Question | Answer |
The reason or reasons that explain why characters act as they do. | Motivation |
The people or animals who take part in a story's action. | Characters |
The way a writer reveals a character's personality and qualities. | Characterization |
The central message expresssed in a story. | Theme |
The sequence of events in a short story. | Plot |
Introduces the setting. | Exposition |
The time and place of the story, the characters, and the basic situation. | Setting |
Introduces the conflict. | Rising action |
The problem of the story. | Conflict |
The turning point of a story. | Climax |
The part of the story when the conflict lessens. | Falling action |
The story's conclusion. | Resolution |
Recurring theme. | Universal theme |
Writer describes character. | Direct characterization |
Writer reveals the character through speech and actions. | Indirect characterization |
The use of clues early in a story to hint at events that are going to occur later. | Foreshadowing |
Reveals past occurrences. | Flashback |
Surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions. | Irony |
Gives a story a more authentic feel. | Dialect |
Optional course. | Elective |
Spanish gestures of greeting between friends. | Raza-style |
Spanish word for "man" | Ese |
Make an unpleasant expression by contradicting and lowering the corners of the mouth. | Scowl |
Belief. | Convicvtion |
Region in northern Asia known for its harsh winters. | Siberia |
French for "Hello"; "Good Day". | Bonjour |
A thin, flat, round cake made of cornmeal or flour and cooked on a griddle. | Tortilla |
A celebration or holiday. | Fiesta |
A brief nap or rest taken after the noon meal. | Siesta |
French for "Very well. Do you speak French?" | Tres bien. Parlez-vous francais? |
French for "The boat is on the water." | Le bateau est sur I'eau |
A disease in which the joints swell painfully, and gradually break down. | Inflammatory rheumatism |
Serious; somber | Solemn |
Produces an effect upon; causes a change. | Affects |
A great rise or overflowing of a stream caused by heavy rains or melted snow. | Freshet |
The repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonants in stressed symbols. | Assonance |
The repitition of similar consonant sounds at the ends of accented syllables. | Consonance |
The use of words that imitate sounds. | Onomonopoeia |
The repitition of sounds at the ends of words. | Rhyme |
The rhythmical pattern in a poem. | Meter |
Poetry that tells a story in verse. | Narrative |
A three-line Japanese verse form. | Haiku |
Poetry that is defined by its lack of strict structure. | Free verse |
Poetry that expresses the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker. | Lyric |
Song-like poems that tell a story. | Ballads |
Shaped to look like subjects. | Concrete |
Verses. | Stanzas |
Writing or speech not meant to be taken literally. | Figurative language |
Describe one thing as if it were something else. | Metaphors |
Gives human qualities to something that is not human. | Personification |
Use like or as to compare two apparently unlike things. | Similies |
Anything that represents something else. | Symbol |
Enhances a poem's mood and meaning. | Sound device |
The repetition of consonant sounds in the beginning of words. | Alliteration |
The use of any element of language-a sound, word, phrase, clause, or sentence-more than once. | Repetition |
Humorous, rhyming, five line poems. | Limericks |
Pairs of rhyming lines. | Rhyming couplets |