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E-Prep Lit Terms
Literary terms for MCA-II
Question | Answer |
---|---|
A comparison between two UNLIKE things using "like" or "as". "Cheadle is like the wind." | simile |
A comparison between two UNLIKE things stating one thing is another. "Cheadle is the wind." | metaphor |
The storyline of a novel, movie, short story. What happens in the story. | plot |
Clues of what's to come later on in the plot. | foreshadowing |
The beginning of any story: we learn the setting, characters, and major conflict. | exposition |
Creating tension and excitement in a story. | suspense |
The turning point or high emotional connection in any story. | climax |
A device in which the word itself sounds like the concept it represents, like "buzz" and "ding." | onomatopoeia |
A device in which an inanimate object is described as if it had human characteristics. "The coffee cup beckoned to me from across the room." | personification |
Extreme exaggeration, used for effect. "I have a million things to do today." | hyperbole |
The writer describes events in such a way that the reader can experience them; lots of description and sensory language is used. | imagery |
Description that appeals to sight, taste, smell, touch, and hearing. "The pudding was like chocolate satin." | sensory language |
A story; anything written in story form. | narrative |
Two or more characters speak to each other in a narrative, usually with the use of quotation marks. | dialogue |
The time and place in which a story takes place (and both parts are required). Ex: 1960s Chicago. | setting |
How a writer makes characters come alive for the reader; how the reader learns things about the characters (what they say, do, think, how others react, what the author says.) Direct and Indirect. | characterization |
The part of the story where we get more complications, heading toward the climax. | rising action |
What is causing the problems for the main character in a story; three basic types, and there can be more than one in a story. | conflict |
A type of conflict in which the main character is having problems with other characters. | man vs. man |
A type of conflict in which the main character is having problems with natural events (ex: volcano, earthquake, etc.) | man vs. nature |
A type of conflict in which the main character is having problems with his own desires or personality (ex: too afraid to join the talent show). | man vs. himself |
The main character in any story or movie. Can be "good" or "bad." | protagonist |
The character that crosses the main character in any story. | antagonist |
A twist in a story; the unexpected happens. | situational irony |
The reader or audience knows more than a character, creating tension. | dramatic irony |
Sarcasm; saying the opposite of what you really mean. | verbal irony |
The patters of rhymes in a poem. (Ex: ABAB, ABCABCDD) | rhyme scheme |
How the poem is placed on the page; its visual arrangement. | form (of a poem) |
What happens in the plot as a direct result of the climax. | falling action |
The ending of a story; things are put in order. | resolution |