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Literary Terms
Literary Terms
43
English
11th Grade
12/14/2009

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Term
Alliteration
Definition
the practice of beginning several consecutive or "neighboring words" with the same sounds.
Term
Allusion
Definition
a reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place, or thing.
Term
Antithesis
Definition
a direct juxtaposition of structurally parallel words, phrases, or clauses for the purpose of contrast
Term
apostrophe
Definition
a form of personification in which the absent or dead are spoken to as if present and the inanimate, as if animate.
Term
assonance
Definition
is the repetition of accented vowel sounds in a series of words.
Term
consonance
Definition
the repetition of accented vowel sounds in a series of words
Term
details
Definition
are the facts revealed by the author or speaker that support that attitude or tone in a piece of poetry or prose
Term
diction
Definition
word choice intended to convey a certain effect. use specific words to convey a specific meaning.
Term
words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of something else. they always involve some sort imaginative comparison between seemingly UNLIKE things. Not meant to be taken literally, figurative language is used to produce images in a reader's mind and to express ideas in fresh, vivid, and imaginative ways
Definition
Term
flashback
Definition
the use of a scene or episode that interrupts the chronological action of a work to show a previous event
Term
foreshadowing
Definition
the use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action
Term
hyperbole
Definition
a deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration.
Term
imagery
Definition
is the use of words or phrases by a writer to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and ideas descriptively by appealing to the reader's senses
Term
metaphor
Definition
a comparison of two unlike things not using "like" or "as" such as "time is money."
Term
mood
Definition
the atmosphere or predominant emotion in a literary work.
Term
mood
Definition
is that atmosphere or predominant emotion in a literary work
Term
motivation
Definition
a circumstance or set of circumstances that prompts a character to act in a certain way or that determines the outcome of a situation or work
Term
motivation
Definition
a circumstance or set of circumstances that prompts a character to act in a certain way or that determines the outcome of situation or work
Term
narration
Definition
the telling of a story in writing or speaking
Term
narration
Definition
is the telling of a story in writing or speaking
Term
onomatopoeia
Definition
the use of words that mimic the sounds they describe as you pronounce them like "buzz" "hiss" "bang" "clank" "pow", etc..
Term
oxymoron
Definition
a form of paradox that combines a pair of opposite terms into a single unusual expression such as "sweet sorrow"
Term
paradox
Definition
occurs when the elements of a statement contradict each other. although the expression may appear illogical, impossible, or absurd, it turns out to have a coherent meaning that reveals a hidden truth.
Term
personification
Definition
a kind of metaphor that gives inanimate objects or abstract ideas human characteristics such as "The wind cried in the dark"
Term
plot
Definition
the sequence of events or actions in a work- this is the basic what happened
Term
prosody
Definition
the study of sound and rhythm in poetry
Term
protagonist
Definition
the central character of a drama, novel, short story, or narrative poem. conversely, the antagonist is the character who stands directly opposed to the protagonist
Term
pun
Definition
a play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings
Term
repetition
Definition
a technique where the writer deliberately uses any element of language more than once for effect-words, phrases sentences, grammatical patterns, or rhythmical patterns
Term
sarcasm
Definition
the use of verbal irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it.
Term
setting
Definition
the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem take place
Term
shift/turn
Definition
refers to a change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization, or insight gained by the speaker, a character, or the reader
Term
simile
Definition
a comparison of two different things or ideas through the use of words "like" or "as."
Term
sound devices
Definition
are stylistic techniques that convey meanings through sound.
Term
structure
Definition
the framework or organization of a literary selection.
Term
style
Definition
the writer's characteristic manner of writing: his use of language in his/her particular manner
Term
suspense
Definition
the quality of a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem that makes the reader or audience uncertain or tense about the outcome of events
Term
symbol
Definition
any object, person, place, or action that has both a meaning in itself and that stands for something larger than itself: a quality, attitude, belief, or value.
Term
synecdoche
Definition
these are a form of metaphor. synecdoche occurs when a part of something is used to signify/represent the whole: "All hands on deck!" The whole represents the part: "The pot is boiling." Metonymy is the opposite. The name of one thing is applied to another thing with which it is closely associated: "I love Shakespeare!" I love his work not the person whom I don't know!
Term
syntax
Definition
the arrangement of words and the order of grammatical elements in a sentence. variety is what I encourage you to use in your writing.
Term
theme
Definition
the central message of a literary work
Term
tone
Definition
is the writer's or speaker's attitude toward a subject, character, or audience, and is conveyed through the author's choice of words and detail.
Term
understatement
Definition
the opposite of hyperbole. this expresses a kind of irony that deliberately represents something as being much less than it really is
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