Literary Terms/ The Language of Literature

Question 1

the force working against the main character

Answer 1

antagonist

Question 2

a group of readers that a writer addresses

Answer 2

audience

Question 3

a form of nonfiction/ a person tells the story of his/her own life/ sometimes called a memoir (if only a portion of one’s life is covered)

Answer 3

autobiography

Question 4

the story of a person’s life written by someone else

Answer 4

biography

Question 5

examples include: chronological or sequential, cause and effect, generalization, concept/definition, process, enumeration or listing, comparison/contrast

Answer 5

text structures

Question 6

examples include: bold, italics, underlining, indentation, sidebars, illustrations, graphics, photographs, headings and subheadings and footnotes and annotations

Answer 6

text features

Question 7

indirect characterization

Answer 7

what a character does, says, thinks & what other characters think and say about him/her

Question 8

direct characterization

Answer 8

what an author comes right out and says about a character. (ex. Harold was a cruel child.)

Question 9

chronological order

Answer 9

events are retold in the time sequence of when they happened

Question 10

cause and effect

Answer 10

Events can be connected as cause and effect or effect and cause. (ex. an article may start by describing a polluted town and then explain all of the causes of the pollution)

Question 11

comparison/contrast

Answer 11

Information in the paragraph or article could be placed on a Venn diagram. It focuses on similarities and differences.

Question 12

internal conflict

Answer 12

Characters struggle with problems within themselves. Unless we know the thoughts of this character, we may not be able to infer that they are having a conflict. Individual vs. Self.

Question 13

external conflict

Answer 13

Characters struggle with problems outside of themselves. It could be another person, a group of people, nature, the supernatural or technology

Question 14

types of external conflicts/ individual v.

Answer 14

individual, nature, society, supernatural, technology

Question 15

a struggle between two opposing forces

Answer 15

conflict

Question 16

connotation

Answer 16

the idea and feeling associated with a word

Question 17

denotation

Answer 17

the dictionary definition of a word

Question 18

flashback

Answer 18

an interruption in the plot’s action to present events that took place at an earlier time

Question 19

foreshadowing

Answer 19

a writer’s hints or clues suggesting future events in the story

Question 20

hyperbole

Answer 20

a figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for a laugh

Question 21

sensory imagery

Answer 21

writing that appeals to one or more of the five senses

Question 22

metaphor

Answer 22

a figure of speech in which two things are compared that have a quality in common

Question 23

simile

Answer 23

a figure of speech in which two things are compared that have a quality in common using like, as or resembles

Question 24

mood

Answer 24

atmosphere, the feeling that a piece of writing makes a reader experience

Question 25

motivation

Answer 25

why characters do what they do

Question 26

narrative

Answer 26

writing that tells a story

Question 27

nonfiction

Answer 27

writing that tells us the truth about real people, places and events

Question 28

onomatopoeia

Answer 28

examples: buzz, bam, hiss

Question 29

plot

Answer 29

the sequence of events

Question 30

personification

Answer 30

giving human qualities to an animal, object or idea

Question 31

primary source

Answer 31

a firsthand account of an event (diaries, journals, letters, speeches, photographs, pieces of art, news stories)

Question 32

setting

Answer 32

the time and place of a story’s action

Question 33

symbol

Answer 33

something concrete that represents some thing abstract/ ex. a white flag symbolizes surrender, a leafless tree in winter might symbolize death

Question 34

tone

Answer 34

a writer’s attitude towards his/her subject (serious, solemn, sarcastic, objective, enthusiastic, objective, enthusiastic, humorous, disapproving, personal, impersonal)

Question 35

voice

Answer 35

the speaker’s voice reveals his/her personality

Question 36

suspense

Answer 36

a feeling of growing tension and excitement that comes from wondering what might happen next

Question 37

theme

Answer 37

the life lesson that a writer is communicating to his/her reader

Question 38

Why is it important for you to analyze media messages?

Answer 38

Persuasive techniques are often used in media messages. You need to be able to separate verifiable facts from opinions in order to decide what to believe as truth.

Question 39

What is an analogy?

Answer 39

It’s a pair of words that are related. They could be synonyms, antonyms, examples of a type, a degree of intensity, etc.

Question 40

etymology

Answer 40

the language (linguistic) history of a word

Question 41

Parts of a dictionary entry

Answer 41

You can find the pronunciation, part of speech, multiple definitions (sometimes even more, if the word can be used multiple ways like read & read) and the etymology

Question 42

Where can I find the etymology of a word?

Answer 42

It’s best to use an online resource like dictionary.com. You can often find the etymology in [brackets] at the end of the definitions. Clues include capital letters to indicated languages. The word “from” also appears in word histories. Some smaller paper dictionaries do NOT include word histories.

Question 43

What are six poetic forms listed in the Curriculum Framework?

Answer 43

haiku, limerick, ballad, free verse, couplet, quatrain

Question 44

Does Ireland think it’s funny that the VA DOE is testing us on limericks?

Answer 44

Probably. If you listen to NPR’s show, “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!” you will hear a limerick each week that summarizes an event from the news. Limericks are meant to be funny, short, rhyming poems. They are 5 rhythmic lines long.

Question 45

Don’t ALL poems have to have regular rhyme and rhythm?

Answer 45

No. Free verse poems do not have regular rhyme schemes and rhythmic meter.

Question 46

Look, I wrote a poem!

Answer 46

Are you sure? A poem should not look like a paragraph. Think about where you should break your ideas apart into lines. Also, poets write more by writing less. Can you eliminate any unnecessary words? Can you add in any sensory imagery to draw the reader in?

Question 47

Why would anyone bother writing a rhyming couplet? It’s two lines. That’s it?

Answer 47

They can be useful. Shakespeare would often include a rhyming couplet before a scenery change in order to wake up the stage hands.

Question 48

What’s a haiku again?

Answer 48

It’s 17 syllables, three lines and a “snapshot” of nature. Clap it out.

Question 49

This is a ballad. Do I have to sing it?

Answer 49

Ballads are often written for the purpose of singing, but not all of them. They are narrative poems, poems that tell a story. Some of our American ballads are pretty grim and grisly, often about love gone bad. “Rocky Raccoon” may be a lighter ballad to start with. It’s on The White Album, by the Beatles.

Question 50

What do I need to know about a QUAtrain?

Answer 50

It’s a four line stanza. Stanzas are the paragraphs of poetry.

Question 51

How to you remember what alliteration is?

Answer 51

I imagine someone littering the same letters all over the place. Then the poet gathers them up and uses them to start his/her words. Alliteration is the repetition of initial sounds; it’s the cornerstone of tongue twisters. It’s a common element to rap music. Have you ever tried to repeat a rap in the privacy of your bedroom and tripped all over the place? #1 It’s tricky. #2 It’s alliteration.

Question 52

How does a writer decide which point of view to use?

Answer 52

It all depends on the way they want to release information to the reader. If they want to limit the reader’s access to information, they are NOT going to choose omniscient. Also, writers want to make money. They know that using a likable first person narrator sells books. It’s how they draw their audience in. First person narration works best for struggling readers. We have to be on our game when we are reading a third person omniscient story; we have to think for ourselves! Ouch.