| A | B |
|---|
| Theme | a common thread or repeated idea that is incorporated throughout a literary work. |
| Characterization | the creation and process by which an author attempts to humanize the people in his work |
| Setting | the time and place through which a story is told |
| Point of View | the perspective through which a story is told and which often affects the way in which we read |
| Symbolism | an object, event, person, or thing that represents something other than itself |
| Foreshadowing | a hint or suggestion about what may happen later in a story |
| Personification | giving non-human things human characteristics |
| Mood | the emotions an author attempts to make the reader feel throughout the work |
| Internal Conflict | psychological struggle within the mind of a literary or dramatic character-the resolution of which often creates the plot's suspense |
| Imagery | the use of language that attempts to form mental images, figures, or likenesses of things |
| Hyperbole | a figure of speech that is a grossly exaggerated description or statement |
| External Conflict | conflict involving a character and something/someone else in the story |
| Tone | the author's attitude toward its subjects |
| Irony | when and how a person, situation, statement, or circumstance is not as it would actually seem |
| Allusion | a reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing in history or another work of literature |
| Exposition | information given to the reader prior to a story that provides essential background information in order to better understand the story |
| Rising Action | a related series of incidence in a literary plot that build toward the point of greatest interest |
| Falling Action | a related series of incidents in a literary plot that immediately follow the point of greatest interest |
| Climax | the moment in which the crisis comes to its point of greatest intensity. It is generally the peak of emotional response from a reader, and it usually represents the turning point in the action. |
| Resolution | the way in which a story is concluded |
| Style | a manner of putting thoughts into words or the characteristic mode of construction and expression in speaking and writing |
| Diction | style of speaking or writing based upon word choice |
| Simile | a comparison of two or more things usling "like" or "as" |
| Metaphor | a comparison of two or more things without using "like" or "as" |
| Satire | the use of humor, irony, and/or ridicule in order to mock a person, place, or idea |
| Flashback | an interruption of the chronological sequence by the portrayal of an event of earlier occurrence |
| Allegory | a story that works to reveal a hidden mesage or meaning |
| Dialect | the language of a particular district, class, or group of persons |
| Monologue | a long speech delivered on stage by one character, to other characters |
| Dialogue | a conversation between two or more characters |
| Soliloquy | a long speech delivered on stage, alone, by one character. This speech generally reveals thoughts and motives of a character. |
