Literary Terms

Front 1

Alliteration

Back 1

Repetition of the first letter in a series of words.
ex: He had hundreds.

Front 2

Allusion

Back 2

A reference to something in history or literature

Front 3

Analogy

Back 3

A simple concept used to explain a complex concept

Front 4

Antagonist

Back 4

opposing force to the protagonist, the "bad guy"

Front 5

Assonance

Back 5

Repetition of vowel sounds in a series of words.

Front 6

Ballad

Back 6

A poem which tells a story and can easily be put to music

Front 7

Ballad Stanza

Back 7

Four lines

First and third lines have 8 syllables

second and fourth lines have three syllables and rhyme

Front 8

Characterization

Back 8

Method of developing character.
Direct-clear statements made about the character
Indirect- audience learn about the character through actions and others opinions.

Front 9

Conflict

Back 9

Forces which are in opposition

Front 10

Connotation

Back 10

A meaning of words based on context, experience, location and situation

Front 11

Denotation

Back 11

Dictionary meaning of a word

Front 12

Diction

Back 12

Choice of words

Front 13

Elegy

Back 13

A lyric poem lamenting the dead

Front 14

Extended Metaphor

Back 14

a series of related metaphors

Front 15

Epic

Back 15

Long narrative poem

Front 16

Folk Tale

Back 16

Legends, fables, tall tales, ghost stories. Passed down orally

Front 17

Figurative Language

Back 17

Non-literal,suggested or implied meaning

Front 18

Free verse

Back 18

A poem that does not follow patterns

Front 19

Foreshadowing

Back 19

Hinting of what is to come

Front 20

Historical Fiction

Back 20

Reconstructs a historical moment imaginatively

Front 21

Imagery

Back 21

Descriptive words used to create a picture

Front 22

Legend

Back 22

A story that lies somewhere between myth and verifiable fact. They're about individuals

Front 23

Lyric Poem

Back 23

Short poem expressing emotions and thoughts of one speaker. Monologue, elegy, haiku

Front 24

Metaphor

Back 24

Comparison NOT using "like", "as" or "than"

Front 25

Meter

Back 25

the rhythmic pattern of stresses in a poem.

Front 26

Mood

Back 26

The feeling or atmosphere created

Front 27

Moral

Back 27

Lesson learned from the text

Front 28

Narrative Poem

Back 28

Poem which mainly tells a story

Front 29

Persona

Back 29

The speaker who tells or narrates the story. Not a character or the author

Front 30

Personification

Back 30

Imagery where human attribites are given to non-humans

Front 31

Plot

Back 31

The events of a story

Front 32

Point of View

Back 32

The perspective from which a story is told.

Front 33

Prose

Back 33

Anything other then poetry

Front 34

Rhyme

Back 34

Matching sounds at the end of words

Front 35

Rhythm

Back 35

Measured flow of repeated sound patterns

Front 36

Setting

Back 36

Time, place, cultural milleau of the story

Front 37

Simile

Back 37

Comparison using like as or than

Front 38

Stanza

Back 38

Lines grouped together for effect in a poem

Front 39

Style

Back 39

The way in which the author expresses what he has to say

Front 40

Tall Tale

Back 40

Greatly exaggerated story about a larger than life hero.

Front 41

Theme

Back 41

The main idea that the author is trying to express

Front 42

Tone

Back 42

The authors attitude towards what they are writing. Based on their word choice

Front 43

Understatement

Back 43

Presenting something as less significant as it really is

Front 44

Unreliable Narrator

Back 44

Narrator who cannot be trusted because of ignorance, bias, age or mental instability.