English 2: Literary Terms
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- Theme
- A central idea, concern, or purpose of a literary work.
- Hyberbole
- A deliberate exageration or overstatement that is not meant to be taken literally.
- Genre
- A division or type of literature.
- Tragedy
- A type of drama or literature that shows the downfall or destruction of a noble or outstanding person.
- Protagonist
- The main character in a literary work.
- Foreshadowing
- The use, in literary work, of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur.
- Biography
- A form of nonfiction in which a writer tells the life story of another person.
- Setting
- Time and place of action in a literary work.
- Allegory
- A story with more than one level of meaning.
- Personification
- A type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human qualities.
- Satire
- A type of writing that ridicules or criticizes the faults of individuals.
- Myth
- A fictional tale that explains the actions of gods or heroes or the causes of natural phenomena.
- Analogy
- A comparison of two different things to point out how they are similar.
- Metaphor
- A figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else.
- Irony
- Literary techniques that involve suprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions.
- Paradox
- A statement that seems to be contradictory but that actually presents a truth.
- Alliteration
- The repetition of initial consonant sounds.
- Oxymoron
- A figure of speech that puts together two opposing or contradictory ideas.
- Suspense
- A feeling of growing curiosity or anxious uncertainty about the outcome of events in a literary work.
- Connotation
- A set of associations that a word calls to mind.
- Climax
- The high point of interest or suspense in a literary work.
- Fiction
- Writing that tells about imaginary characters and events.
- Imagery
- The descriptive language used in literature to re-create sensory experiences.
- Denotation
- The literal or exact meaning of a word.
- Autobiography
- Form of nonfiction in which a person tells his or her own life story.
- Moral
- A lesson taught by a literary work.
- Hero
- A character whose actions are inspiring or noble.
- Allusion
- A reference to a well known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art.
- Mood
- The feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage.
- Legend
- A widely told story about the past, one that may or may not have a foundation in fact.
- Narration
- Writing that tells a story.
- Tone
- The writer's attitude toward the readers and toward the subject.
- Symbol
- Anything that stands for or represents something else.
- Simile
- A figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two subjects using either "like" or "as".
- Conflict
- A struggle between opposing forces.
- Antagonist
- A character or force in conflict with the main character.
- Nonfiction
- Writing that presents and explains ideas or that tells about real people, places, objects, or events.