| A | B |
|---|
| protagonist | the main character in a story; this character has the problem |
| antagonist | a character in a story; this secondary character causes the problem for the main character (sometimes the antagonist is a situation or group of characters) |
| theme | the message or lesson a reader might get from a story or poem |
| plot | the events of a story in the order they happen |
| setting | the time and location of a story; sometimes very specific and at other times very general |
| conflict | the problem faced by the main character |
| metaphor | a device where a writer compares two unlike objects to give a more meaningful description |
| simile | a device a writer uses when comparing two unlike objects; in this comparison the writer uses the word "like" or "as" |
| allusion | when an author is making reference to a well-known story, poem, song, or other work; the purpose of an allusion is to make a point or to help explain an idea |
| personification | a literary device where an author gives something that is not a person the emotions or feelings that a real person would feel |
| point of view | the vantage from which a story is told; "the person" NOT the name of the character |
| first person | when the narrator is part of a story is told from the "I" point of view |
| third person | somebody else is telling the story; characters are referred to as "he" or "she" |
| foreshadowing | a clue or hint of something to come later in the story - sometimes used to create suspense but often very subtle |
| hook | a device used to catch the attention of the reader (or audience) |
| cliffhanger | a technique used at the end of a chapter to make the reader want to continue reading - usually the reader is left in great suspense (when watching television this sometimes happens right before a commercial break!) |
| tone | he attitude a literary work takes toward its subject and theme |
| stanza | a section of a poem made obvious by extra line spacing – it is similar to a paragraph in prose |
| onomatopoeia | a word capturing or approximating the sound of what it describes; for example: “buzzing” or “kaboom” |
| irony | a situation or statement where there is a significant difference between what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant |
| idiom | style or form of expression where the words are not meant in their usual way; for example “easy as pie”, “to blow one’s top”, or “to catch someone’s eye |
| hyperbole | statement characterized by exaggerated language; for example: “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse |
| assonance | the repetition of vowel sounds in a sequence of words with different endings—for example: "Full fathom five thy father lies," in which "fathom" and "father" and "five" and "lies" have similar vowel sounds |
| analogy | a comparison based on certain resemblances between things that are otherwise unlike; for example: love is to hate as dark is to light (opposites) or sock is to foot as glove is to hand (relationships of objects) |
| alliteration | the repetition of initial consonant sounds through a sequence of words—for example: "While I nodded nearly napping |
