| A | B |
| plot | the story line |
| setting | time and place in a story |
| characterization | personality trait of characters |
| theme | central message of a work |
| foreshadowing | giving clues to suggest events that have yet to occur |
| irony | contrast between what is stated and what is meant |
| simile | making comparisons between two subjects using like or as |
| metaphor | one thing is spoken of as if it were something else |
| personification | a non-human subject is given human traits |
| alliteration | repetition of first sound (Peter Piper picked) - repeated at least two times |
| imagery | descriptive or figurative language used to create word pictures for the reader |
| flashback | a section in a literary work that interrupts the chronological order of events to relate an event from an earlier time. (goes back in time) |
| protagonist | the good main character |
| antagonist | the bad main character |
| ALLITERATION | "The twisting trout twinkled below." |
| ASSONANCE | "cry" "side" "mine" "type" |
| CONSONANCE | "...a murmuring of immemorial elms..." |
| HYPERBOLE | "...the shot heard 'round the world..." |
| VERBAL IRONY | As I fell down the stairs headfirst, I heard her say, "Look at that coordination!" |
| SITUATIONAL IRONY | The cobbler's children go barefoot because they have no shoes. |
| METAPHOR | "Time is money." |
| ONOMATOPOEIA | "buzz" "bang" "hiss" "splash" |
| PERSONIFICATION | "The train wailed in the night." |
| SIMILE | "The warrior fought like a lion." |
| dynamic character | character who changes dramatically |
| static character | character doesn't change |
| figurative language | language enriched by word images and figures of speech |
| assonance | the repetition of a vowel sound in words |
| metaphors | "The stream's a snake." |
| simile | "She dances like a princess." |
| hyperbole | "My date last night was the most beautiful girl in the world." |
| personification | "The fog crept in on little cat feet." |
| allusion and simile | "My boyfriend dances like King Kong." |
| irony | A term that suggests some sort of discrepancy between appearance and reality; says one thing and means another |
| conflict | The struggle between persons or forces in a work of drama or fiction |
| Odysseus | epic hero, king of Ithaca |
| Telemachus | son of epic hero |
| Aeolus | keeper of the winds |
| Helios | God of the Sun, has holy cows |
| suitors | greedy men, bad guests |
| epic | long narrative poem about a hero |
| Homer | blind, Greek author of Odyssey |
| Athena | Odysseus' goddess/mentor |
| Zeus | king of the gods |
| Invocation | prayer at beginning of epic |
| Trojan horse | tricked the people of Troy |
| Penelope | loyal wife, great hostess, queen of Ithaca |
| CALYPSO | KEEPS ODYSSEUS FOR 7 YEARS |