Literary Terms Flashcards
Foreshadow & Predict
F: When the author gives you hints about what will happen later in the story
P: To guess what will happen next based on what you know
Alliteration
The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of closely connected words
Play on words = pun
A form of wordplay that uses multiple meanings to create humor
Mystery- Know the elements
Mystery involves a puzzling event or situation that the protagonist must investigate.
The elements:
1. The Puzzling Event or Situation
2. The Protagonist (Detective/Investigator)
3. Clues
4. Red Herrings
5. The Antagonist
6. The Resolution (Solution)
Mood & Atmosphere
Mood: The feeling the reader gets from the story
Atmosphere: Is the setting of the story, which helps create the mood, often through descriptions
Conflict- Know 4 types
Internal Conflict: A struggle within a character’s mind
External Conflict: A struggle between a character and an outside force
Character vs. Character: A conflict between two characters, often seen in the protagonist and antagonist.
Character vs. Self: A conflict where a character struggles with their own emotions, decisions, or beliefs
Protangonist/Antagonist
The protagonist is the main character in the story, often the hero.
The antagonist is the character that is against the protagonist, creating conflict.
Suspense- 7 ways to create it
- Uncertainty
- Dramatic Irony
- Timing
- Character Conflicts
- The Unknown
- Multiple Clues
- A Satisfying Resolution
Climax/Anticlimax
The climax is the most intense, suspensful, in the story. It is where the main conflict reaches its peak.
The anti-climax however, is a rather disappointing or less exciting conclusion.
Poetic License
Refers to a poet breaking word or spelling rules to create effects in their writing.
Parallelism
The repetition of grammatically similar words or groups of words
Imagery
Imagery is when writers use words to create pictures in your mind, making you see, hear, smell, taste, or feel things.
Persona
The character or voice a writer uses in a story
Inferences
Conclusions or guesses made based on evidence rather than direct statements
Simile
A figure of speech using “like” or “as” to compare two things
Metphor
A figure of speech that compares two things without using “like” or “as”
Personification
Giving human qualities or characteristics to non-human things to make them feel more alive and gives them an abstract idea
