LITERARY TERMS (Words you must must understand to answer questions on the EOC.)

POINT OF VIEW an angle of vision from which the people, events, and details of a story are viewed

1 st PERSON one of the characters is telling the story uses pronouns like I, me, and we.

3 rd PERSON OBJECTIVE narrator is not not a character and does not know anyone’s thoughts or feelings

3 rd PERSON LIMITED narrator is not not a character, but knows the thoughts and feelings of ONLY ONE character Aw, man!

3 rd PERSON OMNISCIENT narrator is not not a character, but knows the thoughts and feelings of EVERY character.

RHYME repetition of accented vowel sounds, and all sounds following them, in words that are close together I haven’t been to church since I don’t remember when Things were goin’ great ‘til they fell apart again So I listened to the preacher as he told me what to do He said you can’t go hatin’ others who have done wrong to you Sometimes we get angry, but we must not condemn Let the good Lord do His job and you just pray for them I pray your brakes go out runnin’ down a hill I pray a flowerpot falls from a window sill and knocks you in the head like I’d like to I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls I pray you’re flyin’ high when your engine stalls I pray all your dreams never come true Just know wherever you are honey, I pray for you I’m really glad I found my way to church ‘Cause I’m already feelin’ better and I thank God for the words Yeah I’m goin’ take the high road And do what the preacher told me to do You keep messin’ up and I’ll keep prayin’ for you

RHYTHM musical quality in language produced by repetition

REPETITION repeating words or phrases to add emphasis

ALLITERATION repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds usually at the beginning of words that are close together Sally Sells Seashells by the Seashore!

ONOMATOPOEIA Use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning Old MacDonald had a farm, Ee i ee i oh! And on that farm he had some chickens, Ee i ee i oh! With a cluck-cluck here, And a cluck-cluck there Here a cluck, there a cluck, Everywhere a cluck-cluck Old MacDonald had a farm Ee i ee i oh!

DRAMATIC IRONY The audience knows something that the character does not know Oh no! Don’t go up there!

SITUATIONAL IRONY What happens is the opposite of what we expect expect to happen

VERBAL IRONY When a person says one thing but really means something completely different Today is turning out to be just great.

IDIOM An expression that means something different from the literal meaning “It’s raining cats and dogs.”

METAPHOR A comparison of two unlike things We could have all had more dessert if Matt wasn’t a hog.

SIMILE     A comparison of two unlike things, using like or as. You know a dream is like a river Ever changin' as it flows And a dreamer's just a vessel That must follow where it goes Trying to learn from what's behind you And never knowing what's in store Makes each day a constant battle Just to stay between the shores And I will sail my vessel 'Til the river runs dry Like a bird upon the wind These waters are my sky I'll never reach my destination If I never try So I will sail my vessel 'Til the river runs dry

PERSONIFICATION A nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as if it were human. "Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered. There was no one there." (proverb) "Oreo: Milk’s favorite cookie."

HYPERBOLE Using exaggeration to express strong emotion or create a comic effect. I died laughing. I tried a million times. I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse.

PUN A play on the multiple meanings of words that sound alike JOKES! What has four wheels and flies? A garbage truck!

SETTING  time time and place place of a story

PLOT     The series of events that make up a story

THEME The idea the writer wants to reveal about the subject

TONE     The writer’s ATTITUDE towards the subject

MOOD A story’s atmosphere or the feeling it evokes

ALLUSION     A reference to something well-known

SYMBOL     Something that stands for itself AND something beyond itself

ALLEGORY A story where the characters and events stand for other ideas

PARADOX     Something that seems to be a contradiction, but really reveals truth "Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." (C.S. Lewis to his godchild, Lucy Barfield, to whom he dedicated The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)

PARODY A comical imitation of someone else’s work

FORESHADOWING     The use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in a plot.

FLASHBACK A scene that interrupts the present action of the plot to flash backward and tell what happened at an earlier time