Literary Terms

Front 1

alliteration

Back 1

The repetition of initial consonant sounds

Front 2

onomatopoeia

Back 2

Use of words to imitate sounds

Front 3

simile

Back 3

A comparison between two unlike things using the words like or as

Front 4

haiku

Back 4

Poem form that origianted in Japan and has three unrhymed lines

Front 5

metaphor

Back 5

A comparison between two unlike things without using like or as. A direct comparison.

Front 6

cinquain

Back 6

A five-lined unrhymed poem

Front 7

personification

Back 7

A nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as if it were human

Front 8

hyperbole

Back 8

An exaggerated statement used for effect and not to be taken literally

Front 9

meter

Back 9

A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. The beat of a poem.

Front 10

couplet

Back 10

Two rhyming lines with the same number of feet

Front 11

triplet

Back 11

Three rhyming lines with the same number of feet

Front 12

Limerick

Back 12

A humorous five line poem that has an a, a, b, b, a rhyme scheme and orginated in Ireland.

Front 13

ballad

Back 13

A story in verse

Front 14

free verse

Back 14

Poetry that does not have a regular pattern or rhyme scheme.

Front 15

quatrain

Back 15

A four-lined poem that follows a set pattern.

Front 16

rhyme scheme

Back 16

Pattern of rhymes. Assign a letter to show each new rhyme.

Front 17

setting

Back 17

the time and place an action occurs

Front 18

narrative

Back 18

writing that tells a story

Front 19

"She got up on the wrong side of the bed" is an example of what literary term?

Back 19

idiom

Front 20

"She sells seashells by the seashore" is an example of what literary term?

Back 20

alliteration

Front 21

Boom, creak, squeak are examples of what literary term?

Back 21

onomatopoeia

Front 22

"He is as quick as a cat" is an example of what literary term

Back 22

simile

Front 23

"The fog comes on little cat feet" is an example of what literary term?

Back 23

metaphor

Front 24

"The sun smiled on the earth" is an example of what literary term?

Back 24

personification

Front 25

"Kevin kicked the kettle" is an example of what literary term?

Back 25

alliteration of the k sound.

Front 26

"Her smile is like the sunshine" is an example of what literary term?

Back 26

simile--it uses the word like to compare two things

Front 27

"We have packed a million things for our vacation" is an example of what literary term?

Back 27

hyperbole--exaggeration

Front 28

"Bam! The door slammed shut" is an example of what literary term?

Back 28

onomatopoeia-Bam! imitates a sound

Front 29

"The rainbow was a bag of colorful candy" is an example of what literary term?

Back 29

metaphor-compares two unlike things without using like or as.

Front 30

"The cat smiled when she saw her toy" is an example of what literary term?

Back 30

personification-giving the cat human quality of smiling

Front 31

"The wind howled around the tall building" is an example of what literary term?

Back 31

onomatopoeia-howl imitates the sound

Front 32

"The sky is a bright blue canvas" is an example of what literary term?

Back 32

metaphor-sky is compared to canvas without using like or as.

Front 33

"Margot was an old photograph dusted from an album" is an example of what literary device?

Back 33

metaphor

Front 34

"The children were feeling the sun on their cheeks like a warm iron" is an example of what literary device?

Back 34

simile

Front 35

"The jungle was a nest of octopi" is an example of what literary device?

Back 35

metaphor

Front 36

"The jungle was clustering up great arms of fleshlike weed" is an example of what literary device?

Back 36

personification

Front 37

"The clildren listened to the silence which suspended them in a blessed sea of no sound and no motion" is an example of what literary device?

Back 37

metaphor

Front 38

"Then wildly, like animals escaped from their caves, they ran and ran in shouting circles" is an example of what literary device?

Back 38

simile

Front 39

"They stood as if someone had driven them, like so many stakes, into the floor" is an example of what literary device?

Back 39

simile

Front 40

Characters are introduced during this part of a story's plot.

Back 40

exposition

Front 41

Events build toward the climax in this part of a story's plot.

Back 41

rising action

Front 42

This is the high point of the story at which the eventual outcome becomes clear.

Back 42

climax

Front 43

The events following the climax occur in this part of a story's plot.

Back 43

falling action

Front 44

All the loose ends are tied up in this part of a story's plot.

Back 44

resolution

Front 45

The arrangement of events in a story is called the _______.

Back 45

plot

Front 46

The struggle between two opposing forces is called __________.

Back 46

conflict

Front 47

A struggle within one character is what type of conflict?

Back 47

internal

Front 48

A struggle between a character and an outside force is called __________ conflict.

Back 48

external

Front 49

Writing that is not meant to be taken literally

Back 49

figurative language

Front 50

"Talk of your cold! through the parka's fold/it stabbed like a driven nail." from "The Cremation of Sam McGee" is an example of what literary device?

Back 50

simile

Front 51

"A promise made is a debt unpaid" is an example of what literary device?

Back 51

metaphor

Front 52

"It's the cursed cold, and it's got right hold/till I'm chilled clean through to the bone" is an example of what literary device?

Back 52

hyperbole

Front 53

"the stars o'erhead/were dancing heel and toe," is an example of what literary device?

Back 53

Personification

Front 54

"And the heavens scowled," is an example of what literary device?

Back 54

personification