Literary Terms Mrs. Bonifay OCS English I. Freytag’s Pyramid A plot chart or plot mountain used to analyze the plot of works of literature.

Literary TermsLiterary TermsLiterary TermsLiterary TermsMrs. BonifayMrs. BonifayOCS English IOCS English I

Freytag’s Pyramid

A plot chart or plot mountain used to analyze the plot of

works of literature

PLOTThe sequence of events

in a story

SettingThe environment in which a story takes place which

includes time period, location, and surroundings

ExpositionIntroduces characters,

setting, and basic situation

Rising ActionWhere the action and characters of the story

are developed

ClimaxThe highest point of

suspense in the conflict

Falling ActionThe events which happen after the climax and lead

to the resolution

Resolution

The conclusion of the plot

NarratorThe person telling the

story

First Person Point-of-View

A story character tells the story, using “I” to refer

to himself or herself

CharacterA person in a story

ThemeThe main idea of a story,

novel, play, or poem

BiographyThe story of a person’s life

written by another person.

External Conflicta struggle that a person has with another person

or with society

AntonymsA word that has an

opposite meaning from a given word

SequenceThe order in which events take place

Symbolismthe practice of representing things

by symbols

Character TraitsThings which define your

personality, your values and your beliefs

Tonethe writer's attitude toward the

material and/or readers

Point-of-Viewthe perspective from which the

story is told

Protagonistthe main character

Antagonistthe opponent; the antagonist may

be society, nature, a person

Novelan narrative that is usually long and

complex and deals with human experience through a sequence of

events

Contextthe set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event,

situation,

HeroThe main character in a

story

PredictingUsing what you know and

what you have read to tell what might happen

next

Epic Poema long narrative poem telling of a

hero's deeds

Poetryliterary work in rhythmic form;

verse.

Imageryshows experiences of the

5 senses (sight, hearing, smell,

taste, touch)

SimileWhen two unlike things are

compared using like or as

Example: Randy’s voice is like melted chocolate. (meaning his voice is smooth, rich, and

warm)

MetaphorA comparison of 2 unlike things;

uses is, (NOT like or as)

Example: Karen is a ray of sunshine. (meaning Karen is happy and

cheerful)

PersonificationDescribing non-human objects

using human characteristics

Example: The moon smiled down on her.

JuxtapositionContrasting two things

Example: He has a soft spot for playing hard

ball

OnomatopoeiaWords that sound like what

they describe.

Example: whack, clang, plop, thud, gurgle

Ironythe use of words to mean the

opposite

Example:That was as clear as mud.

Alliterationrepetition of a particular

sound

Example:Betty Botter bought some butter, but, she said,

the butter’s bitter; if I put it in my batter it will make my batter bitter, but a bit of better

butter will make my batter better.

HyperboleExaggeration

Example:He was as strong as an ox. There was enough food to

feed an army.

AssonanceUsing the same vowel sound

Example:The loon flew through the smooth

dunes in June.

Punplay on words

Example:I bet the butcher the other day that he couldn’t reach the meat that was on the

top shelf. He refused to take the bet, saying that the steaks were too high.

Allusionmakes reference to

something or someone else

Example:He told so many lies, I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinocchio’s.

DRAMAA literary genre that has conflict and crisis; acted by players on a stage or

in a film

TRAGEDYA drama that involves the

ruin of the main characters

ASIDELines whispered to the audience or to another character on the stage

CATASTROPHEThe final event in a drama

COMIC RELIEFA bit of humor injected

into a serious play to relieve the tension of

tragic events

CRISISThe turning point in the

plot

DRAMATICIRONY

When the audience knows something that the

character on stage does not

FORESHADOWLines that give a hint or

clue to future events

SOLILOQUYA single character on stage thinking out loud

TRAGIC FLAWA character trait that

leads one to his/her own downfall or destruction

NEMESISThe character who

punishes or gets revenge on the hero

OXYMORONexpression with contradictory words

Examples: wise fool

legal murder

PROLOGUEan introductory scene in which a

narrator summarizes the main action of the work

STAGE DIRECTION

an instruction written as part of the script of a play

SONNETA 14-line verse form usually having one of several conventional rhyme

schemes