1. Literary Terms

2. denotation Dictionary definition of a word
The word “midnight” means the middle of the night.

3. Dialect
Speech patterns in a particular region or of a particular group

4. dialogue
Talk or conversation between two or more people or characters

5. elegy
Mournful poem or lament, usually honoring someone who has died

6. epic
Long narrative poem that relates the deeds of a hero…hero often goes on a journey

7. fable
A brief story with a moral; it often has animals acting like humans

8. Figurative language
Any language that is not meant to be interpreted in a strict, literal sense

9. flashback
Interruption in a story that tells the reader about something that happened at an earlier time

10. Folk tale
Story that was not originally written down, but was passed on orally from one storyteller to another

11. foreshadowing
Use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest a certain action to come

12. limerick
A comic poem written in five lines, rhymed in a pattern of a a b b a

13. metamorphosis
In literature, a fantastic change, mainly in shape or form

14. myth
A story, often about gods and goddesses, that attempts to give meaning to the world; for example, why the sun crosses the sky; why there are stars; why there are tornadoes; why flowers die

15. paraphrase
A summary or restatement of a piece of writing, put in other words (not a direct quote)

16. Tall Tale
A highly improbable, humorous story that stretches facts beyond any hope of belief

17. metaphor
A literary device that compares two unlike things, saying that one thing IS another…
Life is just a bowl of cherries; my father was the sturdy oak tree, and we were saplings; you are a rock

18. simile
A literary device that compares two unlike things by using “like” or “as” in the comparison.
She is as calm as the eye of a hurricane
He is like the tiger, always on the prowl
The baby’s mind is like a sponge

19. personification
A literary device that gives human qualities to non-human things
The wind whispered my name.
The bear said, “Yum, yum, humans.”
The chair gave a sigh of relief when he got up.

20. hyperbole
A literary device which uses exaggeration to give force or intensity to what we say or write.
He almost died of embarrassment.
I have walked a thousand miles today.
That teacher must be a hundred years old.

21. onomatopoeia A literary form in which words sound like their meaning
The twig snapped.
The bee buzzed.
The bacon sizzled.
The snake gave a warning hiss.
The thunder boomed.

22. alliteration The repetition of an initial sound is a group of words
The pupil’s purple prose was pompous
This precious stone set in a silver sea
Hungry hogs hug the trough

23. imagery
Words or phrases that create pictures or appeal to the reader’s senses
The soft breeze lifted her hair and the sun dazzled against her skin.
The stream gave off coolness and woodsy fragrance as the trees above rustled in the soft breeze.

24. Verbal irony
A contrast between what is stated and what is really meant
You’re a real cutie!” she said to the mud-spattered contestant

25. Situational Irony
When a situation turns out to be completely different from what we expect
In “The Ransom of Red Chief,” the parents didn’t want their child back. Normally, parents would do anything to get their child back
In “The Gift of the Magi,” the wife sold her hair in order to buy a watch chain for her husband, while her husband sold his watch in order to buy a decorative comb for his wife’s hair.

26. Dramatic Irony
When the reader or audience knows something that the characters do not know
In “Diary of Anne Frank,” we know that Anne will die in a concentration camp at the beginning of the play. (The characters do not know.)

27. Prose All literature that is not written as poetry Plays Essays
Speeches
Novels
Paragraphs

28. refrain
A word, phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated regularly in a poem or song, usually at the end of each stanza

29. stanza
A group of lines forming a unit in a poem or song

30. symbol
Any person, place, or thing which has meaning in itself but which is made to represent, or stand for something else as well.
Dove = peace
Heart = love
Flag = country
Statue of Liberty = freedom

31. Rhyme scheme
The pattern of rhyming words at the end of lines of poetry, denoted as repeating letters of the alphabet

32. Narrative poem Poetry that tells a story
“Midnight Ride of Paul Revere”

33. Sonnet
A poem consisting of 14 lines

34. allusion A reference to another written work in a passage.
In Tolstoy’s War and Peace, the writer begins a paragraph with the word, “The Lord is my shepherd.” (Psalm 23)
Literary allusion, mythical allusion, biblical allusion, historical allusion

35. anecdote
A very short story which is told to make a point

36. atmosphere
General mood or feeling established in a passage

37. ballad
A story-telling poem that uses regular patterns of rhythm and strong rhymes. Most are meant to be sung

38. biography
A true account of a person’s life – written by another person

39. characterization Methods an author uses to create characters
Physical description
What the character says
What the character does
What other characters say to or about the character
What the character thinks

40. Conflict The struggle or problem the main character faces
Person vs person
Person vs self
Person vs nature
Person vs society
Person vs machine

41. connotation
All the emotions and associations that a word or phrase arouses
In “the Raven,” the word “midnight” means more than the hour; it means an atmosphere of fright or death

42. Mood
The atmosphere is a feeling that a literary work conveys to readers
“The Woman in the Snow” has an ominous and heart wrenching mood

43. plot
Series of events in a story or poem that the character goes through in an attempt to resolve the conflict
Climax
Exposition
Resolution

44. Setting
The time, place, and general environment of a story or poem

45. tone The writer’s attitude toward his subject
Ex: the poem “I’m Making a List” is angry yet sad and humorous

46. Author’s purpose The reason the author writes To entertain To persuade
To inform
To describe

47. Style
The author’s manner of writing … just as every person’s thumbprint is unique, so is an author’s style
Elements – word choice, sentence length, tone and figurative language

48. Suspense
The feeling of growing tension and excitement
“Monkey’s Paw”

49. Theme
The central underlying idea in a story or poem – what the writer notices about life
Not a moral
In “Lemon Brown,” the theme could be that everyone has a treasure.