click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
English Vocab
Literary Terms
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Plot | the order of events in a narrative or any other type of story. |
Setting | place, environment, and time (period) of a story. |
Theme | central message or lesson about life in a story that can be applied to other stories. |
Conflict | struggle between 2 opposing forces in a story. Two types: Internal and External. |
Characterization | the methods used to present the personality of a character. |
Foreshadowing | the use of clues in a story to hint at a later event or outcome. |
Flashback | an interruption in a story where earlier events from the story are presented. |
Point of View (POV) | the perspective from which a story is told. |
Omniscient Narrator | the narrator is NOT a character in the story. Reveals the thoughts and experiences of all of the characters. |
Irony | an event that occurs which contradicts the expectations of the readers and characters (a twist). |
Mood | a feeling that a literary work gives the reader. |
Symbolism | the use of a person, place, object or action to stand for something beyond itself. A flag can symbolize a country, the feeling of patriotism or the idea of freedom. |
Allusion | a reference to a famous person, place, event or work of literature. |
Alliteration | repetition of the first syllable sound of words. |
Hyperbole | figurative language that uses extreme exaggeration to make a point. |
Imagery | pictures created in the mind from vivid text descriptions that appeal to the 5 senses. |
Onomatopoeia | the use of words who sounds suggests their meaning. |
Personification | figurative language that gives inanimate (non living) objects human qualities. |
Metaphor | figurative language that compares 2 unlike things WITHOUT using 'like' or 'as.' |
Simile | figurative language that compares 2 unlike things USING the words 'like' or 'as'. |
Stage Directions | instructions to the actors and director within the script of a play. Usually written in italics and are not meant to be read out loud. |
Climax | the most intense or highest point of the story. Possibly a dramatic discovery or confrontation of the main conflict. |