| A | B |
|---|
| allegory | a story in which the characters represent abstract qualities or ideas |
| alliteration | repetition of the initial consonant or letter |
| allusion | a reference to something, often literary or popular |
| antagonist | the character, group of characters, or institution that opposes (comes into conflict) with the protagonist |
| characterization | the way the writer reveals the personality of a character |
| conflict | the struggle between opposing forces in a story that is usually resolved in the end |
| dramatic irony | character speaks in ignorance to something that is known by the audience or other characters |
| flashback | a method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events |
| foreshadowing | the use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in the story |
| genre | the category of literature |
| hyperbole | exaggeration or overstatement |
| idiom | an expression where the literal meaning of the words is not the meaning of the expression |
| imagery | language that evokes one or all of the five senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching |
| irony | A contrast between what happens and what is meant to happen, in verbal irony it is saying the opposite of what is meant |
| man vs man | when two characters have conflict with each other |
| man vs nature | when the main character(s) have conflict with something natural |
| man vs self | when the main character(s) have conflict internally |
| man vs society | when the main character(s) have conflict with a part of society |
| metaphor | comparing two things that are seemingly unlike, without using like or as |
| mood | the feeling that the reader gets |
| onomatopoeia | a word that describes and is spelled as a sound |
| oxymoron | figure of speech that combines contradictory terms, ex. living dead |
| parody | mocking or imitating, usually meant to be funny or sarcastic, its greater purpose is constructive social criticism |
| personification | giving human qualities to animars or objects |
| satire | a piece of art that makes fun of something else |
| simile | comparing two things using like or as |
| style | the way the author develops ideas and plot, arranges sentences, describes, creates imagery |
| symbolism | the use of one object to represent another |
| theme | The main idea behind a literary work, is consistent throughout the whole story |
| tone | the attitude of the narrator |
| universal theme | an idea or theme that is known around the world |
