Literary Terms

plot

Sequence of events in a story

Rising action

events that lead to the climax

climax

Highest part of the novel/ turning point of rising action

falling action

events that are a result of the climax

setting

where and when did the story take place?

characters

flat- an undeveloped character

round- a fully developed character

dynamic- a character who undergoes internal change

static- a character who does not change internally

tone

mood; emotion of the story

theme

reoccurring idea throughout the story

point of view

1st person- Limited- only know the thoughts and feelings of the narrator who is also a character in the story

3rd person- limited - only know the thoughts and feelings of some characters.

omniscient- all knowing; the reader knows the thoughts and feelings of all characters

Conflict

problem

internal- man vs himself

external -man vs man

man, vs society

man, vs nature/environment/ technology

irony

When you say one thing but mean the opposite

allusion

a reference to something

aphorism

short saying with general truth

foreshadowing

when a story gives hints about what will happen later

enjambment

carrying of thoughts from one line to another

Caesura

a sudden stop that breaks the rhythm of a poem

Rhyme

likeness of sound

end rhyme

occurs at the ends of lines of poetry used to determine rhyme scheme

internal rhyme

occurs within a line of poetry

slant rhyme

forced rhyme

masculine rhyme

single stressed syllables that share the same sound

feminine rhyme

matches two syllables with the same sound

triple rhyme

matches three syllables with the same sound

alliteration

repetition of initial consonant sounds

assonance

repetition of vowel sounds

consonance

repetition of consonant sounds

repetition

repeating a phrase or word for emphasis

refrain

a phrase that is used at regular intervals throughout the poem

cacophony

sounds that are deliberately unpleasant

euphony

a series of pleasant sounds

onomatopoeia

a word that represents the sound