clep

tone

author/speaker’s attitude

mood

feeling created for the reader

theme

deeper message or main idea

imagery

sensory descriptions using sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch

metaphor

comparison without like or as

simile

comparison using like or as

allusion

reference to another story, person, event, religion, mythology, history, or text

irony

opposite of what is expected

speaker

voice/person talking, especially in a poem; not always the author

structure

how the passage is organized

narrator

the person or voice telling the story

point of view

who is telling the story, such as first person or third person

purpose

why the author wrote the passage

context

surrounding details or situation that help explain meaning

personification

giving human traits to nonhuman things

symbolism

something represents a deeper idea

hyperbole

extreme exaggeration

understatement

making something seem less important than it is

paradox

a statement that seems contradictory but has truth

oxymoron

two opposite words together, like “deafening silence”

stanza

a group of lines in a poem

line break

where a line of poetry ends

enjambment

a sentence continues onto the next line of poetry

rhyme scheme

pattern of rhymes in a poem

meter

rhythm pattern in poetry

repetition

repeated words or phrases for emphasis

couplet

two lines together, usually rhyming

sonnet

a 14-line poem, often about love, time, beauty, or death

elegy

a poem mourning death or loss

ode

a poem praising something or someone

lyric poem

a short emotional poem

alliteration

repeated beginning consonant sounds

assonance

repeated vowel sounds

consonance

repeated consonant sounds

onomatopoeia

words that imitate sounds, like buzz, boom, or crash

euphony

smooth, pleasant sound

cacophony

harsh, unpleasant sound

plot

events of the story

conflict

main stuggle or problem

characterization

how a character is revealed

protagonist

main character

antagonist

opposing force or person

setting

time and place

foreshadowing

hints about what will happen later

flashback

scene from the past

motif

repeated idea, image, phrase, or symbol

allegory

a whole story that represents a bigger meaning

satire

criticism using humor or ridicule

dialogue

characters speaking

monologue

one character gives a long speech

soliloquy

a character speaks their thoughts aloud, often alone

aside

character speaks to the audience; other characters “don’t hear”

stage directions

instructions for actors in a play

dramatic irony

audience knows something characters do not

comedy

usually humorous and often ends happily

tragedy

serious drama that usually ends in downfall, suffering, or death

diction

word choice

syntax

sentence structure

style

autor’s way of writing

rhetorical question

question asked for effect, not an actual answer

aphorism

short wise saying

euphemism

softer way to say something harsh

juxtaposition

placing opposites side by side

ambiguity

more than one possible meaning

connotation

emotional meaning of a word

denotation

literal dictionary meaning of a word