7th RELA 9/24/08
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7 Grade Pre-AP Literary Terms
1. Character: A person or animal who takes part in a literary work.
A. Antagonist: the person/ force/ idea that works against
the protagonist
B. Protagonist: the central character of a literary work
C. Static: a character who has the opportunity to
change/mature for better, but chooses not to change.
D. Dynamic: a character who changes for the better due to
his experiences.
2. Setting: the time and place a literary work takes place.
A. Geographical Location: scenery and location.
B. Daily Mannerisms: specifics about houses, jobs,
entertainment, etc.
C. Time Period: the season, historical significance,
year, etc. of a story
D. General Environment: the social, religious, and
educational importance of the setting.
4. Conflict: the problem or struggle in the story.
A. Internal: a struggle inside a character
Man vs. Himself
B. External: a struggle between a character and an outside
force.
Man vs. Nature
Man vs, Man
Man vs. Society
5. Point of View: the perspective from which a story is told.
A. Participant: a narrator who is a part of the story
First Person: told by a character; uses the pronouns
I, me, my, we, us, etc.
B. Non-participant: a narrator who is NOT part of the story
Third-Person Limited: narrator who knows the thoughts
and emotions of one of the characters.
Third- Person Omniscient: narrator who knows the
thoughts and emotions of many or all of the characters.
Objective Narrator: narrates the story based on what is seen
and heard.
6. Theme: the central idea of a story
3. Plot: the sequence of events of the story, play, novel, etc.
A. Exposition: the background information .
B. Conflict: the problem or struggle of the story
A. Stated: can be found in the story
B. Implied: the reader must infer the theme based on what
was read.
C. Rising Actions: the events leading to the climax
of the story
7. Tone: the attitude of the author or speaker towards a subject.
D. Climax: pivotal point, the highest point of excitement,
of the story
9. Genre: a type of writing (short story, novel, poetry, etc)
E. Falling Action: the action that leads to the resolution
or revelation of meaning.
D. Resolution: part of the falling action that explains the
resolution to the conflict.
8. Mood: the emotional atmosphere of the story
10. Figurative Language: language used to produce images in
the reader’s mind .
A. Simile: the comparison of two unlike things by using
like or as.
7th RELA 9/24/08
10. Figurative Language: (cont’d)
B. Metaphor: the comparison of two unlike things without
using like or as
C. Personification: the giving of human characteristics to
nonliving object
18. Connotation: the meaning beyond; the feelings or emotions
associated to the word.
19. Diction: word choice.
20. Symbolism: symbols that represent something else.
21. Epiphany: a realization of something; an awakening to some
aspect of life.
D. Oxymoron: using contradictory words
(little giant, sweet tart, wise, fool)
11. Sound Devices: stylistic techniques that convey meaning
through sound
A. Alliteration: words beginning with the same
consonant sounds
B. Onomatopoeia: words that sound like their
meaning or imitate sound
12. Irony: the opposite happens from what was expected
A. Situational: when a situations turns out differently than
what was expected.
B. Verbal: when a character or narrator says one thing while
meaning the opposite
C. Dramatic: when a character or speaker does not
understand something that the audience fully understands
or knows.
13. Dialogue: the spoken words between characters
14. Hyperbole: exaggeration
15. Motif: a pattern, strand of imagery, or symbol that recurs
throughout a piece of literature.
16. Imagery: description involving the five senses.
17. Denotation: the actual meaning of a word.
22. Foreshadowing: clues or hints given by the author in a story of
events to some.
23.Flashback: an interruption in a narrative that goes back and tells
of events that happened before that point.