Literary Terms

Struggle against outside forces.

The atmosphere; The feeling created.

Two or more words repeat the same vowel sound but start with different consonant sounds.

Someone says something but means the opposite (can be sarcasm).

This type of fictional literature has a plot taking place in a setting located in the past.

The person telling the story of events, experiences, etc.

The part of the plot that begins to occur as soon as the conflict is introduced.

The audience knows something that characters do not.

The struggle between opposing forces.

The main character.

The time and place of the action.

Central message, concern, or purpose.

A phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.

Language used in a particular geographical area, social class, or occupational group.

A passing or indirect reference. An incidental mention of something.

The comparison of seemingly unlike things.

This type of fictional literature is intended to scare, disgust, or startle readers/viewers.

A conversation between two or more characters.

When a word is formed from the sound that an associated thing makes.

The reason for which an author writes.

An essay trying to argue for or against something.

Dénouement also means ...

Literature that describes imaginary events and people.

An essay that provides information.

The repetition of sounds at the beginning of words.

This follows the climax and reveals its results.

A character who does not help to move along the plot.

Introducing and then describing a character.

Struggle within the mind between different courses of action.

The direct contrast between what is expected and what actually happens.

The introduction.

The perspective from which a story is told.

A traditional way of saying something but the words cannot be taken literally.

Writing dealing with facts and events rather than imaginative narration.

Using clues to hint at what might happen later in the story.

Distinctive way the author uses language.

This is used to state ideas in a vivid and imaginary way.

The dictionary definition of a word.

Another term for an extreme exaggeration.

Words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses.

Interruption of the sequence of an event to an earlier occurrence.

An essay relating to someone's personal life.

The attitude toward a subject.

The point of greatest emotional intensity.

When the author uses a statement or picture in words to describe a person, place, or thing.

Comparing two or more things that have something in common (does NOT us like or as).

Part of the plot that concludes the falling action by revealing the outcome of the conflict.

Use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.

The feeling associated with a word.

A person or animal that takes part in the action of literary work.

The character or force in conflict with the main character.

This type of fictional literature deals with imaginative concepts.

Give human characteristics to something that is not human.

The sequence of events.