Literary Terms Flashcards
Allegory
A story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people events or for abstract ideas or qualities
Denouement
The conclusion or resolution of a story
Mood
The atmosphere or feeling created by a literary work, partly by description of objects or by the style of the descriptions
Conflict
Struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story
Slang
Language used by a particular group of people among themselves to add color and feeling
Atmosphere
The emotional tone or background that surrounds a scene (setting and diction)
Setting
The place and time in which events of a narrative take
Personification
A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes
Oxymoron
A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase
Protagonist
The central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action
Register
A subset of language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. You use formal register when speaking about or analyzing literature and an informal or colloquial register when visiting with friends
Understatement
A statement that says less than what is meant
Allusion
A brief and sometimes indirect reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or some other branch of culture.
Climax
The point in the plot that creates the greatest intensity, suspense, or interest; usually the point at which the conflict is resolved
Diction
The authors choice of words