alliteration
the repetition of the same or very similar consonant sounds in words that are close together
allusion
a reference to a statement, a person, a place, or an event from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, or scence
autobiography
the story of a person's life, written or told by that person
biography
the story of a real person's life, written or told by another person
character
a person or an animal in a story, play, or other literary work
conflict (external or internal)
a struggle or clash between opposing characters or forces
external- a struggle between a character and some outside force
internal- a struggle between opposing desires or emotions within a person
connotation
the feelings and associations that have come to be attached to a word
denotation- dictionary definitions
description
the kind of writing that creates a clear image of something, usually by using details that appeal to one or more of the senses; sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch
dialect
a way of speaking characteristic of a particular region or a particular group of people
dialogue
conversation between two or more characters
fable
a very brief story in prose or verse that teaches a moral or a practical lesson about how to succeed in life
fantasy
imaginative writing that carries the reader into an invented world where the laws of nature as we know them do not operate
figure of speech
a word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of something else and is not literally true
flashback
a scene that breaks the normal time order of the plot to show a past event
folk tale
a story with no known author, originally passed from one generation to another by word of mouth
foreshadowing
the use of clues or hints to suggest events that will occur later in the plot
free verse
poetry that is "free" of a regular meter or rhyme scheme
imagery
language that appeals to the sense- sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell
irony
a contrast between what is expected and what really happens
legend
a story, usually based on some historical facts, that has been handed down from one generation to the next
limerick
a humorous five-line verse that has regular meter and the rhyme scheme aabba
main idea
the most important ide expressed in a piece of writing
metaphor
a comparison between two unlike things in which one thing becomes another thing
mood
the overall emotion created by a work of literature
nonfiction
prose writing that deals with real people, events, and places without changing any facts
onomatopoeia
the use of a word whose sound imitates or suggest its meaning
personification
a special kind of metaphor in which a nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as if it were a human
plot
the series of related events that make up a story
point of view
the vantage point from which a story is told
prose
any writing that is not poetry
rhyme
the repetition of accented vowel sounds and all sounds following them
rhythm
a musical quality products by the repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables or by the repetition of other sound patterns
setting
the time and place of a story, poem, or a play
simile
a comparison of two unlike things using a word such as like, as, then, or resembles
speaker
the voice talking to us in a poem
stantza
in a poem, a group of lines that form a unit
symbol
a person, a place, or and event that has its own meaning and stands for something beyond itself
tall tale
an exaggerated, fanciful story that gets taller, more and more far-fetched, the more it is told and retold
theme
an idea about life revealed in a work of literature
tone
the attitude a writer takes toward an audience, a subject, or a character