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Literary terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Alliteration | the repetition of initial consonant sounds. Used to draw attention to certain words or ideas, to imitate sounds, and create musical effects |
| Anology | a comparison between two or more things that are similar in some way, but unlike in others |
| Antagonist | a character or force in conflict with the main character (protagonist) |
| Autobiography | story of the writer’s own life, told by the writer. They are a form of nonfiction and are generally written in first person. |
| Biography | life story of a person told by another person. They are a form of nonfiction, but effective biographies share qualities of a good narrative. |
| Character | person or an animal that take part in the action of a literary work |
| Dialect | form of a language spoken by people in a particular region or group |
| Diologue | spoken conversation between characters |
| Essay | short nonfiction work about a particular subject. Usually have a single focus, with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. |
| Exposition | writing or speech that explains a process or presents information |
| Fable | a brief story or poem, usually with animal characters, that teaches a lesson or moral. |
| Fantasy | highly imaginative writing that contain elements not found in real life |
| Fiction | prose writing that tells about imaginary characters and events |
| Figurative Language | writing or speech that is not to be taken literally |
| Flashback | scene within a story that interrupts the sequence of events and relates to events that happened in the past |
| Folktale | story composed orally and passed from person to person by word of mouth |
| Foreshadow | clues that hint at what might happen later in the story |
| Genre | a division or type of literature |
| Hero | a character whose actions are inspiring or noble. They struggle to overcome the obstacle and problems that stand in their way. |
| Imagery | author’s use of words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses |
| Inference | a form of reasoning based on the information given and what you already know through your own experiences. To make an inference is to draw a new conclusion from what is already known. |
| Irony | surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions |
| Journal | a daily or periodic account of events and the writer’s thoughts and feelings about events |
| Legend | widely told story about the past |
| Moral | a lesson taught by a literary work. Moral must be made by the reader based on other elements in the story. |
| Motive | reason that explains or partially explains a character’s thoughts, feelings, actions, or speech |
| Myth | a fictional tale that explains the actions of gods or heroes ore the origins of elements of nature |
| Narrative | a story that is either fiction or nonfiction |
| Narrator | a speaker or character that tells a story |
| Nonfiction | prose writing that presents and explains ideas or that tells about real people, places, objects, and events |
| Novel | prose writing that presents and explains ideas or that tells about real people, places, objects, and events |
| Onomatopoeia | the use of words that imitate sounds |
| Persuasion | writing or speech that attempts to convince the reader or listener to adopt a particular opinion or course of action |
| Plot | the sequence of events in which each event results from a previous one and causes the next. Usually involves both characters and a central conflict. |
| Poetry | one of the three major types of genre. Most poems use highly concise, musical, and emotionally charged language; making use of figurative language, imagery, and special devices, such as rhyme. |
| POV | the perspective or vantage point, from which a story is told. |
| Prose | the ordinary form of written language – fiction and nonfiction |
| Protagonist | the main character in a literary work |
| Science fiction | combines elements of fiction and fantasy with scientific facts. Are generally set in the future |
| Sensory language | writing or speech that appeals to one of more of the senses. |
| Setting | the time and place of the action of a story |
| Short story | a brief work of fiction that presents a sequence of events, or plot. Plot usually deals with central conflict of main character (protagonist). These events usually communicate a message about life or human nature (theme). |
| Suprise ending | a conclusion that is unexpected. Often this is foreshadowed, or subtly hinted at, during the course of the work |
| Suspence | a conclusion that is unexpected. Often this is foreshadowed, or subtly hinted at, during the course of the work |
| Symbol | anything that stands for or represents something else |
| Theme | a central message, concern, or purpose in a literary work. It is not a summary of the plot. It is a generalization, or general statement about human beings or about life. |
Created by:
Kade2801
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