Keystone Exams: Literature

A struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions

An author's choice of words, phrases, sentence structures and figurative language, which combine to help create meaning

The part of the story that is characterized by diminishing tensions and the resolution of the plot's conflicts

A variety of a language distinct from the standard variety of pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary

Examine and judge carefully. To judge or determine the significance, worth or quality of something; to assess

The genre of literature represented by works intended for the stage

An extended speech spoken by one speaker, either to others or as if alone

To capture all of the most important parts of the original text, but to express them in a shorter space.

The position of the narrator in relation to the story, as indicated by the outlook from which the events are depicted

Any visual cues on a page of text that offer additional information to guide the reader's comprehension

A prefix or a suffix

A piece of information provided objectively, presented as true

The structure of a story. The sequence in which the author arranges events in a story.

Descriptive or figurative language in a literary work; the use of language to create sensory impressions

A narrative device, often used at the beginning, that provides necessary background information

A trend or pattern of shared beliefs or practices that mark an approach to literature (ex. Realism, Naturalism)

An exaggeration or overstatement

Examples could be: name-calling, bandwagon, red herring, emotional appeal, testimonial, repetition, generalization

The generally accepted importance or value of a work to represent human experience regardless of culture or time period

An organizational device used in literature to create expectation or to set up an explanation or later development

The author's method of structuring a text; the way a text is structured from beginning to end.

The comparison of two unlike things in which no words of comparison (like, as) are used

A recurring subject, theme, or idea in a literary work

The method an author uses to reveal characters and their various traits and personalities

The process or result of identifying the parts of a whole and their relationships to one another

Groups of letters placed before a word to alter its meaning

A judgment based on reasoning rather than on a direct or explicit statement; a conclusion based on facts

Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling

A personal view, attitude, or appraisal

The use of a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or usual meaning

The fluency, rhythm, and liveliness in a text that make it unique to the author.

A form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings.

The part of the story where the plot becomes increasingly complicated.

Information aimed at positively or negatively influencing the opinions or behaviors or large numbers of people

A conversation between characters or speakers in a literary work; specifically the speech of characters

The repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words

Though unexpressed in the actual text, meaning that may be understood by the reader

Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling

Words and phrases that help the reader reason out the meaning of an unfamiliar word

A character that symbolically embodies well-known meanings and basic human experiences, regardless of time period

A major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work; may be stated or implied

Traits that mark a work as imaginative or narrative disclosure (ex. plot, theme, symbol)

The subtle presence of a positive or negative approach toward a topic

Distinguish, tell apart, and recognize differences between two or more items.

Words that have several meanings depending upon how they are used in a sentence

An implied or indirect reference in literature to a familiar person, place, or event

The position or claim the author establishes; supported with valid evidence, reasoning, and opposing viewpoints

Presents action that occurred before current time of the story. (Ex. dreams, recollections)

A story, actual or fictional, expressed orally or in text.

A dramatic speech, revealing inner thoughts and feelings, spoken aloud by one character while alone on the stage

The rhyming pattern, meter, grammar, and imagery used by a poet to convey meaning.

To make understandable, plain, or clear

A category used to classify literary works, usually by form, technique or content

The range of associations that a word or phrase suggests in addition to its dictionary meaning

Elements of literature that emphasize sound (ex. assonance, consonance, alliteration, rhyme, onomatopoeia)

Various sentence structures, styles, and lengths that can enhance the rhythm of or add emphasis to a piece of text

The portion of the story following the climax in which the conflict is resolved.

The author's central thought; the chief topic of a text expressed or implied in a word or phrase.

A literary organizational form that presents the order in which tasks are to be performed

An essential technique used in literature (ex. characterization, setting, plot, theme)

Text that is not fictional; its emphasis is factual

Tool used by the author to enliven and provide voice to the text (ex. dialogue, alliteration)

This point of view presents the events of the story from outside of any single character's perception

Traits that mark a word as reportorial, analytical, informative or argumentative (facts, data, charts, graphics)

Specific word choices in a text that strongly support the tone, mood, or meaning of the text

To make a judgement or decision based on reasoning rather than direct or implicit statement

The time and place in which a story unfolds

The generally accepted importance of a work representing a given culture

A playwright's written instructions provided in the text of a play about the setting or how actors should move and act

Support provided to mark an assertion as reasonable

A person, animal, or thing telling the story or giving an account of something.

A conclusion drawn from specific information that is used to make a broad statement about a topic or person

A comparison of two unlike things in which a word (like, as) is used

A written account of another person's life

The written text of a play; includes dialogue between characters; work to be performed on stage, radio, or TV

The author's intent either to inform or teach someone about something, to entertain people, persuade, or convince

The emotions of a work derived from literary devices such as dialogue and literary elements such as setting

An object or abstract idea given human qualities or human form

Text that includes literary elements and devices usually associated with fiction to report on people, places, or events

To give reasons through an explanation to convey and represent the meaning or understanding of a text

Text that aims to present ideas and evoke an emotional experience in the reader through the use of meter, imagery, words

A person, animal, or inanimate object portrayed in a literary work

Any story that is the product of imagination rather than of fact. Characters and events are a creation of the author.

Groups of letters placed after a word to alter its meaning or change it into a different kind of word

Points of information in a text that strongly support the meaning or tell the story.

The "personal" point of view; relates events as they are perceived by a single character

The attitude of the author toward the audience, characters, subject, or the work itself

The turning point in a narrative; the moment when the conflict is the most intense

The author's choices regarding language, sentence structure, voice, and tone in order to communicate with the reader

The voice used by an author to tell a story or poem. The voice is often a created identity

A literary approach that ridicules or examines human vice or weakness

The center of interest or attention

Nonfiction written primarily to convey factual information (ex. textbook, newspaper, report, directions, brochure)

The overall structure or shape of a work that frequently follows an established design. May refer to meter, lines, rhyme

Place together characters, situations, or ideas to show common and/or differing features in literary selections

Clearly expressed or fully stated in the actual text

A device in literature where an object represents an idea

A word that is similar in meaning to another word.

A word that is the opposite in meaning to another word

The ordering of words into meaningful verbal patterns such as phrases, clauses, and sentences.