L ITERARY T ERMS We will be using these literary terms throughout the school year. You need to keep up with your notes. Don’t lose your terms! Be RESPONSIBLE!!!

W E WILL USE THE FOLLOWING TERMS : Character Diction Imagery Exposition Falling Action Flashback Point of View Theme Metaphor Personification Antagonist Denotation Mood Rising Action Resolution Foreshadowing Setting Tone Simile Alliteration Protagonist Connotation Plot Climax Conflict Suspense Style Figures of Speech Oxymoron

CHARACTER A character is a person or an animal that who takes part in the action of a literary work.

A NTAGONIST The antagonist is a character or force in the conflict with a major character or protagonist; the “bad” guy

P ROTAGONIST The protagonist is the main character in a literary work; the good guy

D ICTION Diction is the manner in which we express words; enunciate the words. Some examples: Don’t say ‘goin’ – say going Don’t say ‘wanna’ – say want to

D ENOTATION The denotation of a word is its dictionary definition.

C ONNOTATION The connotation of a word is the “feeling” or ideas associated with it in addition to its meaning

D ENOTATION VS. CONNOTATION An example: Cheap is “low in cost”(denotation) but “stingy” or “poorly made” are the connotations of cheap.

I MAGERY Imagery is words or phrases that appeal to one of more of the five senses. Writers use imagery to describe how their subjects look, sound, feel, taste, and smell.

M OOD Mood or atmosphere is the feeling created in the reader by a literary passage. Example: scary music in a horror movie

P LOT Plot is the sequence of events in a literary work.

P LOTLINE

E XPOSITION The exposition is the introduction. It introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation.

R ISING ACTION Rising action is the part of the plot that begins to occur as soon as the conflict is introduced. This adds complications to the conflict and increases reader interests.

C LIMAX The climax is the greatest emotional intensity, interest, or suspense in the plot. Typically, this comes at the turning point in the story.

C ONFLICT Conflict is the struggle between opposing forces in the story.

E XTERNAL CONFLICT External conflict exists when a character struggles against some outside force such as another character, nature, society, or fate. Example: man vs. man man vs. nature

I NTERNAL CONFLICT Internal conflict exists within the mind of a character who is torn between two different courses of action. Example: man vs. himself

F ALLING ACTION Falling action is the action that typically follows the climax and reveals its results.

R ESOLUTION The resolution is the part of the plot that concludes the falling action by revealing or suggesting the outcome of the conflict.

FLASHBACK A flashback is a literary device in which an earlier episode, conversation, or event is inserted into the sequence of events. Flashbacks can be presented as a memory of the characters.

F ORESHADOWING Foreshadowing is the author’s use of clues to hint at what might happen later in the story. This is used to build suspense and prepare readers for what is to come.

S USPENSE Suspense is the growing interest and excitement readers experience while awaiting the climax or resolution. It is a feeling of anxious uncertainty.

P OINT OF VIEW POV is the perspective from which the story is told. 1 st person – uses “I” 3 rd person – uses “he” or “she”

S ETTING The setting is the time and place of the story – year, time of day, weather, place. Details such as customs, clothing, dialects can help establish setting.

S TYLE Style is the distinctive way an author uses language – word choice, phrasing, sentence length, tone, purpose

T HEME The theme is the central message, concern, or purpose. It is usually a statement about people or life. Sometimes the reader has to figure it by looking at what the work reveals about people or life.

T ONE Tone is a reflection of a writer’s attitude toward a subject. This can convey respect, anger, lightheartedness, sarcasm.

F IGURES OF SPEECH A figure of speech is a specific device or kind of language. It is used for descriptive effect. It is not meant to be taken literally. Use of imagination!

HYPERBOLE Hyperbole is an exaggeration. Example: The bad weighed a ton.

METAPHOR A metaphor compares two things – do not use “like” or “as”. Example: Life is a bowl of cherries.

S IMILE A simile is a comparison of two things using the words “like” or “as”. Example: Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard.

O XYMORON An oxymoron is a combination of seemingly contradictory words. Examples: same difference pretty ugly roaring silence

PERSONIFICATION Personification is when an animal, object, or force of nature is given human qualities or characteristics. Example: Tears began to fall from the dark clouds.

A LLITERATION Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds – at the beginning of words. Examples: Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled peppers.

O NOMATOPOEIA Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates a sound. Example: buzz, boom

I DIOM An idiom is to say one thing but mean another. Example: kick the bucket

R HYME SCHEME Rhyme scheme is the arrangement of rhymes in a poem. Example: Bid me to weep, I will weep (A) While I have eyes to see (B) And having none, yet I will keep (A) A heart to weep for thee (B)

S TANZA A stanza is a group of lines that form a poem.