1. Alliteration: The repetition of first consonants in a group of words as in “Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers.”

2. Alliteration Example: “being worn to war it would earn no glory;” “she drew a dagger, brown with dried blood,”

3. Analogy: A comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it.

4. Analogy Example: Geat : Beowulf :: ____ : Grendel king : peasant :: President : _____

5. Conflict: A literary element that involves a struggle between two opposing forces, usually a protagonist and an antagonist.

6. Conflict Examples: Beowulf vs dragon (external conflict) Youngest rioter decision to keep the gold himself in “The Pardoner’s Tale” (internal conflict)

7. Context Clues: Clues to the meaning of an unfamiliar word may be found in its context, or the words and sentences surrounding it. These clues may be in the form of specific clues or general context.

8. Context Clues Example: “a heavy sword, hammered by giants…the best of all weapons…He drew it from its scabbard,” Meaning of scabbard?

9. Characterization: The means by which an author establishes character
Characterization: The means by which an author establishes character. An author may directly describe the appearance and personality of character or show it through action or dialogue.

10. Characterization Example: From Beowulf’s actions in battling Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the dragon, we can infer that he is brave, strong, and persistent.

11. Dialogue: Two or more characters engaged in conversation.

12. Dialogue Example: In drama, dialogue is preceded by the character’s name, and each speaker’s words begin a new line.

13. Drama: A mode of fictional representation through dialogue and performance. It is one of the literary genres, a play written for the purpose of being performed for an audience.

14. Drama Example: Look at the excerpt from The Beggar and the King.

15. Epic Poetry: A long narrative poem about an epic hero’s adventure or quest. Besides these elements, epics also contain great events, divine intervention, and begin in medias res.

16. Epic Poetry: Beowulf is an example of an epic poem.

17. Figurative Language: The use of figures of speech to be more effective, persuasive and impactful. Figures of speech such as metaphors, similes, allusions go beyond the literal meaning of words to give the readers new insights.

18. Figurative Language: Annotate the passage from Beowulf, identifying examples of literary devices or figurative language.

19. Foreshadowing: A technique in which an author gives clues about something that will happen later in the story.

20. Foreshadowing Example: The title “The Last Battle” foreshadows that Beowulf will not survive his last trial.

21. Inference: Clues to the meaning of an unfamiliar word may be found in its context, or the words and sentences surrounding it. These clues may be in the form of specific clues or general context.

22. Inference Example: Since 50 years have passed, we can infer that Beowulf is not as strong and able to defeat the dragon as when he battled Grendel.

23. Kenning: Noun substitute using 2 or more words, poetic metaphor

24. Kenning Examples: Geats’ Proud prince – Beowulf mighty water witch – Grendel’s mother

25. Metaphor: A comparison that doesn’t use “like” or “as”—such as “He’s a rock” or “I am an island.”

26. Metaphor Example: “His mind flooded with fear.”

27. Onomatopoeia: The use of words that sound like what they mean such as “buzz.”

28. Onomatopoeia Examples: “And the bleeding sinews deeps in his shoulder snapped,”

29. Oxymoron: A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction (jumbo shrimp)

30. Oxymoron Example: “wakeful sleeper”

31. Personification:. Giving inanimate object human characteristics
Personification: Giving inanimate object human characteristics. For example, “The flames reached for the child hovering in the corner.”

32. Personification Example: “His heart is still angry
Personification Example: “His heart is still angry.” “Hrunting could not hurt her,”

33. Resolution: The unfolding or solution of a complicated issue in a story. Technically, resolution is also known as a denouement. It mostly follows the climax.

34. Resolution Example: Beowulf defeats the dragon although mortally wounded. The knight lets the old woman choose whether to stay old or become young.

35. Sarcasm: Language that conveys a certain idea by saying just he opposite such as if it’s raining outside and you say, “My what a beautiful day.”

36. Sarcasm: Describing the prioress as “entertaining” when the host is clearly laughing at her behavior.

37. Stage Directions: Written instructions in a play telling an actor what to do. These are often written within brackets following the character’s name.

38. Stage Directions: What is found between the identified character and dialogue, in brackets. See excerpt from The Beggar and the King.

39. Symbolism:. The use of one things to represent another
Symbolism: The use of one things to represent another. For example, a dove is a symbol of peace.

40. Symbolism Examples: Giant sword = God’s intervention Prioress’ wide forehead = Medieval period beauty

41. Theme: The central idea of a work Theme Topic – Greed Theme Statement – Greed leads to doom.

42. Theme Examples: Beowulf = In life there exists a constant battle between good and evil. The Canterbury Tales = Everyone has a story to tell.

43. Revising and Editing Tips

44. Always try to find the error in the sentence BEFORE looking at the answer choices to avoid distractors.

45. Read the sentence and answer choices aloud to “hear” errors we tend to overlook when reading silently, like pauses where commas are needed.

46. If you do not find an error in the sentence questioned, plug in each answer choice, one at a time.

47. NEVER choose an answer choice with errors or before reading them all.

48. Read the letter “Using Cell Phones in Public Places Infringes on Everybody” and mark errors found or mark question marks where you have doubt.