CHS Literary Terms
9th Grade Terms
antagonist – a character or force in conflict with a main character, or protagonist
archetype – a recurring character type in literature
character – a person or animal who takes part in the action of a literary work
round character – shows many different traits—faults as well as virtues
flat character – shows only one trait
static character – does not change during the course of a story
dynamic character – develops and grows during the course of the story
characterization – the act of creating and developing a character
conflict – a struggle between opposing forces
internal conflict – a character struggles with him or herself
external conflict – a character struggles against an outside force
connotation – the set ideas associated with the word in addition to its explicit meaning
denotation – the dictionary meaning of a word, independent of other associations that the
word may have
dialogue – a conversation between characters
foreshadowing – the use in a literary work of clues that suggest events that have yet to
occur
hyperbole – a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement
imagery – the descriptive or figurative language used in literature to create word pictures for
the reader. These pictures or images are created by details of sight, sound, taste, touch, smell,
or movement.
irony – literary techniques that portray differences between appearance and reality or
expectation and result
dramatic irony – a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the
reader or audience knows to be true
verbal irony – words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant
situational irony – an instance in which an event occurs that directly contradicts the
expectations of the characters, the reader, or the audience
metaphor – a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something
else
monologue – a speech by one character in a play, story, or poem
narrator – a speaker or character who tells a story
1st person point of view – the point of view in which the narrator is a character in a
story
3rd person limited point of view – the narrator sees the world through the eyes of
only one character and reveals only the thoughts and feelings of that character
3rd person omniscient point of view – the narrator can tell readers what any
character thinks and feels
personification – a type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given
human characteristics
plot – the sequence of events in a literary work
exposition – the part of a plot that introduces the setting, characters, and the basic
situation
rising action – all the events that lead up to the climax
climax – the high point of interest or suspense
falling action – the happenings in a story following the climax until the resolution is
reached
resolution/denouement – a general insight or change that is conveyed about the
main conflict in the plot
protagonist – the main character in a literary work
setting – the time and place of the action
simile – a figure of speech in which “like” or “as” is used to make a comparison between two
basically unlike ideas
soliloquy – a long speech expressing the thoughts of a character while or as if alone
speaker – the imaginary voice assumed by the writer of a poem
symbol – anything that stands for or represents something else
theme – a central message or insight into life revealed through a literary work
understatement – using words that are less than what is meant in order to create emphasis
stereotype – generalization of a person or group of people who share the same basic traits
Archetypes
Hero/heroine
Villain
Outsider/outcast
Themes
Coming of Age
Good overcoming evil
Power of love
10th Grade Terms
alliteration – the repetition of initial consonant sounds
allusion – a reference to a well known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art
aside – a short speech delivered by an actor in a play which expresses the character’s
thoughts to either the audience or to a select few characters onstage
assonance – the repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonants
blank verse – poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter lines
characterization – the act of creating and developing a character
direct characterization – an instance when the author directly states a character’s
traits
indirect characterization – an instance wherein the author develops a character’s
traits by showing his actions, thoughts, feelings, words, and appearance or through
another character’s observations
complication – an event or group of events that hinder the protagonist
consonance – the repetition of similar consonant sounds at the ends of accented syllables
dialect – a form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group
diction – word choice
fable – a brief story that teaches a moral, or practical lesson about how to get along in life
figurative language – writing or speech that is not meant to be interpreted literally
free verse – poetry that is not written in a regular rhythmical pattern or meter
literal language – words that are used in their ordinary senses (opposite of figurative
language)
meter – the rhythmic pattern of a poem
iambic pentameter – verse written in five-foot lines where each foot is composed of
an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
mood – the feeling created in a reader by a literary work or passage
myth – a fictional tale that explains the actions of gods or the causes of natural phenomena
onomatopoeia – the use of words that imitate sounds
poetry – one of the three major types of literature usually characterized by stanzas, imagery,
and emotionally charged language
haiku – a three line verse form where the first and third lines have five syllables
sonnet – a fourteen-line lyric poem, usually written in rhymed iambic poetry
repetition – the use of any element of language- a sound, word, phrase, clause or sentence
more than once
refrain – a repeated word, phrase, line or group of lines
rhetorical question – a figure of speech in the form of a question without the expectation
of a reply
rhyme – the repetition of sounds at the ends of words
end rhyme – an instance when rhyming words come at the end of the line
internal rhyme – an instance when rhyming words occur within a line
rhythm – the pattern of beats or stresses in spoken or written language
soliloquy – a long speech expressing the thoughts of a character while or as if alone
stanza – a formal division of lines in a poem, considered as a unit.
couplet – a pair of rhyming lines, usually of same length and meter
quatrain – four line stanza
sestet – six line stanza
octave – eight line stanza
theme – the central message or insight revealed through a literary work
tone – a writer’s attitude toward his or her audience and subject
universal theme – the message about life within a piece of literature that can be
understood by most cultures
Archetypes
Hero/heroine
Trickster
Faithful companion
Outsider/outcast
Rugged individualist
Shrew
Innocent
Villain
Caretaker
Earth mother
Rebel
Misfit
Foils
Themes
Struggle with nature
Survival of the fittest
Coming of age
Power of love
Loss of innocence
Struggle with self
Disillusionment with life
Effects of scientific progress
Power of nature
Alienation and isolation
Honoring the historical past
Good overcoming evil
Tolerance of the atypical
11th Grade Terms
analogy – an extended comparison of a relationship that is based on the idea that the
relationship between one pair of things is like the relationship between another pair
apostrophe – a figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses an absent person or
personified quality, object, or idea
cliché – overused phrase that has lost its originality and impact
denouement – any events that occur after the resolution in a plot
figurative language – writing or speech not meant to be taken literally, and used to
express ideas in vivid and imaginative ways
flashback – a section of a literary work that interrupts the chronological presentation of
events to relate an event from an earlier time
oxymoron – a figure of speech that combines two opposing or contradictory ideas
paradox – a statement that seems to be contradictory but that actually presents a truth
parallelism – the repetition of a grammatical structure
pun – a play on words;
sarcasm – saying one thing but meaning the opposite
satire – writing that ridicules or criticizes individuals, ideas, institutions, social
conventions, or other works of art or literature
style – word choice, tone, degree of formality, figurative language, rhythm, grammatical
structure, sentence length, organization that a writer uses in his or her writing
plain style – a type of writing in which uncomplicated sentences and ordinary
words are used to make simple, direct statements
Archetypes
Hero/heroine
Trickster
Faithful companion
Outsider/outcast
Rugged individualist
Shrew
Innocent
Villain
Caretaker
Earth mother
Rebel
Misfit
Foils
Lonely orphan looking for a home
Themes
The American Dream
Loss of innocence
Coming of age
Relationship with nature
Relationship with society
Relationship with science
Alienation and isolation
Survival of the fittest
Disillusionment
Rebellion and protest
12th Grade Terms
comedy – a literary work, especially a play, that has a happy ending
epic – a long narrative poem about the adventures of the gods or of a hero
essay – a short nonfiction work about a particular subject
journal –a daily autobiographical account of events and personal reactions
tragedy – a type of drama or literature that shows the downfall or destruction of a noble
or outstanding person who possesses a tragic flaw
Themes
Religious diversity
Political struggles
Ethnic and cultural mores and traditions
Individual rights
Gender equity
Civil rights