Literary Terms — Page 1

A glossary-style set of flashcards covering key literary terms from Page 1 notes.

Allusion

A reference in a text to a well-known person, place, event, or work of literature.

Detail

A factual item or element that describes something in the scene or text.

Sensory Detail (Imagery)

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses to create vivid mental pictures.

Point of View

The perspective from which a story is narrated (e.g., first person, third person).

Synecdoche

A figure of speech where a part represents the whole, or the whole represents a part.

Metonymy

A figure of speech where an associated name or attribute stands for what is actually meant.

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the start of successive clauses or sentences.

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line or stanza in poetry.

Plot Structure

The arrangement of events in a narrative, typically including exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution.

Narrative Structure

The overall organization of a story’s events and how they are presented to the reader.

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences; sentence structure.

Apostrophe

A speech in which a speaker directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or abstraction.

Simile

A comparison using like or as to link two unlike things.

Metaphor

A direct comparison stating that one thing is another.

Personification

Attributing human qualities to nonhuman things or abstract ideas.

Conceit

An extended, elaborate metaphor that compares two very different things.

Pun

A form of wordplay that exploits multiple meanings or similar sounds for humor or effect.

Tone

The author’s attitude toward the subject or audience.

Mood

The emotional atmosphere created for the reader.

Characterization

The process by which a writer reveals a character’s personality, through direct description or indirect means.

Motif

A recurring image, symbol, or idea that develops a theme.

Theme

The central message, insight, or underlying meaning of a text.

Setting

The time and place in which a story occurs.

Irony

A contrast between what is expected and what actually occurs; includes dramatic, situational, and verbal irony.

Understatement

A figure of speech that presents something as smaller or less important than it is; for effect.

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration for emphasis or humor.

Diction

The author's word choice, including level of formality and nuance.

Connotation

The implied or suggested meanings and associations attached to a word beyond its literal sense.

Paradox

A statement that seems self-contradictory yet reveals a truth.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines two seemingly opposite terms.

Symbol

An object, person, or figure that represents a larger idea or concept.

Zeugma

A figure of speech in which a single word governs or applies to multiple ideas, often in different senses.