Lit Terms

Front 1

alliteration

Back 1

when two or more words in a group of words begin wit same sound

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antagonist

Back 2

opponent or enemy of main character

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aside

Back 3

words spoken to audience by character in drama that aren't supposed to be heard by other characters onstage (let crowd know what they're thinking)

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characterization

Back 4

how author reveals a character'a personality

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climax

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point in selection where conflict reaches greatest intensity, then it's resolved

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conflict

Back 6

struggle btw opposing forces

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dialogue

Back 7

conversation btw characters in a work of literature

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dynamic character

Back 8

character who has an internal change during story (understand, insight, values, etc.)

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figurative language

Back 9

words used in ways other than for literal meanings
(comparison, add emphasis, say something in a fresh or creative way)

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flashback

Back 10

scene in story that occurred before story's present time

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foreshadowing

Back 11

clubs or hints about something that will happen later in story, used to build suspense

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hyperbole

Back 12

extreme exaggeration used for emphasis or effect, not supposed to be taken literally

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idiom

Back 13

expression that can't be understood from meanings of its individual words

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imagery

Back 14

language that portrays sensory experiences, like 5 senses; used to describe actions, characters, objects, ideas

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dramatic irony

Back 15

when reader or audience knows something characters don't know

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situational irony

Back 16

something happens that is reverse of what you expected

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verbal irony

Back 17

when name or description of something implies opposite of truth

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major character

Back 18

main, important character who plays large role in story and faces some nod of obstacle

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metaphor

Back 19

comparison of two unlike things to illuminate, or show, a particular quality or aspect of one of those things

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minor character

Back 20

character who doesn't play large role in story and usually don't face any obstacles

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mood

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feeling reader gets from work of literature

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onomatopoeia

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use of words whose sounds imitate sounds of what they describe

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personification

Back 23

describing nonhuman animals, objects, or ideas as though they possess human qualities or emotions

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plot

Back 24

sequence of events in story

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point of view

Back 25

perspective from which a story is told (character in story/outside narrator
First person - inside character
Third person limited- narrator who isn't character but can describe experiences and thoughts of one character
Third person omniscient-narrator who isn't character but can describe every character's experiences and thoughts

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protagonist

Back 26

main or central character in work of literature

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setting

Back 27

environment in which a story takes place, which includes time of story, location, and physical characteristics of the surroundings

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simile

Back 28

same as metaphor, but using like or as

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static character

Back 29

character who doesn't undergo significant change during story

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symbol

Back 30

object, setting, event, animal, or person that on one level is itself, but on another level means something else

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symbolism

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practice of using symbols

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theme

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a story's main message or moral

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tone

Back 33

author's attitude toward subject matter or toward reader/audience