Literary Terms Flashcards
A form of poem, quotation, or sentence placed at the beginning of a document, belonging to another author
Epigraph
Person, place, animal, object, or activity that stands for something beyond itself
Symbolism
An account of conversation, an episode, or an event that happened before the beginning of the story
Flashback
A struggle between two opposing forces
Conflict
A figure of speech comparing two unlike things using “like” or “as”
Simile
Attributing human characteristics to something non-human
Personification
An over-exaggeration for comedic effect
Hyperbole
The central message of a literary work
Theme
Two or more ideas, places, characters, and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or poem to show their differences.
Juxtaposition
The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words
Alliteration
Contrast between appearance and reality—usually one in which reality is the opposite of what it seems
Irony
A character that shows qualities that are in contrast to another character
A foil character
writing that evokes specific feelings or emotions; can be developed through setting, theme
Mood
literary character who does not change over the course of a story
Static character
the author’s writing style determined by the author’s word choice; adds to the tone of the story
Diction
a character with a complex personality who is usually changed by conflict
Round character
A warning or indication of a future event in a story
Foreshadowing
An indirect, passing reference to a well-known piece of literature, art, history
Allusion
A two-dimensional, uncomplicated character
Flat characters
A direct comparison between two unlike things
Metaphor
The writer’s attitude toward the subject matter or the audience
Tone
A literary character who goes through a significant change in personality or behavior
Dynamic character
Motif
An image occurring again and again
