Literary Terms Flashcards
What is the author’s purpose?
To express thoughts and feelings
Ex. To inform, Explaine, persuade, or entertain
What are Rhetorical Devices?
Techniques writers use to enhance their arguments and communicate more effectively
Ex. Analogy, Parallelism, rhetorical questions and repetition
What is a symbol?
A person, a place, an object or an activity that stands for something beyond itself
Ex. A flag is a colored piece of cloth that stands for a country. A white dove bird is a bird that represents Peace
What Is Theme?
A theme, or a central Idea, is an underlying message about life or human nature that the writer wants the reader to understand
Ex. It is a perception about life or human nature that the writer shares with the reader.
What is an Inference?
A logical assumption that is based on observed facts and one’s own knowledge and experience.
Ex. You see someone eating something and they make a face, you infer they do not like the food.
What is Parallelism?
The use of similar grammatical constructions to express ideas that are related or equal in importance
Ex. Martin Luther King uses parallelism in his “I have a dream” speech
What is Repetition?
A technique in which a sound, word, phrase, or line is repeated for emphasis or unity
Ex. Create an appealing rhythm. Prose, poetry, alliteration, or partialism
What is Text Structure?
The way authors organize Information in text
Ex. Recognizing the underlying structure of texts can help students focus attention on key concepts and relationships.
What is a Simile?
A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, using like or as.
Ex. Her blue-eyed stare was like ice
What is Supporting Textual Evidence?
To look back into the text for evidence to support an idea, answer a question, or make a claim
Ex. Think more deeply about the text, analyze the author, source, etc.
What is a Metaphor?
A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things that are basically unlike but have something in common.
Ex. Metaphors do not contain like or as
What is the Claim/Point of view?
Point of view is the “eye” or narrative voice through which you tell a story. When you write a story, you must decide who is telling the story, and to whom they are telling it.
Ex. A particular attitude or way of considering a matter
What is Mood?
Mood is the emotional atmosphere within The story produced by the author’s use of language
Ex. The events, the setting, the way a character reacts to what is happening, and the final outcome of the conflict or resolution of the problem.
What is Foreshadowing?
A literary device used to give an indication or hint of what is to come later in the story
Ex. Useful for creating suspense, a feeling of unease, a sense of curiosity, or a mark that things may not be as they seem
What is a Extended Metaphor?
An extended metaphor is a metaphor in a literary work
Ex. Novel or poem, that isn’t just used in one line but is extended over multiple lines or throughout the work
