Literary Elements

Theme

The main idea of a literary/artistic/visual work

Setting

When and where the work takes place

Description

Explaining the appearance of a noun (person/place/thing)

Characterization

Describing the character's personality/thoughts/actions/etc.

Protagonist

Main character portrayed as the hero

Antagonist

Main character who goes against the protagonist; a villain

External Conflict

When a character is struggling against an outside force (person, creature, animal, or natural disaster)

Internal Conflict

When a character is struggling within oneself

Simile

Comparison of two unlike things using 'like' or 'as'

Metaphor

Comparison of two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'

Flashback

Recalling a past memory

Foreshadowing

Hints or clues that tell what will happen later in the work

Onomatopoeia

A word that represents a sound

Allusion

Referring to something from the past (historic, biblical, literary, etc.)

Illusion

A visual illustration of something that is not really there

Personification

Giving human-like attributes to non-humans (living/non-living)

Repetition

Repeating the same word, phrase, or line

Alliteration

Repeating the same consonant sound

Assonance

Repeating the same vowel sound

Irony

Appearance vs reality ('it appears that . . . but in reality . . .')

Motif

A recurring thematic element in a specific genre

Paradox

Something that contradicts itself

Synesthesia

Mixing of the senses

Soliloquy

In plays, when a character is thinking to him/herself; no one knows what he/she is thinking except the audience

Hyperbole

An exaggeration

Elision

In poetry, taking away a letter and adding an apostrophe to preserve a poetic flow

Symbolism

Using words, people, objects, abstract ideas, etc. to represent something beyond the literal meaning

Imagery

Descriptive language that engages the five senses

Epic Poem

A long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds

Legend

A popular story based on some historic truth that is passed down from generation to generation

Kenning

A compound expression in Old English and Old Norse poetry with metaphorical meaning