Essential Literary Terms M. Groome English Language Arts Delta High School Note: I don’t claim that these definitions (or list) are perfect. Please contact me if you have suggestions for revisions. M. Groome English Language Arts Delta High School Note: I don’t claim that these definitions (or list) are perfect. Please contact me if you have suggestions for revisions.
Suggestions for Use Treat these slides as flash cards. Try to write/say the definition before viewing the next slide. Pause each slide for as long as you need to read, understand, copy, etc. Rewind and play this presentation as much as you need. Make these terms meaningful by relating them to examples from books, films, poetry, songs, etc. that you know. Treat these slides as flash cards. Try to write/say the definition before viewing the next slide. Pause each slide for as long as you need to read, understand, copy, etc. Rewind and play this presentation as much as you need. Make these terms meaningful by relating them to examples from books, films, poetry, songs, etc. that you know.
protagonist
the character who drives the action, usually the hero/female hero
antagonist
the character/force who obstructs the protagonist or gets in the protagonist’s way
setting
the story’s time and location
tone
the author’s attitude toward the subject
mood
the way the text makes the reader feel
point of view (POV)
the perspective from which the story is narrated
first person point of view
the narrator is a character (uses first person pronouns)
third person omniscient point of view
the narrator is not a character and knows the thoughts and actions of more than one character (godlike, all-knowing)
third person limited point of view
the narrator is not a character and knows the thoughts and actions of one character (narrates from one character’s perspective)
plot
the framework of events that make up a story (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution/denouement)
exposition
the background information readers need to know to understand the story (usually found at the beginning)
rising action
the events that build up to the story’s climax
climax
the emotional high point of the story, the turning point, the point at which the reader knows how the story will end
falling action
the events that lead away from the story’s climax toward the resolution/ denouement
resolution or denouement
the point at which the conflict is resolved, all the story’s loose ends are tied up
conflict
the force that provides a challenge for the protagonist (man v. man/self/ society/nature)
theme
the text’s message, the central idea, not a cliché, not the text’s subject
foreshadowing
hints of what is to come later in the story
flashback
narration that provides information about an event that has occurred before the story begins
symbol
something that represents not only itself but something else, usually something larger than itself
metaphor
a comparison of two unlike things without using “like,” “as,” “than,” or “resembles”
simile
a comparison of two unlike things using “like,” “as,” “than,” or “resembles”
personification
giving human qualities to nonhuman things
onomatopoeia
words that sound like what they mean
alliteration
repeating (consonant) sounds in close progression for stylistic effect
repetition
repeating words, phrases, or clauses for stylistic effect
hyperbole
extreme exaggeration for stylistic effect
imagery
language that appeals to the senses
oxymoron
two words that mean the opposite but have new meaning when placed together
allusion
a reference to something that exists outside the world of the text (history, literature, religion, pop culture, etc.)
irony
a twist, when the opposite of what you expect happens