1. Literary Terms English 10 Marion High School

2. Literary Devices What are they? Techniques and tools and author uses to help effectively convey his/her message In other words… Literary devices are elements like similes, metaphors, etc. that make literature more impactful, unique, and creative. They make the boring unboring.

3. Simile Comparison of two unlike things, using like or as. EX: "That was the way all the Aubignys fell in love, as if struck by a pistol shot."

4. Metaphor Comparison of two things that seem different, not using like or as. Typically uses a form of “to be” = is, are, was, etc. EX: "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players”

5. Onomatopoeia Sound words EX: "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is."

6. Personification Anything that is not HUMAN acts, thinks, or behaves in any way like a human. EX: I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. Whatever I see I swallow immediately Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike. I am not cruel, only truthful...

7. Allusion A reference to a famous person or event in life or literature EX: She is as pretty as the Mona Lisa. Biblical allusions are popular in literature. Why are they used? Author is able to link other pieces of knowledge – background info – to new pieces. Can foreshadow coming events in the story

8. Hyperbole An exaggeration Why? To emphasize a point EX: I am so tired I cannot walk another inch.

9. Imagery Words or phrases that appeal to the reader’s 5 senses creating a vivid mental picture. EX: The yellow bus zipped by, knocking me down from the wind behind it.

10. Alliteration Repetition of sounds at the beginning of words. Why? Adds emphasis to words Creates a rhythm for the reader EX: Peter Piper picked a peck of peppers.

11. Rhyme Exact rhyme: Words that sound the same at the end. Slant or Near Rhyme: Words that sound close to the same. Internal Rhyme: Words that rhyme, coming in the middle of lines. End Rhyme: Rhyming words occurring at the end of lines. Rhyme scheme: Pattern of rhyming in a poem using letters to represent the pattern. EX: Yell-Bell; Hair-Near For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

12. Symbolism An object or item that appears multiple times in a story and represents some idea or thing, not literally itself. EX: The Eagle, Uncle Sam

13. Tone The author’s attitude toward the subject he/she is writing about. Words (diction), details, and figures of speech are used to communicate tone. EX: It was A LOW, DULL, QUICK SOUND -- MUCH SUCH A SOUND AS A WATCH MAKES WHEN ENVELOPED IN COTTON. I gasped for breath, and yet the officers heard it not. I talked more quickly, more vehemently but the noise steadily increased. I arose and argued about trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations; but the noise steadily increased. Why WOULD they not be gone? I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides, as if excited to fury by the observations of the men, but the noise steadily increased. O God! What COULD I do? I foamed -- I raved -- I swore! I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder -- louder - - louder!

14. Theme Author’s main message, idea, or concern of a story or poem. General statement about people or life – Think big picture. EX: Social inequalities exist in our society. (TKAM)

15. Speaker The speaker is the person whose voice is narrating a poem It can be the author or a character he/she creates Same as the narrator EX: Scout in TKAM; the voice, eyes of a child