This is a list of the majority of literary terms all students need to be familiar with by the end of the first semester. There will be other terms discussed throughout the year, but this list contains most of the terms each student will be responsible for learning.
1. Allusion – a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art
2. Analogy – a comparison that explains or describes one subject by pointing out its similarities to another subject
3. Antagonist – the character who works against the hero of the story
4. Alliteration – the repetition of an initial consonant sound (often used in poetry)
5. Cause – the reason for a result, consequence or effect
6. Characterization – techniques a writer uses to create and develop a character by what:
a. he/she does or says
b. how another character reacts to him/her
c. how the author reveals directly through a narrator
7. Characters – the story’s actors
8. Conflict – a problem or struggle between two opposing forces in a story; there are four basic conflicts:
a. Person vs person – a conflict between characters
b. Person vs self – a problem within a character’s own mind
c. Person vs society – a problem between a character and society, school, law or tradition
d. Person against nature – a problem between characters and an element of nature, such as blizzard, hurricane, flood, or fire
9. Connotation – an idea or feeling invoked by a word
10. Denotation – the dictionary definition of a word
11. Dialect – speech that reflects the pronunciation and vocabulary of a particular region
12. Dialogue – a conversation between characters
13. Dynamic character – a character who changes throughout the course of a story
14. Effect – the result or consequence brought on by a cause or action
15. Euphemism – a polite word or phrase used in place of one that may be too direct, unpleasant, or embarrassing
16. Flashback – interruption of a story to tell something that happened in the past
17. Foreshadowing – clues in a story to what will happen later in the story
18. Figurative language – language that has a meaning beyond its’ literal meaning (ex: simile, metaphor, personification)
19. Hyperbole – an exaggeration
20. Idiom – an expression peculiar to a particular language (ex: “It’s raining cats and dogs.”)
21. Irony – a technique that involves surprising, interesting, or amusing contrasts
a. Dramatic irony - when the audience knows something the characters do not know
b. Situational irony – when what happens is the opposite of what we expect
c. Verbal irony – someone says the opposite of what they really mean
22. Literal language – the use of words in their ordinary senses
23. Metaphor – a comparison of two things that does not use “like” or “as”
24. Mood – a feeling or emotional overtone created in the reader by a literary work
25. Oxymoron – a combination of two opposite terms (ex: “There was a loud silence after the car crashed.”)
26. Onomatopoeia – the use of words that sound like what they mean (ex: “buzz” or “pop”)
27. Plot – the sequence of events in a story
a. Exposition – the beginning of the story where we learn the setting and characters
b. Rising action – events that build toward the point of greatest interest
c. Climax – the turning point of the story
d. Falling action – events that lead to the resolution of the story
e. Resolution – the part of the story where the conflict reaches a conclusion
f. Denouement – the final threads of the story are pulled together
28. Prologue – an introductory section to a piece of literature
29. Personification – giving a human characteristic to something non-human
30. Point of view – perspective from which a story is told
a. First person – narrator is a character in the story (“I,” “we,” “me”)
b. Second person – narrator tells the story to another character using the word “you”
c. Third person – an outside narrator
i. Third person limited – narrator tells what one character is thinking and feeling
ii. Third person omniscient – narrator tells what more than one character is thinking and feeling
31. Rhyme – the repetition of sounds
32. Setting – where and when a story takes place
33. Simile – a comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as”
34. Stanza – a section of poetry (think of it as being like a paragraph)
35. Static character – a character that does not change throughout the course of a story
36. Suspense – a feeling of excitement, curiosity or expectation about what will happen
37. Theme – a message about life or human nature that is the “focus” in the story
38. Tone – the attitude the author takes toward his/her own piece of literature
39. Genre – a category of literature
a. Drama – also called a play; uses dialogue to tell the story
b. Dystopian – set in a society that is an illusion of a perfect, utopian world; a futuristic world with oppressive societal control
c. Fable – a short story that often uses talking animals and has a moral
d. Fairy tale – stories about fairies or other magical creatures
e. Fantasy – fiction with strange or other worldly settings or characters
f. Fiction – a piece of literature based on the imagination (not true)
g. Folklore – songs, stories or myths passed down by word of mouth
h. Historical fiction – a made-up story with characters and events in a historical setting
i. Horror – stories that evoke a feeling of dread
j. Humor – stories full of fun and meant to entertain (can be fiction or nonfiction)
k. Legend – stories about a national or folk hero
l. Mystery – fiction dealing with the solution of a crime
m. Mythology – stories that explain human behavior or natural events; often dealing with the gods
n. Poetry – verse and rhythmic writing the creates emotional responses
o. Realistic fiction – a made-up story that seems real
p. Science fiction – a story based on actual or potential science; usually in the future and/or on other planets
q. Short story – a fiction story that can be read in one sitting
r. Tall tale – humorous story with many exaggerations and swaggering heroes
s. Nonfiction – true writing
i. Autobiography – a story about a person written by that person
ii. Biography – a story about a person written by someone else
iii. Essay – a short literary piece that reflects the author’s ideas and opinions
iv. Narrative nonfiction – factual information that tells a story
v. Informational nonfiction – writing that presents facts
vi. Speech – a public address