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Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Imagery | Writing that involves one or more of the senses |
| Sonnet | lyric poem consisting of 14 lines |
| Tone | Author's attitude about his/her subject |
| Mood | How the reader feels after reading a piece of literature |
| Climax | dramatic high of story |
| Protagonist | Hero or central character in a piece of literature |
| Plot | Sequence of events in a story |
| Short Story | A fully developed theme but shorter than a novel |
| Satire | literary work that blends a critical attitude with humor so that humanity may be improved |
| Analyze | take apart, figure it out, examine |
| Rising Action | events that lead to the climax |
| Analogy | comparison made to show a similarity |
| Suspense | feeling of growing tension and excitement |
| Dynamic | character who undergoes an important change |
| Infer | hint, read between the lines, suggest |
| Allusion | reference to a person, event, place, or phrase |
| Oxymoron | figure of speech that seems to be self-contradictory |
| Trace | copy, outline, follow the path of or map out |
| Foil | character who is meant to represent characteristics which are opposed to those of another character Iambic Pentameter-metrical pattern of poetry which consists of five iambic feet per line |
| Evaluate | judge, score, judge the quality, rank |
| Foreshadowing | little hints about what is going to happen later in a story |
| Symbol | anything that stands for something else |
| Hyperbole | an extreme exaggeration |
| Flashback | a shift in a story to an earlier event that interrupts the normal development of the story |
| Setting | time and place a story occurs |
| Onomatopoeia | word’s sound imitates its meaning |
| Archetype | model of person, personality, or behavior |
| Parody | humorous imitation of a previous literary work |
| Alliteration | repetition of the consonant sound |
| Formulate | plan, make it, put it together, put to this, add up, create, develop, build, invent, etc. |
| Gothic Fiction | genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance |
| Metaphor | comparing two unlike things without “like” or “as” |
| Point of View | The person who tells the story and how it is told |
| Characterization | process of creating a character in fiction |
| Pun | A humorous substitution of words that are alike in sound but different in meaning |
| Proverb | simple saying that is popularly known and repeated which expresses truth |
| Irony | The difference between the way something appears and what is actually true |
| Static Character | A character who does not change throughout story |
| Describe | Tell about it, paint a picture with words, paint me a picture, what does it look like, tell what, tell more, list attributes, illustrate, show |
| Simile | Comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as” |
| Tragedy | Drama in which the main character is brought to ruin or death |
| Exposition | Introductory material that gives important background into the story |
| Tragic Hero | Character who makes an error in judgment that leads to his/her own destruction |
| Antagonist | Person or force who struggles with the protagonist |
| Couplet | Two consecutive lines of poetry that usually rhyme and have the same meter |
| Motif | Recurring subject, theme, or idea in a literary work |
| Fable | Short allegorical narrative making a moral point, traditionally by means of animal characters that speak and act like humans |
| Diction | Choice or use of words in speech or writing |
| Genre | Different types of writing |
| Allegory | Story that communicates its message by means of symbolic figures |
| Parable | Brief story that illustrates a moral or religious belief |
| Support | Prove it, explain why, give examples |
| Stream of consciousness | Rambling flow of one’s ideas which gains intimate access to deep thoughts |
| Epithet | Adjective which expresses a quality or attribute considered characteristic of a person or thing |
| Paradox | Seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true |
| Author’s purpose | When a writer explains, persuades, or entertains the reader |