1. Literary Terms and Definitions Unit 1: “The Scarlet Ibis” By James Hurst

2. alliteration Repetition of similar sounds, usually consonants or consonant cluster, in the initial letters of a group of words. – Lovely Lady Gaga grew gaggles of gorgeous greens.

3. allusion A reference, in a piece of literature, to a well known person, place or thing. – Yesterday, we heard a choir perform the Spiritual “Wade in the Water.”

4. climax The third stage of the plot. The highest pint of interest or most suspenseful moment in a story. http://media.photobucket.com/image/plot% 20chart%20denouement/Alixtii/plot.jpg

5. dénouement The stage of the plot when all the “loose ends are tied up.” http://media.photobucket.com/image/plot %20chart%20denouement/Alixtii/plot.jpg

6. exposition The first stage of a plot. The setting and characters are introduced. http://media.photobucket.com/image/ plot%20chart%20denouement/Alixtii/pl ot.jpg

7. External conflict A struggle between a character and something outside of himself or herself. – Man vs. Man – Man vs. Nature – Man vs. The supernatural – Man vs. Technology – Man vs. Society

8. Falling action The fourth stage of the plot. Short section following the climax of a story in which suspense falls. http://media.photobucket.co m/image/plot%20chart%20de nouement/Alixtii/plot.jpg

9. First person point-of-view One of the characters in the story is actually telling the story using the pronoun “I.” The reader knows the thoughts and feelings of ONE character.

10. Imagery Language that appeals to one or more of the five senses: touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. The flower garden was stained with rotting brown magnolia petals and ironweeds grew rank amid the purple phlox.

11. Internal conflict A struggle between a character and himself or herself. – Man vs. Himself

12. Metaphor A comparison between two unlike things that does not use the words “like” or “as.” – “I did not know then that pride is a wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death” (Hurst). Compares “pride” to a two vines without using “like” or “as.”

13. Mood The emotions a piece of literature create in the reader. – How does the story make the reader feel?

14. Personification Giving human qualities to nonhuman things. – “Summer was dead but autumn had not yet been born” (Hurst). Can summer literally lose its life and die? Can autumn literally be born?

15. Plot A series of related events that make up a story. – Plot Chart: http://media.photobucket.c om/image/plot%20chart%20 denouement/Alixtii/plot.jpg

16. Resolution The stage of the plot when all the problems in the story are resolved. http://media.photobucket.com /image/plot%20chart%20deno uement/Alixtii/plot.jpg

17. Rising Action The second stage of a plot. The suspense is created by increasing conflict. http://media.photobucket.com/imag e/plot%20chart%20denouement/Alix tii/plot.jpg

18. Simile A comparison between two things using the words “like” or “as.” – “The oriole nest in the elm was untenanted and rocked back and forth like an empty cradle” (Hurst).

19. Symbol A concrete (physical object) that stands for an idea. – Eagle = Freedom – Red octagon = Stop

20. Symbolism An author’s use of a person, place, thing, or event that stands for itself and for something else.

21. Theme The central message of a story. – What is the message of the story? – What lesson does the author want us to learn?

22. Third person limited point-of-view The narrator is not in the story, but rather “on the outside looking in.” The narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of only ONE of the characters.

23. Third person omniscient point-of-view The narrator is not in the story, but rather “on the outside looking in.” The narrator knows the thoughts, feelings and actions of all the characters within the story.