front 1 Alliteration | back 1 The repetition of consonant sounds in words that are close together. |
front 2 Allusion | back 2 A reference to a statement, a person, place, or an event from literature, the arts, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, or science. |
front 3 Analogy | back 3 A comparison between two things to show how they are alike |
front 4 Anecdote | back 4 A brief story told to illustrate a point. |
front 5 Atmosphere | back 5 The overall mood or feeling of a work of literature. |
front 6 Autobiography | back 6 A person's account of his or her own life or of part of it. |
front 7 Ballad | back 7 A song or songlike poem that tells a story. |
front 8 Biography | back 8 An account of a person's life or of part of it, written or told by another person. |
front 9 Character | back 9 A person or animal in a story, a play, or another literary work. Static - Does not change much in the course of the story. Dynamic - Changes as a result of a story's events. |
front 10 Characterization | back 10 The way a writer reveals the personality of a character. |
front 11 Chronological order | back 11 The arrangement of events in the order in which they occurred |
front 12 Climax | back 12 The point in a story that creates the greatest suspense or interest. |
front 13 Conflict | back 13 A struggle between opposing characters or opposing forces |
front 14 Connotation | back 14 A meaning, association, or emotion suggested by a word, in addition to its dictionary definition, or denotation. |
front 15 Dialect | back 15 A way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain geographical area or a certain group of people. |
front 16 Dialogue | back 16 Conversation between two or more characters. |
front 17 Diction | back 17 A writer or speaker's choice of words. |
front 18 Epic | back 18 A long narrative poem that is written in heightened language and tells stories of the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a society. |
front 19 Epilogue | back 19 A brief closing section to a piece of literature. |
front 20 Exposition | back 20 The kind of writing that explains or gives information. |
front 21 Fable | back 21 A brief story told in prose or poetry that contains a moral, a practical lesson about how to get along in life. |
front 22 Fiction | back 22 A prose account that is made up or true. |
front 23 Figure of Speech | back 23 A word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of another and is not meant to to be understood as literally true. |
front 24 Flashback | back 24 Interruption in the present action of a plot to show events that happened at an earlier time. |
front 25 Folktale | back 25 A story that has no known author and was originally passed on from one generation to another by word of mouth. |
front 26 Foreshadowing | back 26 The use of clues or hints to suggest event that will occur later in the plot. |
front 27 Free Verse | back 27 Poetry without a regular meter or rhyme scheme. |
front 28 Historical Fiction | back 28 A novel, story, or play set during a historical era. |
front 29 Imagery | back 29 Language that appeals to the senses. |
front 30 Irony | back 30 A contrast between expectation and reality. |
front 31 Limerick | back 31 A very short humorous or nonsensical poem. |
front 32 Metaphor | back 32 An unimaginative comparison between two unlike things in which one thing is said to be another thing. |
front 33 Narrative Poem | back 33 A poem that tells a story. |
front 34 Nonfiction | back 34 Prose writing that deals with real people, things, events, and places. |
front 35 Onomatapoeia | back 35 The use of words whose sounds imitate or suggest their meaning. |
front 36 Personification | back 36 A figure of speech in which an object or animal is spoken of as if it had human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes. |
front 37 Plot | back 37 The series of events that make up a story. |
front 38 Prose | back 38 Any writing that is not poetry. |
front 39 Setting | back 39 The time and place of a story, play, or narrative poem. |
front 40 Simile | back 40 A comparison between two unlike things, using a word such as like, as, than or resembles. |
front 41 Symbol | back 41 A person, a place, a thing, or an event that has meaning in itself and stand for something beyond itself as well. |
front 42 Theme | back 42 The general idea or insight about life that a work of literature reveals. |
front 43 Tone | back 43 The attitude a writer takes toward his or her subject, characters, and audience. |