Literary Elements and Devices

Vocabulary flashcards covering core literary terms, story conflicts, points of view, and figurative language devices based on lecture notes.

P.I.E. (Author's Purpose)

An acronym representing the three main purposes an author writes: Persuade, Inform, and Entertain.

Theme

The underlying message of a story that acts as the foundation for the entire literary piece.

Hubris

Extreme arrogance that leads to a character's downfall or failure.

Conflict

The struggle between two opposing forces.

Internal Conflict (Character vs. Self)

Conflict that takes place inside a character's mind when they have to make a decision or struggle with an ethical or emotional challenge.

External Conflict

A struggle occurring between a character and outside forces, consisting of three main types: Character vs. Character, Character vs. Society, and Character vs. Nature.

Character vs. Character

A type of external conflict where a character is in conflict or opposition with another character.

Point of View (POV)

The perspective from which a story is told.

First Person POV

A narration told from the main character's perspective, using pronouns such as I, me, and my.

Second Person POV

A narration that addresses the reader directly, using pronouns such as you and your.

Third Person Limited POV

A narration where the narrator knows a limited amount of a character's thoughts, using pronouns such as he, she, and they.

Third Person Omniscient POV

A narration where the narrator knows all characters' thoughts and feelings.

Third Person Objective POV

A narration where the narrator knows no thoughts or feelings of the characters.

Flashback

A memory that is used to give background information to a character.

Simile

A comparison between two things using the words "like" or "as".

Metaphor

A comparison between two things that does not use "like" or "as".

Alliteration

Words that start with the same sound used repeatedly in a phrase or sentence.