Literary Terms Flashcards
Dec 18, 2015
This occurs when the reader/ audience knows something that
the character(s) in the story do not know.
A person, a place, a thing, or an event (a concrete visible object) that has its own meaning AND
stands for something beyond itself (an invisible object or idea with a
deeper meaning) as well.
A figure of speech in which a nonhuman or nonliving thing or
quality is talked about as if it were human or alive.
This is a very broad term and refers to a type of language or writing that does
not want the reader to take things literally. It is a word or a phrase that
describes one thing in terms of another and is not literally true.
The repetition of the same or very similar consonant sounds at the
beginning of words that are close together.
An interruption in the action of a plot to tell something of importance which happened at an earlier time.
A person or animal who takes part in the action of a story, play, or other literary work. (The ways in which the author develops that
person or animal in a story.)
This term is a type of figurative language where one uses an extreme exaggeration for dramatic effect.
A struggle or clash between opposing characters or opposing
forces. This type is when a character struggles against some outside force.
An imaginative comparison between two unlike things in which one thing is said to be another thing. A figure of speech.
A perspective from which a story is told where the narrator only focuses on one characters thoughts and feelings.
A perspective from which a story is told in which the narrator is telling the story him or herself, using the person pronoun “I”.
A story that attempts to explain something about the world or how something was created and typically involves gods or other
superhuman beings.
A struggle or clash between opposing characters or opposing forces. This type
is when the struggle is within the character’s own mind.
An example of figurative language in which a comparison between two unlike things is made, using a connecting word such
as “like” or “as”.
An educated guess, a conclusion that makes sense because it is supported by evidence. (What you know + what you read =
inference)
A reference, found in a story, to a statement a person, a place, or an event
from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, or science.