8th Grade Literary Lexicon
Terms and Definitions
Conflict
a struggle between two opposing forces
Character vs. Society
when a character has a problem with a tradition or rule of society
Character vs. Nature
when a character has a problem with a force of nature such as
cold, storms, earthquakes, etc.
Character vs. Character
when a character has a problem with another character
Character vs. Fate
when a character has a problem with something he can’t do
anything about, such as God, luck, death, etc.
Character vs. Self
when a character must make a decision about a problem or
struggle he is having within himself
Antagonist
the character opposing the protagonist; can be a person, idea, or
force
Protagonist
the main character in a story, play, or novel; involved in the main
conflict of the story; usually, undergoes changes as the plot runs
its course
Archetype
a type of character, action, or situation that occurs over and over
in literature; a pattern or example that occurs in literature and life
Dynamic Character
a character that undergoes a change in actions or beliefs during
the course of a story
Static Character
a character that does not grow or change throughout the story,
that ends as he/she began
Motivation
a reason that explains a character’s thoughts, feelings, actions, or
behavior
Characterization
the methods used by an author to create a character, including:
the character’s physical appearance, the character’s own speech,
thoughts, actions, and/or feelings, other characters’ speech,
thoughts, actions, and/or feelings about the character, and direct
comments by the author about the character
Denotation
the specific dictionary definition of a word
Connotation
the emotions or associations a word normally arouses in people
using, hearing, or reading the word; a word may have a positive
connotation, a negative connotation, or a neutral connotation
Theme
a central message or insight into life revealed through the literary
work; a lesson about life or people
Point of View
the perspective from which a story is told
Tone
the writer’s attitude or feeling toward a person, a thing, a place, an
event, or a situation
Mood
the feeling in the reader by a literary work or passage
Epiphany
an event in which the essential nature of something-a situation, an
object-is suddenly understood in a new way; a sudden realization;
an “ah ha!” moment
Detail
facts revealed by the author or speaker that support the attitude or
tone of the work
Magic Three
three or more words, phrases, or clauses used in a row to create
emphasis or vivid detail
Emphasis
when important aspects of a story are given important positions
and in-depth development; it is created by the use of: repetition,
abundant detail, contrast, mechanical devices such as
capitalization, italics, symbols, and/or different colors of ink
Suspense
the quality of a literary work that makes the reader uncertain or
tense about the outcome of events
Imagery
the words or phrases a writer uses to represent persons, objects,
actions, feelings, and ideas descriptively by appealing to the five
senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch); an author may also
use animal imagery as well as light and/or dark imagery.
Simile
a comparison of two different things or ideas through the use of
the word LIKE or AS
Metaphor
a comparison of two unlike things not using like or as
Foreshadowing
the use in a literary work of clues that suggest events that have
yet to occur
Allusion
a reference to a literary, mythological, or historical person, place,
or thing
Pun
a play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have
sharply different meanings; puns can have serious as well as
humorous uses
Hyperbole
a deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration;
may be used for either serious or comic effect
Oxymoron
a form of paradox that combines a pair of opposite terms into a
single unusual expression
Irony
a contrast between appearance and reality-usually one in which
reality is the opposite from what it seems; when one thing is
expected to happen or be, and the exact opposite occurs
Repetition
a device in which words, sounds, and/or ideas are used more than
once to enhance rhythm and to create emphasis
Figures of Speech
words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of something
else; always involve some sort of imaginary comparison between
seemingly unlikely things; not meant to be taken literally
Diction
word choice; an author often chooses a word because it suggests
a connotative meaning that comes from its use in various social
contexts
Motif
a recurrent element in a literary work; a pattern or strand of
imagery or symbolism in a work of literature
Symbol
the use of any object, person, place, or action that both has a
meaning in itself and that stands for something larger than itself,
such as quality, attitude, belief, or value
Alliteration
repetition of an initial sound, usually a consonant
Idiom
an accepted phrase or expression having a meaning different from
the literal
Onomatopoeia
the word imitates the sound it makes
Personification
writing that gives animals, in-animated objects, or abstract ideas
human characteristics
Plot
the sequence of events or actions in a short story, novel, play, or
narrative poem
Setting
the background against which the action takes place: the
geographical location, the occupations and daily manner of living
of the characters, the time or period in which the action takes
place, and the general environment of the characters, i.e. social,
moral, emotional
Exposition
the author lays the groundwork for the story by revealing the:
setting, relationships between the characters, and situation as it
exits before conflict begins
Inciting Incident
interrupts the peace and balance of the situation and one or more
of the characters comes into conflict with an outside force, himself,
or another character
Rising Action
the action and events that take the place in the story and build up
to the critical moment when the main conflict is confronted
Climax
the most critical moment in the story; the point at which the main
conflict is at its highest point
Falling Action
events that occur after the climax and lead up to closure and
conclusion of the story
Denouement (Resolution)
the problem set up in the inciting incident is unraveled; there is a
revelation of meaning
Ballad
a type of narrative poem that tells a story and was originally meant
to be sung or recited; traditionally written in four-line stanzas with
regular rhythm and rhyme
Elegy
an extended meditative poem in which the speaker reflects on
death—often in tribute to a person who had died recently—or on
an equally serious subject
Epic
a long narrative poem on a serious subject, presented in an
elevated or formal style; it traces the adventures of a great hero
whose actions reflect the ideals and values of a nation or race;
address universal concerns, such as good and evil
Rhyme Scheme
a pattern of end rhymes in a poem; noted by assigning a letter of
the alphabet, beginning with a, to each line; lines that rhyme are
given the same letter
Meter
a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem;
emphasizes the musical quality of the language
Lyric Poetry
a short poem in which a single speaker expresses personal
thoughts and feelings
Ode
a type of lyric poem that deals with serious themes, such as
justice, truth, or beauty; appeal to both the imagination and
intellect, and many commemorate events or praise people or
elements of nature
Rhyme
the occurrence of similar or identical sounds at the end of two or
more words; rhyme that occurs within a single line of poetry is
internal rhyme; rhyme that occurs at the ends of lines of poetry is
called end rhyme
Stanza
a group of two or more lines that for a unit in a poem
Sonnet
a poem that has a formal structure, containing 14 lines and a
specific rhyme scheme and meter; often consists of three
quatrains, or four-line units, and a final couplet; sonnet means
“little song”