English Final Exam 2025 Literary Terms

Allegory

has two or more levels of meaning

Alliteration

repetition of the initial or first consonant sounds

Apostrophe

addressing an absent person or something that isn’t as if they were there

Assonance

repetition of vowel sounds

Conflict

the struggle between the protagonist and the antagonist

Consonance

repetition of consonant sounds (not at beginning)

Crisis

internal struggle the protagonist faces in order to solve his conflict

Figurative Language

language or diction not meant to be taken literally

Hyperbole

an extreme exaggeration

Imagery

language meant to invoke an image or picture

Metaphor

a comparison without using “like” or “as”

Onomatopoeia

word describing sounds

Oxymoron

using terms that are opposite to describe something
ex. jumbo shrimp, stupid genius

Parallelism

similarly constructed sentences, phrases, etc. that restate or contrast one another

Personification

given human characteristics to nonhuman objects

Repetition

repeating words, phrases, or lines for effect

Simile

a comparison using “like” or “as”

Theme

the author’s point/main idea of a work

Sensory Details

details that would involve sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell

Fatal Flaw

A character trait, often a moral weakness or error in judgment, that leads to a protagonist's downfall in a tragedy.

Extended Metaphor

metaphor that goes beyond one comparison or line

synechdoche

using a part of the object or thing to stand for the whole object or thing

conceit

striking comparison of two unlike objects

diction

the author’s choice of words

metonymy

using an object that is related to a thing to stand for the thing itself

flashback

a scene in a movie, novel, etc., set in a time earlier than the main story

understatement

a statement that represents something as smaller or less intense, or less important than it really is

direct characterization

Describing characters outright by directly identifying their physical traits, personality, thoughts, and actions

foreshadowing

be a warning or indication of (a future event).