Literary Terms
and Concepts
Review 1
Allusion
Allusion Definition
• An indirect reference to
another literary work or to a
famous person, place, or
event
Anecdote
Anecdote Definition
• A brief account of an
interesting incident or
event, usually intended to
entertain or make a point.
Anecdote Example
• Dave Barry’s humorous
account in “Painful Memories
of Dating”
Antagonist
Antagonist Definition
• Usually the principal
character in opposition to
the protagonist, or hero of a
narrative or drama.
Antagonist Definition
Continued
• *Sometimes it is not a
character, but something
else like force of nature
Antagonist Example
• The hurricane in “The Banana
Tree” by James Berry
Author’s
Purpose
Author’s Purpose Definition
• A writer usually writes to:
– express himself or herself
– inform or explain
– persuade
– entertain.
Autobiography
Autobiography Definition
• An account of a person’s life
written by that person and
usually told from the firstperson point of view.
Biography
Biography Definition
• A true account of a person’s
life told by someone else
Cause and
Effect
Cause and Effect Definition
• When one event brings about
the other.
Character
Character Definition
• The people who take part in
the action of a story or a
novel.
• Sometimes characters can be
animals or imaginary
creatures.
Major V. Minor Characters
• Events in a story center on
the lives of one or more main
characters.
• The other characters in a
story are called the minor
characters.
Characterization
Characterization Definition
• Refers to the methods that
a writer uses to develop
characters
• There are four basic
methods of characterization.
4 Basic Methods of Characterization
• Description of a character’s
physical appearance
• A character’s speech,
thoughts, feelings, or actions
• The speech, thoughts, feelings,
or actions of other characters
• Direct comments about a
character
Climax
Climax Definition
• The moment when the reader’s
interest and emotional intensity
reach the highest point, often
called the turning point.
Conflict
Conflict Definition
• A struggle between opposing
forces that is developed in
the plot of the story
External V. Internal Conflict
• External conflict involves a
character pitted against an
outside force, such as nature, a
physical obstacle, or another
character
• An internal conflict is one that
occurs within a character
Context Clues
Context Clues Definition
• Unfamiliar words are often
surrounded by words and
phrases-called context cluesthat help readers
understand their meaning.
Description
Description Definition
• Writing that helps a reader
to picture scenes, events,
and characters