Literary Terms Flashcards
A story intended to teach a lesson. Each element of the story has a specific symbolic meaning.
Allegory
The repetition of beginning consonant sounds, as in “sing a song of sixpence.”
Alliteration
A reference to something outside the text.
Allusion
The characteristic of being open to more than one interpretation.
Ambiguity
A brief story or recounting of events.
Anecdote
The repetition of vowel sounds in a series of words, as in “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the
plain.”
Assonance
A person or figure in a story.
Character
How character is revealed.
- Direct: The character’s traits are directly described.
- Indirect: Traits are revealed in a way that requires the reader to draw conclusions, such as dialog,
a character’s actions, a character’s thoughts, what other characters say, etc.
Characterization
A local or regional dialect expression. A word or phrase that is used in conversation, but not in formal speech or writing.
Colloquialism
Struggle between two or more opposing forces.
Conflict
Feeling or idea associated with a word.
Connotation
Repetition of consonant sounds
Consonance
Dictionary definition
Denotation
Description that is significant.
Detail
When an authority figure arrives out of nowhere at the end of a story to resolve a conflict.
Deus ex machina
Word choice
Diction
An event or group of events with a larger plot, considered as a unit.
Episode
A nicer sounding, or more vague or indirect expression, used in place of one that is more harsh,
direct, or potentially offensive.
Euphemism
A character who contrasts with a main character to highlight an attribute of the main character.
Foil
A hint of what is to come
Foreshadowing
The category that a text fits into.
Genre
An exaggeration used to make a point (opposite of understatement).
Hyperbole
An accepted phrase or expression having a meaning different from the literal (often metaphorical).
Idiom
Description that appeals to a reader’s senses.
Imagery
An unusual or unexpected twist
Irony
A difference between what the reader knows and what a character in the story knows.
Dramatic irony
When events turn out differently than expected.
Situational Irony
The surface or literal meaning of what is said is different from the intended meaning.
Verbal Irony
Two things placed next to each other, usually to highlight a contrast.
Juxtaposition
A comparison of unlike things that does not use the words “like” or “as.”
Metaphor
The voice that tells a story.
Narrator
The use of words that mimic the sound they describe (such as, hiss, buzz, or bang).
Onomatopoeia
An expression that combines seemingly opposite terms (such as, “deafening silence”).
Oxymoron
Describing an inanimate object as if it is alive or human. OR Using a character to represent an abstract idea.
Personification
The events in the story.
Plot
The perspective from which a story is told.
Point of View
A type of joke based on words that sound similar but have different meanings
Pun
The reason an author writes a text.
Purpose
Repeating elements (words, phrases, sounds, images, etc.) for emphasis.
Repetition
A question asked to make a point, not to elicit a reply.
Rhetorical question
A type of verbal irony where the intended meaning is directly opposite of the literal meaning, used to mock or insult, show irritation, or to be funny.
Sarcasm
Where and when a story takes place.
Setting
Comparison that does use the words “like” or “as.”
Simile
The organization of a text.
Structure
Something (usually a specific concrete object) that represents something else (an abstract idea or
feeling).
Symbolism
Sentence structure.
Syntax
A general idea about life that a story expresses or explores.
Theme
The controlling idea in an essay
Thesis
The author’s attitude toward the subject/The feeling of the reader created by the text.
Tone/Mood
A figure of speech that makes something seem smaller or less important than it really is.
Understatement
