1. Literary Terms

2. Allegory * A story that exists on two levels – actual and symbolic. Usually there is a message/moral taught. (Ex. “The Tortoise and the Hare”; Animal Farm by George Orwell).

3. Dynamic Character * A character who changes throughout a story Ex: Pi in Life of Pi

4. Static Character * A character who does not change throughout a story Ex. The priest in “Life of Pi”

5. Flashback * A technique in which a writer presents past events during current events in order to provide background information.

6. Frame story Past A story that begins in the present then goes into the past (flashback). At the end of the story, we are back in the present again. Present

7. Foreshadowing * Something early in a story that gives a clue to something that will happen later in the story

8. Imagery The use of vivid or figurative language (usually description) to paint a picture for the reader.

9. Irony An unexpected outcome Ex: A police officer getting a ticket on his/her day off or a fire station on fire

10. Metaphor * A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another Ex: My mother is an angel

11. Simile * A comparison between two unlike things, using “like” or “as” Her teeth were as white as pearls. He ran like a cheetah.

12. Tone * The author’s attitude towards his or her subject

13. Mood * How the reader feels after or while reading a text

14. Personification * A figure of speech in which inanimate objects or ideas are given human qualities My pillow dried my tears.

15. Satire * A piece of literature designed to ridicule the subject of the work. Ex: A Modest Proposal Jonathan Swift

16. Symbol * Something that means more than just what it literally is Ex. In “Life of Pi”, the locker on the boat is literally a place to store things, but symbolically it is a link to the outside world…it also symbolizes hope and survival.

17. Theme * The idea/message the author conveys throughout a work using characters, plot and other literary devices