Literary Terms
Term
1) Allegory
2) Alliteration:
3) Archetype:
4) Assonance
5) Attitude/Tone
6) Autobiography
7) Ballad
8) Biography
9) Blank Verse
10) Cause & Effect
11) Character/Characterization
12) Cliché
13) Climax
14) Conflict (Internal/External)
15) Connotation
Mrs. Stevens
Definition
the symbolic expression of a deeper meaning through a story
or scene acted out by human, animal, or mythical characters
Repetition of beginning consonant sounds. Ex: While I
pondered weak and weary….
Character, setting, theme, or symbol that demonstrates a
universal human experience. Ex: hero’s journey.
 character archetype: mentor, hero, outcast
 situational archetype: the task, the quest
symbol archetypes: water, fire, desert, serpent
Repetition of a vowel sound in a series of words.
The writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a subject, character,
or audience, and it is conveyed through the author’s choice of
words and detail. Tone can be serious, humorous, sarcastic,
indignant, objective, etc.
an account of somebody's life written by that person
A song that tells a story. (has characters, setting, plot and
conflict)
an account of somebody's life written or produced by another
person, e.g. as a book, movie, or television
unrhymed poetry that has a regular rhythm and line length,
especially iambic pentameter
a person or thing that makes something happen or exist or is
responsible for something that happens
The development of a character through actions and dialogue.
Authors use two methods:
 direct – author is “directly” telling audience
information about character
 indirect – reader must infer character traits through
speech, thoughts, effect on others, actions, and looks
a phrase or word that has lost its original effectiveness or
power from overuse
turning point in plot marking highest emotional intensity
The struggle between opposing forces.
Types of conflict:
 internal – struggle within (man vs. himself)
 external – struggle outside of character (man vs. man,
man vs. nature, man vs. society, man vs. supernatural)
The feelings and emotions associated with the meaning of a
Literary Terms
Mrs. Stevens
word.
16) Couplet
17) Denotation
18) Denouement
19) Dialect
20) Epitaph
21) Epithet
22) Euphemism
23) Extended Metaphor
24) Falling Action
25) Figurative
26) Figurative Language
27) Flat/Round/Foil Characters
28) Foreshadowing
29) Free Verse
30) Genre
31) Hyperbole
32) Imagery
33) Imply
34) Inference
35) Irony (Dramatic, Verbal,
36) Situational)
The dictionary definition of a word.
the final outcome
Speech characteristics of a particular region or culture.
an inscription on a tombstone or monument commemorating
the person buried there
a nickname given to someone based on character
traits/personality
Substituted word or phrase to create a softer tone or to
deceive. Ex: The dog passed away.
A comparison between two unlike things that continues
throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a
poem.
Ex: Robert Frost uses two roads as an extended metaphor in
“The Road Not Taken.”.
events following the climax in a narrative
using or containing a nonliteral sense of a word or words
Words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of
something else, not to be taken literally.
Character types:
 flat – one characteristic developed
 round – many characteristics developed
 dynamic – characters change
 static – characters stay the same
 foil – contrasting characters used to highlight a
characteristic of protagonist
The use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future
action.
verse without a fixed metrical pattern, usually having
unrhymed lines of varying length
one of the categories, based on form, style, or subject matter,
into which artistic works of all kinds can be divided. For
example, the detective novel is a genre of fiction.
An over exaggeration for effect.
Ex: I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
Evoking language used by the author to appeal to the reader’s
senses; figurative language, especially metaphors and
similes, used in poetry, plays, and other literary work
to make something understood without expressing it directly
a conclusion drawn from evidence or reasoning
When the opposite of what you expect happens.
Types of irony include:
 verbal irony – occurs when a speaker or narrator says
Literary Terms
37) Main Idea
38) MLA
39) Mood
40) Myth
41) Narrative
42) Narrative Poetry
43) Onomatopoeia
44) Organizational/Rhetorical
45) Structure/Features
46) Oxymoron
47) Parable
48) Paradox
49) Parallelism
50) Paraphrase
51) Parody
52) Persuasion
53) Plot
Mrs. Stevens
one thing while meaning the opposite. Ex: It is easy
to stop smoking. I’ve done it many times.
 situational irony – occurs when a situation turns out
differently from what one would normally expect,
though often the twist is oddly appropriate: e.g., a
deep sea diver drowning in a bathtub is ironic.
 dramatic irony – character(s) and audience have
insight about something other characters do not. Ex:
In a scary movie, the audience knows the murderer is
behind the door but character doesn’t.
In writing, the writer’s primary point he/she is attempting to
convey with a work of literature
Standard Format for Literary Research papers: Modern
Language Association
Atmosphere or emotion in a literary work. Ex: the
suspenseful mood of a mystery
a traditional story about heroes or supernatural beings, often
attempting to explain the origins of natural phenomena or
aspects of human behavior
the part of a literary work that is concerned with telling the
story
A poem that relates an event/occurrence from beginning to
end
The use of words that mimic the sounds they describe. Ex:
hiss, buzz, bang
As relating to argument: Using a sequential method of
thought, relating to the skill of using language effectively and
persuasively to convey a point using pathos, ethos, and logos
A pair of opposite terms placed together in a single
expression.
Ex: bittersweet; jumbo shrimp
a short simple story intended to illustrate a moral or religious
lesson
A contradiction of ideas in the same statement that reveals a
hidden truth and may appear illogical, impossible, or absurd.
Ex: It’s a love hate relationship.
the deliberate repetition of words or sentence structures for
effect
To summarize another’s works in your own words for use in
research/writing; must cite original source
a piece of writing or music that deliberately copies another
work in a comic or satirical way
The written/verbal attempt to sway another to a point of view
The sequence of events or actions in a short story, novel, play,
or narrative poem.
Literary Terms
Mrs. Stevens
The parts of plot include:
54) Poetic Form
55) Point of View
56) First Person POV
57) 3rd Person POV
58) Omniscient POV
59) Primary Source
60) Secondary Source
61) Prose
62) Repetition
63) Resolution
64) Rhetorical Question
65) Rhyme
66) Rhyme Scheme
67) Rhythm
refers to various sets of "rules" followed by poems of certain
types. The rules may describe such aspects as the rhythm or
meter of the poem, its rhyme scheme, or its use of alliteration.
The perspective from which a narrative is told.
 1st person – told from the perspective of a character in
story using pronouns (I or me). Audience is limited to
the viewpoint of that character.
 3rd person omniscient – told from the perspective of
an “all knowing” narrator who is not a character.
 3rd person limited – told from the perspective of a
narrator revealing the thoughts and knowledge of
some but not all characters.
pertaining to or being a firsthand account, original data, etc.,
or based on direct knowledge
pertaining to or being a derived or derivative account, an
evaluation of original data, etc.; not primary or original
the ordinary form of spoken or written language, without
metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse.
The deliberate use of any element of language more than once
– sound, word, phrase, sentence, grammatical pattern, or
rhythmical pattern.
The final outcome
A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a
question that is asked in order to make a point rather than to
elicit an answer.
The repetition of sounds in two or more words or phrases that
appear close to each other in a poem. Types of rhyme
include:
 end rhyme occurs at the ends of lines.
 internal rhyme occurs within a line.
 slant rhyme is approximate rhyme.
 exact rhyme is when two words sound the same.
 A rhyme scheme is a pattern of end rhyme.
 blank verse is unrhymed verse having a regular meter,
usually of iambic pentameter.
a pattern of end rhyme.
Pattern of beats within a poem.
Literary Terms
68) Rising Action
69) Satire
70) Sentence Structure
71) Sensory Detail
72) Setting
73) Sequential Order
74) Simile
75) Speaker
76) Stereotype
77) Suspense
78) Symbolism
79) Theme
80) Tone
81) Tragic Flaw
82) Tragic Hero
83) Understatement
Mrs. Stevens
the suspense building up to the climax
Exaggeration or ridicule for the purpose of social change.
The simplicity or complexity of words that make up a
sentences. The four types of sentences are simple, compound,
complex, and compound-complex sentences.
include sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. Writers employ
the five senses to engage a reader's interest.
The time and place in which events in a short story, novel,
play, or narrative poem take place.
The order in which events take place in the story
Comparison of two unlike things/ideas using “like” or “as”.
Ex: the classroom was like a warzone.
Narrator/person telling the story
A generalization, usually exaggerated or oversimplified and
often offensive, that is used to describe or distinguish a group.
An aura of mystery; Genre of writing or mood/tone as
applicable
the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing
things with a symbolic meaning or character.
The central message in a literary work; the author’s intended
message (AIM).
The writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a subject, character,
or audience, and it is conveyed through the author’s choice of
words and detail. Tone can be serious, humorous, sarcastic,
indignant, objective, etc.
The hero’s weakness; normally the protagonist must
overcome this in order to complete their task; i.e. an
internal/external conflict
The tragic hero is the man of innate nobleness who yet has
some one defect that lays him open to ruin.
The opposite of hyperbole. It is a kind of irony that
deliberately represents something as being much less than it
really is: e.g., “I could probably manage to survive on a salary
of two million dollars per years.”
Objectives/PASS Standards:
OK.11.R.1.2 Use reference material such as glossary, dictionary, thesaurus, and available technology to
determine precise meaning and usage.
Literary Terms
Mrs. Stevens
OK.11.R.1.4 Rely on context to determine meanings of words and phrases such as figurative language,
connotations and denotations of words, analogies, idioms, and technical vocabulary.
OK.11.R.3.3.a Figurative Language and Sound Devices - Identify figurative language and sound devices
and analyze how they affect the development of a literary work: Identify and explain figurative language
including analogy, hyperbole, metaphor, personification, and simile.
OK.11.R.3.3.a Figurative Language and Sound Devices - Identify figurative language and sound devices
and analyze how they affect the development of a literary work: Identify and explain figurative language
including analogy, hyperbole, metaphor, personification, and simile.
OK.11.R.1.5 Use word meanings within the appropriate context and verify these meanings by definition,
restatement, example, and analogy.
OK.11.W.3.2.e Mechanics and spelling. Demonstrate appropriate language mechanics in writing: Use
correct spelling including:
(I) commonly misspelled words and homonyms
(II) spell consonant changes correctly
(III) spell Greek and Latin derivatives (words that come from a base or common root word) by applying
correct spelling of bases and affixes (prefixes and suffixes)