Literary Vocabulary

Imagery/Image

Descriptive language that evokes one or all of the five senses (seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, smelling).

Diction

Word choice; the purposeful use of certain words over others in writing.

Denotation

The literal, dictionary definition of a word.

Connotation

The associations or emotional overtones attached to a word aside from its literal definition.

Mood

The feeling or emotion created in a reader by a literary work.

Tone

The attitude of the author toward the subject.

Characterization

Developing a character’s personality through speech, thoughts, actions, etc.

Static vs

Static characters remain unchanged, while dynamic characters undergo significant transitions.

Foil Characters

Characters that contrast to highlight traits of another character.

Symbolism

When an object represents a larger idea.

Foreshadowing

Giving hints of future events in a story.

Irony

Situational, dramatic, or verbal contrasts between expected and actual outcomes.

Conflict

Internal or external struggles in a story.

Antithesis

Juxtaposition of contrasting ideas.

Oxymoron

Two contradictory words.

Paradox

A statement that seems contradictory but holds truth.

Theme

The author’s message about life, society, or human nature.

Metaphor

Comparing two unlike things with commonalities.

Simile

Explicit comparison using "like," "as," or "than."

Personification

Giving human qualities to inanimate objects.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration for emphasis.

Allusion

Direct or indirect reference to another work, person, or event.

Alliteration

Repetition of similar consonant sounds in neighboring words.

Assonance

Repetition of similar vowel sounds in neighboring words.

Cacophony

Jarring, harsh sounds in language.

Euphony

Pleasing, agreeable sounds in language.