Refrain

A sound, word, phrase, or line repeated regularly in a poem.

Rhyme

a repetition of similar sounds at the end of two or more consecutive sentences.

Simile

A rhetorical device used to compare two things using the words “like”, “as”, or “than.”

Stanzas

A group of lines in a poem, similar to a paragraph.

Repetition

when words are repeated in order to make a stronger impact on the reader.

Oxymoron

a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction

Onomatopoeia

a type of word that sounds like what it does.

Hyperbole

The use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech.

Pun

A joke based on the interplay of homophones — words with the same pronunciation but different meanings.

Figurative Language

A literary device that uses words or phrases for effect, humorous, or exaggeration purposes, instead of their literal translation.

Plot

The series of events in the story.

Exposition

The introduction of characters, background information, and setting.

Rising Action

are events leading up to the climax of the story.

Falling Action

Are events directly following the climax of the story.

Climax

The most interesting part or the turning point of the story.

Resolution

The conclusion of the story where all the loose ends are tied up.

Conflict

The problem or struggle in the story.

External Conflict

It's one that can be seen and involves a character struggling against an opposing force: another character or obstacle

Internal Conflict

1. occurs within the character’s heart or mind.

Setting

the when, where, and environment of the story.

Chronological Order

the way in which events occur in real time.

Foreshadow

hints or clues the author gives about what will happen in the story.

Flashback

A scene or event from the past that interrupts the present storyline.

Flash Forward

a scene or event that jumps forward in time.

Mood

How the author makes the reader feel

Tone

how the author feels

Protagonist:

the main character in a story and usually the
good guy or hero.

Antagonist:

usually the bad guy and is in direct conflict with the main character.

Dynamic Character:

grows or changes as a result of the story

Static Character:

character does not change as a result of the
story.

Round Character:

character is multi-dimensional and many
different traits are revealed.

Flat Character:

character only has 1-2 traits revealed to the
reader.

Indirect Characterization:

is when the author SHOWS what the
character is like.

Direct Characterization:

is when the author TELLS what the
character is like.

Symbol:

object that stands for something abstract (feeling).
(Eagle, Cross).

Inference:

when we use our background knowledge and
information the author has given us to draw a logical
conclusion.

Allusion:

a reference to a well-known person, place, event, or
thing.

Dialogue:

conversation in the story.

Motivation:

what drives the character (fear, needs, wants, etc.).

Credible:

Trusted

Voice:

a writer’s use of language and overall style created by
tone and diction.

Persona:

a mask or voice for first person point of view

Surprise ending:

resolves a story in a totally unexpected yet
logical way.

Diction:

choice of words

Theme:

the central idea or insight about human life that a story reveals.

Unreliable narrator:

biased and cannot or does not tell the
truth.

Irony:

a contrast of what the reader expects and what really happens.

Verbal Irony:

the use of words to mean something other than what is really said; sarcasm

Dramatic Irony:

when the audience knows something
the characters do not.

Situational Irony:

when the reader expects something to
happen but something unexpected happens instead

Point of View:

the vantage point or perspective from which a
story is told.

Third Person Omniscient Point of View:

narrator plays no role
in the story, is “God-like” and “All-knowing”; knows all the
character’s thoughts, actions, and feelings.

Third Person Limited Point of View:

narrator plays no role in
the story; tells about one character’s thoughts, feelings, and
actions.

Third Person Objective Point of View:

narrator is a spectator of
events and reports what is seen or heard; relays little to no
thoughts or feelings.

First Person Point of View:

Narrator is a character in the
story and tells the story using pronouns I, we, me, us, etc…

Character:

A character is a person, animal, being, creature, or thing in a
story.

Characterization:

The act of creating and describing
characters in literature.

Understatement:

Is a literary device by which a
particular quality of a person, object, emotion, or situation is
downplayed or presented as being less than what is true to the
situation.

Connotation:

A feeling or idea that a word has, in
addition to its literal or main meaning.

Denotation:

The objective meaning of a word.

Archetype:

A character archetype in novel terms is a type of character
who represents a universal pattern, and therefore appeals to our human collective unconscious;

Euphemism

It’s a word or phrase that softens an uncomfortable topic.

Cliche:

Can refer to any aspect of a literary narrative—a specific
phrase, scenario, genre, or character.

Consonance:

agreement or compatibility between opinions or actions.

Paradox:

A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.

Assonance:

the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in a series
of words, phrases, and/or syllables.

Allegory:

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a
hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

Propaganda:

information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

Apostrophe

An exclamatory passage in a speech or poem addressed to a person (typically one who is dead or absent) or thing (typically one that is personified).

Soliloquy

an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play.

Aside

a remark or passage in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by the other characters in the play.

Enjambment

the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.

Sonnet

A poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line.

Metonymy

The substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the track for horse racing.

Narrative Poetry

a form of poetry that is used to tell a story. The poet combines elements of storytelling—like plot, setting, and characters—with elements of poetry, such as form, meter, rhyme, and poetic devices.

Lyric Poetry

Refers to a short poem, often with songlike qualities, that expresses the speaker’s personal emotions and feelings.

Prose

A style used that does not follow a structure of rhyming or meter.

Poetry

literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm; poems collectively or as a genre of literature.

Aphorism

a short saying that serves to express a truth in a memorable and quippy way.

Satire

The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.