| A | B |
|---|
| simile | comparison of two unlike things that uses like or as |
| metaphor | direct comparison of two unlike things |
| personification | giving human qualities to animals or objects |
| imagery | descriptions that appeal to the five senses (smell, taste, touch, sight, sound) |
| symbolism | objects, people or places in a novel |
| analogy | basically an extended metaphor that draws comparisons between two unlike things throughout a story, essay, etc. |
| hyperbole | an exaggeration |
| onomatopoeia | words that imitate the sound that they describe |
| idioms | common expressions that cannot be taken literally; often the same as cliches |
| foreshadowing | hints or clues about what is going to happen later in a story |
| flashback | when a story breaks from its current time to jump back to the past; often used to reveal more information about a character |
| verbal irony | when a person says one thing but means another |
| situational irony | when the outcome of a situation turns out to be the opposite of what is expected |
| dramatic irony | when the audience knows information that the character does not know |
| tone | the author's attitude towards the subject |
| mood | the overall emotion of a work |
| satire | using humor to critique and make a change |
| point of view | the standpoint from which a story is told; includes first person, third person limited, and third person omniscient |
| allusion | reference to history, mythology, the Bible, etc. |
| overstatement | another word for hyperbole; an exaggeration |
| paradox | a contradictory statement or situation which seems false or contradictory (opposite) but when considered further, actually reveals a truth |
| protagonist | the main character |
| antagonist | the character that opposes the protagonist |
| round character | a character that is well-developed; the reader knows about many different aspects of the character |
| flat character | a character that is not described fully; the reader knows very little about the character |
| static character | a character whose attitudes do not change over the course of the story |
| dynamic character | a character whose attitudes do change over the course of the story |
| theme | statement that reveals what a work teaches about the meaning of life |
| first person point of view | the narrator is a character in the story (uses the words "I" and "me" |
| third person omniscient point of view | the narrator is all-knowing; narrator is not in the story |
| third person limited point of view | narrator is oustide the story (uses the pronouns "he," "she," "him," etc.) |
| plot triangle | sequence of events that form a story |
| exposition | first part of the plot triangle; the writer is revealing background information such as setting, character attributes, etc. |
| conflict | the main problem in the story |
| rising action | the first slope of the plot triangle; events happen that complicate things and make the conflict worse |
| climax | the top of the plot triange; the point in the story where the conflict comes to a head and begins to turn around |
| falling action | the second slope of the plot triangle; the parts of the story between the climax and resolution |
| resolution | the final part of the plot triangle; the conflict is resolved or the characters move on from it |
