| A | B |
|---|
| alliteration | repetition of initial consonant sounds--rough and ready, Peter Piper |
| allusion | reference to something outside of the work, usually mythical, Biblical, or historical |
| anecdote | short summary of a funny event |
| antagonist | the person or thing that opposes the protagonist, sometimes called a villain |
| archetype | a recurring and familiar pattern in literature, like a journey or wise old man |
| aside | when a character in a play speaks to the audience and not to the other characters |
| assonance | repetition of an internal vowel sound--how now brown cow |
| autobiography | a story about a person written by that person |
| ballad | poem which tells a story from the past and is often set to music |
| biography | an author's account or story of another person's life |
| characterization | the way an author reveals his characters--can be done either directly or indirectly |
| cliche | a word or phrase that is so oversued, like busy as a bee or slept like a log |
| climax | high point of interest in a story |
| conflict | the problem or complication in a story, the struggle between opposing forces |
| connotation | all the emotions or feelings a word arouses |
| denotation | the literal, dictionary definition of a word |
| dialogue | conversation carried on by the characters in a work of literature |
| end rhyme | rhyming words that appear at the ends of two or more lines of poetry |
| epic poetry | a long narrative poem about the adventures of an almost superhuman character |
| epithet | a word or phrase used in place of a person's name to help characterize the person |
| exposition | the part of a story or play that explains the background |
| falling action | the action that takes place in a story after the climax and that resolves the conflict |
| fantasy | highly imaginative writing that contains elements not found in real life |
| fiction | prose writing that tells about imaginary characters and events |
| figurative language | writing or speech not meant to be interpreted literally |
| first person point of view | told using the pronoun I from the perspective of one of the characters |
| flashback | when a story's sequence is interrupted and a character goes back to an earlier time |
| foreshadowing | the use of clues that suggest events yet to come |
| free verse | poetry that is not written with a regular pattern of rhyme or rhythm |
| genre | a French word meaning form or type of writing- for instance, novel, essay |
| hero | a character whose actions are inspiring or noble, and who overcomes difficulties |
| haiku | a Japanese form of poetry with three lines of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables |
| historical fiction | stories that center upon or incorporate some significant historical events |
| hyperbole | exaggerating or stretching the truth for literary effect |
| iambic pentameter | 10 syllables--unstressed, stressed |
| imagery | words that describe sights, sounds, movements, and recreate sensory experiences |
| irony | contrast between what is real and what something appears to be |
| lyric poetry | poetry that expresses the observations and feelings of a single speaker |
| metaphor | comparison of two unlike things without like or as |
| monologue | a speech or performance given entirely by one person or one character |
| mystery | a story that involves the reader in guessing who committed the crime or deed |
| myth | a fictional tale that explains the actions of gods or heroes, or the causes of natural phenomenon |
| narrative poetry | poetry that tells a story |
| non-fiction | prose that explains ideas or is about real people, places, objects, or events |
| omniscient point of view | when the story is told from the perspective of someone outside of the events but who knows and reveals all the character's thoughts and feelings |
| onomatopoeia | the use of words that imitate sounds |
| oxymoron | two words used together that contradict each other |
| paradox | a statement that seems to be contradictory but that actually presents a truth |
| parallelism | repetition of phrases that have similar grammatical patterns |
| personification | giving human characteristics to a non-human thing or substance |
| plot | pattern or sequence of events |
| poetic justice | when a character gets what he deserves |
| prologue | the opening lines of a drama that give background information |
| prose | the ordinary form of written language, not poetry, drama, or song |
| protagonist | the main character in a literary work who drives the plot forward |
| pseudonym | the assumed or fase name of an author |
| pun | a play on words when a word has more than one meaning |
| refrain | the regularly repeated group of lines in a poem or song |
| rhyme | repetition of sounds at the end of words |
| science fiction | fictional stories that center upon scientific elements |
| setting | time and place of a literary work |
| simile | comparison of two unlike things using like or as |
| soliloquy | speech delivered by a character when he is alone on stage |
| sonnet | 14 lines of iambic pentameter |
| stream of consciousness | narrative technique that presents thoughts as if they were coming straight form the character's mind |
| stanza | a group or unit of lines in a poem that are separated by spaces |
| style | an author's way of writing that involves word choice and sentence patterns |
| symbol | something that stands for something unseen, as a rose for love, flag for a country |
| theme | central truth or idea in a story |
| Tone | writer or speaker's attitude toward the subject of a work |
| third person limited point of view | when the story is told from the perspective of someone outside of the events of the story but reveals only one character's thoughts |
| tragedy | a type of story that portrays the fall of a noble person,usually due to a tragic weakness or flaw in his/her character |
