Freshman Terms List – Permanent Notes
1. Synonyms
Words that mean the same
2. Antonyms
Words that mean the opposite
3. Antagonist
Person or thing working against the main character
4. Protagonist
Main character or hero of the story
5. Dialogue
Conversation carried on between characters
6. Point of View
Method or narration – who is telling the story
7. Personification
Human qualities given to animal, object or idea
8. Simile
Indirect comparison of two unlike thinks using “like” or “as”
9. Metaphor
Direct comparison of two unlike things
10. Onomatopoeia
A word that imitates or suggests a sound.
11. Mood
The overall feeling created by a writer’s use of words (humorous, serious, etc.)
12. Exposition (Setting)
The time and place of a story
13. Rising Action/ Complication
Point of the story where conflict develops and story builds; leads to the climax
14. Climax
Turning point of a story, intense point when a decision or change is being made
15. Falling Action
Follows the conflict and shows the results of the action or decision
16. Resolution
Tells how the struggle ends, shows the effects of the decision or change
17. Conflict
Problem or struggle that triggers the action (Complications)
18. Narrative Writing
Writing to tell a story (novel, short story, ect.)
19. Persuasive writing
Writing to convince (speech, advertisement, etc.)
20. Expository writing
Writing to explain (diet book, textbook, etc.)
21. Technical Writing
Writing to direct through a process (recipe, directions, ect.)
22. Main Idea (Main theme)
The main reason for the story
23. Theme
Statement about life that a writer is trying to make
24. Inferred theme /Implied Theme Must be figured out
25. Stated Theme
This is “spelled-out” out in the story
END FRESHMAN REQUIRED TERMS
26. Palaver
Conversation; to hold counsel
27. Incongruous
Doesn’t quite fit the situation; not congruent
28. Allusion
A reference to popular culture – books, celebrities, movies, etc.
29. Hyperbole
Exaggeration for effect.
30. Hubris
Excessive pride. Generally seen as a tragic flaw.
31. Analogy
32. Satire
Any sort of comparison between two things that share a common trait (metaphor,
simile)
To poke fun at something in an effort to change it.
33. Parody
A type of satire that mocks something by imitating it in a humorous way
34. Idiom
A saying or expression that is taken figuratively and not meant to be taken
literally.
35. Alliteration
A series of words that have the same first consonant sound. For example, “She
sells sea-shells down by the sea-shore”
36. Double Entendre
Something which can be interpreted in more than one way, often with risqué
implications.
37. Literal
What something actually means; the most obvious interpretation
38. Figurative (speech)
What we perceive something to mean by applying our knowledge to the author’s
intent. Figures of Speech (metaphor, idioms, expressions, symbolism, etc.).
Ex: What’s up? Nothing…
39. Dynamic Character
A character who changes through the course of events – usually for the better.
40. Static Character
A character who does NOT change in the story.
41. Flat Character
A character whose personality is not well-developed.
42. Well-Rounded Character
A character whose personality is well-developed and multi-faceted.
43. 1st Person POV
Narrator is
INSIDE the story
44. 3rd Person Limited POV
Narrator is
OUTSIDE the story
45. 3rd Person Omniscient POV
Narrator is
OUTSIDE the story
Uses FIRST person pronouns like I, me, my,
we, us…
Limited to typical senses of humans (sight,
sound, etc
All-knowing (can see thoughts of
characters)
The Literary Analysis / Formal Essay
46. Thesis Statement
A statement about a topic that is the central and primary thought that an essay is
about. This will always be the last sentence of the introduction.
47. Topic Sentence
A statement about a topic that is the central and primary thought that a
paragraph is about. This will always be the first sentence of a body paragraph.
48. Claim
AKA the topic sentence.
49. Data
AKA quotes and paraphrases
50. Warrant
AKA explanation / a systematic clarification of ideas
51. Analysis
An essay that systematically breaks down and studies a work – usually of
literature (literary analysis)
52. Documentation / Citation
To credit one’s source of information; generally with author and page # of work
53. Parenthetical Citation
Documentation in PARENTHESIS (Shakespeare 198).
from Romeo and Juliet
54. Foreshadowing
Hints / clues leading to future events
55. Red Herring
Hints / clues that lead the reader AWAY from the plot. Kind of the opposite of
foreshadowing
56. Drama
A story written to be acted out
57. Tragedy
Serious drama where the main character(s) come to a disastrous end
58. Comedy
Drama with a happy ending; may or may not be humorous
59. Fate
Destiny
60. Groundlings
People who sat / stood in front of the stage in the Theatre: a medieval mosh-pit
61. Monologue
One person talking; others present on stage
62. Dialogue
Conversation
63. Soliloquy
One person on stage talking at length; thinking out loud
64. Pun
Play on words; low form of humor
65. Personification
Attributing human qualities to non-human objects
66. Metaphor
Comparison not using like or as
67. Simile
Comparison using like or as
68. Blank Verse
Verse written in unrhymed Iambic Pentameter
69. Tragic Flaw
Character deficiency leading to downfall of a character
70. Aside
Something said aloud, but meant to be a whisper, so that it is secret from others on
stage, but known to the audience
71. Iambic Pentameter
Five verse feet of stressed and unstressed syllables
72. Meter
Generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry
73. Banish
Exile; to force out; force to leave
74. Destiny
Belief that our lives are not in our controlled; pre-ordained destiny
75. Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something that a character does not – knowledge that
could help the character