Of Mice and Men Literary Terms

Autobiography A history of a person's life written or told by that person.

Biography When someone writes about another person’s life.

Anecdote Short account of a funny incident.

Character Sketch Short essay describing a person

Fable A brief tale told to illustrate a moral or teach a lesson.

Novel A long work that takes the average reader several days, or even weeks, to finish.

Analogy A point-by-point comparison between two things that are alike.

Foil A character who provides a striking contrast to another character.

Rhetorical Question A question in which no answer is required. It is used only for dramatic effect.

Understatement When something or someone is represented as less than it is on purpose.

Dialect A way of speaking found only in a certain area or among a certain group or class of people.

Connotation The feelings, or associations, you think about when you hear a word.

Denotation The dictionary definition of a word.

Mood The feeling or atmosphere that the writer creates for the reader.

Diction A writer’s or speaker’s choice of words and way of arranging the words in sentences.