Literary Terms 7 th Grade Reading

Point of View The vantage point from which a story is told First person — is told by a character who uses the pronoun “I” Second person – “You” Third person —narrator uses he/she to tell the story; like you are on the outside looking in

…continued Third person Limited —the narrator relates the inner thoughts and feelings of only one character, and everything is viewed from the character’s perspective Omniscient (all-knowing)— the narrator knows and tells about what each character thinks and feels

Character Any person or animal that takes part in a story (Characters can be round, flat, static, or dynamic)

Character, cont. Static character: These characters do NOT change throughout the story.

Character, cont. Dynamic—changes inside (their way of thinking) as a result of what happens to him/her in the story

Protagonist The main character in a literary work

Protagonist The main character in a literary work

Antagonist A character or force in conflict with the main character

Setting The time and place of the action in a story

Plot The sequence of events in a story ( Freytag’s Pyramid)

Theme The central message in a literary work

Figurative Language Writing or speech not meant to be taken literally (ex. Simile, personification, metaphor)

Metaphor a comparison of two things without using like or as, may say one thing and mean another

Onomatopoeia Words that are spelled like the sounds they make.

Conflict The problem in the story. – Internal Conflict: takes place within the c haracter's mind or heart – External Conflict: takes place with an outside force

Oxymoron Basically a phrase that has 2 words that would contradict each other, or just don't seem they should go together, such as "jumbo" and "shrimp.”

Simile Comparing two uncommon things with the words ‘like’ or ‘as’

Alliteration The repeating of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words Ex. Tall Tommy told Teddy tall tales on Tuesday. The “t” sound is repeated

Irony A contradiction between what you think will happen and what actually happens.

Imagery Language that appeals to one or more of the five senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching. A mental picture

Dialogue A talk between two or more people or between characters in a play, film, or novel; quotation marks will be used.

Narrator A person or character who tells a story.

Climax The top of Freytag’s Pyramid, the highest point of interest or suspense

Direct Characterization the narrator or a character in the story tells us what we need to know about a character

Indirect Characterization we find out about characters indirectly through thoughts, comments, or actions of the characters

Flashback When the current action is stopped and you look back to an earlier time in the story

Foreshadowing When a writer provides hints that suggest future ; it creates suspense for what’s to come

Personification Giving human characteristics (traits) to nonhuman characters.

Mood A feeling that a literary work conveys to readers.

Tone The author’s voice or attitude about what he/she writes

Style The way an author uses language to write a story

Suspense A feeling of growing tension or excitement.

Characterization OR Character Traits All of the techniques a writer uses to create a character: physical appearance, their personality (what other characters say or how they feel about a character OR by his/her own thoughts and actions), direct comments about the character.