literary devices, forms, elements, and vocabulary Flashcards
The repetition of initial consonant sounds used especially in poetry to emphasize and link words as well as to create, musical sounds.
EX: the fair breeze blew, the white foam flew
__ __ __ __ __
Alliteration
A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art to enrich the reading experience by adding meaning.
Allusion
Techniques a writer uses to create and develop a character by what:
•he/she does or says
•other characters say about him/her, or how they react to him/her
•the author reveals directly or through a narrator
Characterization
Speech that reflects pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar typical of a geographical region.
Dialect
Interruption of the chronological (time) order to present something that occurred before the beginning of the story.
Flashback
Language that has meaning beyond the literal meaning; also known as “figures of speech.”
Figurative Language
Comparison of two things using the words “like” or “as”
EX: “Her smile was as cold as ice.”
Simile
Comparison of two things essentially different but with some commonalities; does not use “like” or “as,”
EX: “Her smile was ice.”
Metaphor
A purposeful exaggeration for emphasis or humor.
Hyperbole
Human qualities attributed to an animal, object, or idea.
EX: “The wind exhaled.”
Personification
Poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme. Poets who write in free verse try to reproduce to natural rhythms of spoken language.
Free Verse
Important hints that an author drops to prepare the reader for what is to come, and help the reader anticipate the outcome.
Foreshadowing
Words or phrases that appeal to the reader’s senses.
Imagery
The quality of a literary or informative work that makes the character and/or situations seem funny, amusing, or ludicrous.
Humor
A technique that involves surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions or contrasts. Verbal irony occurs when words are used to suggest the opposite of their usual meaning. An irony of situation is when an event occurs that directly contradicts expectations.
Irony
The use of words that imitate sounds.
EX: hiss, buzz, swish, and crunch.
Onomatopoeia
Perspective from which the story is told.
Point of View
Narrator is a character in the story; uses “I”, “we” etc.
First-Person / Point of View
Narrator outside the story; uses “he”, “she”, “they”
Third-Person / Point of View
Narrator tells only what one character perceives
Third-Person Limited / Point of View
Narrator can see into the minds of all characters.
Third-Person Omniscient / Point of View
Writing that comments humorously on human flaws, ideas, social customs, or institutions in order to change them.
Satire
The distinctive way that a writer uses language including such factors as word choice, sentence length, arrangement, and complexity, and the use of figurative language and imagery.
Style
A feeling of excitement, curiosity, or expectation about what will happen.
Suspense
Person, place, or thing that represents something beyond itself, most often something concrete or tangible that represents an abstract idea.
Symbol
A writer’s story of his or her own life.
Autobiography
A writer’s account of some other person’s life.
Biography
Writing that deals with life in a humorous way, often poking fun at people’s mistakes.
Comedy
Also called a play, this writing form uses dialogue to share it’s message and is meant to be performed in front of an audience.
Drama
A short piece of nonfiction that expresses the writer’s opinion or shares information about a subject.
Essay
A short story that often uses talking animals as the main characters and teaches an explicit moral or lesson.
Fable
A story set in an imaginary world in which the characters usually have supernatural powers or abilities.
Fantasy
A story originally passed from one generation to another by word of mouth only. The characters are usually all good or all bad and on the end are rewarded or punished as they deserve.
Folktale
A made-up story that is based on a real time and place in history, so fact is mixed with fiction.
Historical Fiction
A traditional story intended to explain some mystery of nature, religious doctrine, or cultural belief. The gods and goddesses of mythology have supernatural powers, but the human characters usually do not.
Myth
A book-length, fictional prose story.
Because of its length, a novel’s characters and plot are usually more developed that those of a short story.
Novel
A literary work that uses the familiar spoken form of language, sentence after sentence.
Prose
Writing that attempts to show life as it really is.
Realistic Fiction
Writing based on real or imaginary scientific developments and often set in the future.
Science Fiction
Shorter than a novel, this piece of literature can usually be read in one sitting. Because of its length, it has only a few characters and focuses on one problem or conflict.
Short Story
A humorous, exaggerated story often based on the life of a real person. The exaggerations build until the character can accomplish impossible things.
Tall Tale
Everything that happens in a story.
Action
The person or force that works against the hero of a story.
Antagonist
One of the people (or animals) in a story.
Character
The high point in the action of a story.
Climax
A problem or struggle between two opposing forces in a story. With four basic types.
Conflict
Type of conflict, a problem between characters.
Person Against Person
Type of conflict, a problem within a character’s own mind
Person Against Self
A type of conflict, a problem between a character and society, school, the law, or some tradition.
Person Against Society
Type of conflict, a problem between a character and some element of nature - a blizzard, a hurricane, a mountain climb, etc.
Person Against Nature
The conversations that characters have with one another.
Dialogue
The part of the story, usually near the beginning, in which the characters are introduced, the background is explained and the setting is described.
Exposition
The action and dialogue following the climax that leads the reader into the story’s end.
Falling Action
The feeling a piece of literature is intended to create in a reader.
Mood
The lesson a story teaches.
Moral
The person or character who actually tells the story, filling in the background information and bridging the gaps between dialogue.
Narrator
The action that makes up the story, following a plan called the plot line.
Plot
The planned action or series of events in a story. There are five parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
Plot Line
The main character in a story, often a good or heroic type.
Protagonist
The part of the story in which the problems are solved and the action comes to a satisfying end.
Resolution
The central part of the story during which various problems arise after a conflict is introduced.
Rising Action
The place and time frame in which a story takes place.
Setting
The message about life or human nature that is “the focus” in the story that the writer tells.
Theme
A complete piece of writing, as a report or essay, that is part of a newspaper, magazine, or book.
Article
A book of maps.
Atlas
A book that contains information on many subjects; or comprehensive information in a particular field of knowledge; usually arranged alphabetically.
Encyclopedia
A literary work whose content is based on the imagination and not on fact.
Fiction
An alphabetical listing of difficult, technical, or foreign terms with definitions or translations; usually found at the end of a book.
Glossary
An alphabetical listing that gives page numbers or books where information can be found.
Index
A novel, story, or play involving a crime or secret activity and its gradual solution.
Mystery
True writing, based on factual information.
Nonfiction
Another word for magazine.
Periodical
A type of book that provides information arranged for easy access.
Reference
Several books relating in subject, or dealing with the same characters.
Series
The part of a book which lists the chapters or contents within a book.
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