Lit Terms 8th grade Larose

Climax

A decisive moment that is of maximum intensity or is a major turning point in a plot.

Mood

A prevailing emotional tone or general attitude

Irony

A contrast between what is expected and what actually exists or happens

Allusion

A reference to something literary, mythological, from popular culture or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize.

Resolution

The result of conflict in a literary work.

Exposition

The introductory material which gives the setting, creates the tone, presents the characters and presents other facts necessary to understanding the story.

Idiom

A figurative expression commonly owned

Foreshadowing

The use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot

Flashback

A scene or event from the past that appears in a narrative out of chronological order, to fill information or explain something in the present

Hyperbole

Extravagant exaggeration not meant to be taken literally, often a known expression

Denouement

Any material in a plot that follows the resolution and ties up loose ends

Prologue

The introduction to a literary work

Epilogue

Short concluding section in a literary work

Foreword

An introductory note, essay or chapter in a book that is often written by somebody other than the author

Simile

A comparison of two unlike things using like or as

Metaphor

A comparison between two unlike things WITHOUT using like or as

Personification

A figure of speech in which and object or animal is given human feelings thoughts or attitudes

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase

Complication

A intensification of the conflict in a story or play

Imagery

Description that appeals to the senses ( Sight, sound, smell , touch, taste)