or murmur.

A unit or group of lines in poetry that are separated by spaces.

The writer or speaker's attitude towards the subject of the work.

The feelings created in a reader through the literature.

Writing or speech that uses sound.

Repetition of phrases that have similar grammatical patterns

The problems of complications in a story.

Persuasion through the use of pictures or words that create emotion

Prose writing that tells about imaginary characters and events.

An overused word or phrase, like "busy as a bee" or "I slept like a log"

Stories that include or focus on significant historical events.

An article that expresses the opinion of a writer, publisher, news station, or network

An original document or firsthand account (interview)

When a character speaks to the audience and not to the other characters.

A play, in which all events are told as dialogue.

All the emotions or feelings a word arouses, such as negative feelings about "pig"

Information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause

Clues that suggest events yet to come.