Literary Terms Study Guide

50 question study guide

Plot

The structure of a story; the sequence in which the author arranges the events of the story

Exposisition

The presentation of essential information regarding what has occured prior to the beginning to the piece of literature

Setting

The time and place in which a story unfolds

Point of view

The perspective used in a piece of work and is referred to either as first person 2nd person or omniscient

Conflict

Occurs when the protagonist is opposed by some person or force in the story

Rising action

Follow the exposition and leads up to the climax; a series of events that builds suspense

Climax

The decisive moment in a drama; the turning point of the story in which the rising action leads

Falling action

The series of events which take place after the climax

Resolution

The part of the story or drama which occurs after the climax and which establishes a new form, a new state of affairs- the way things are going to be from then on

Flashback

A reference to an event which took place prior to the beginning of a story or a play

Foreshadowing

A method used to build suspense by providing hints of what is to come

Genre

A literary type or form

Satire

A piece of literature designed to ridicule the subject of the work

Anecdote

A very short tale told by a character in a literary work

Allegory

A story illustrating an idea or a moral principle in which objects take on symbolic meanings

Allusion

A reference in one literary work to a character or theme found in another literary work

Characterization

The method a writer uses to reveal the personality of a character in a literary work

Protagonist

Hero or central character of a literary work

Antagonist

A person or force that opposes the protagonist in a literary work

Foil

A character in a play who sets off the main character or other characters by comparison

Dialogue

Conversation between characters

Soliloquy

A moment when a character is alone and speaks his or her thoughts out loud

Monologue

Moment when a character speaks his or her thoughts aloud, with people around

Aside

A device in which a character in a drama makes a short speech which is heard by the audience but not by other characters in the play

Figurative language

In literature, a way of saying one thing and meaning something else

Diction

An author’s choice of words

Connotation

Unspoken, emotional or assuming definition

Denotation

Dictionary definition

Style

How authors create meaning: figurative language, diction, sound effects and other literary devices in order to determine this

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

Aliteration

Used for poetic effect, a repetition of the initial sounds of several words in a group

Onomatopoeia

A literary device wherein the sound of a word echoes the sound it represents

Ambiguities

A statement which can contain two or more meanings

Analogy

The comparison of two pairs which have the same relationship

Metaphor

A figure of speech wherein a comparison is made between two unlike quantities without the use of “like” or “as”

Simile

A comparison between two unlike quantities for which a basis for comparison is found, and which uses the word “like” or “as”

Hyperbole

A figure of speech in which an overstatement or exaggeration occurs

Understatement

A statement which lessens or minimizes the importance of what is meant

Imagery

A word or group of words in a literary work which appeal to one or more of the senses

Personification

A figure of speech in which something nonhuman is given human characteristics

Anthropomorphism

Animals given human like characteristics

Synecdoche

When one uses a part to represent the whole

Rhyme Scheme

The order in which rhyming words occur in a poem or song

Juxtapose

Two concepts placed adjacent for the reader to compare and contrast them

Inference

A judgement based on reasoning rather than on direct or explicit statement

Stereotype

An author’s method of treating a character so that the character is immediately identified with a group

Dramatic Irony

The contrast between what the character thinks and what the reader knows

Verbal Irony

The contrast between what is said and what is meant

Situational irony

The contrast between what happened and what was expected

Topics

1-2 words to describe a subject

Theme

An ingredient of a literary work which gives the work unity; it provides an answer to the question what is the work about

Symbolism

A device in literature where an object represents an idea

Mood

The atmosphere or feeling created in a literary work, partly by a description of the objects or by the style of the descriptions

Tone

Expresses the author’s attitude toward his or her subject