Hercek Midterm Review

Alliteration

repetition of the same sound at the start of a series of words in succession

Allusion

a reference to a well-known person, character, place, or event that a writer makes to deepen the reader's understanding of their work

Antagonist

a person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another; opponent; adversary

Antithesis

a contrast between two things

Aside

on or to one side

Assonance

repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together in a sentence or verse

Characterization

the act of creating and describing characters in literature

Conflict

a struggle or clash between opposing forces/ideas

Dialogue

a conversation between two or more people

Diction

the choice and use of words in writing or speech

Dramatic Irony

when the audience knows more than the character

Euphemism

substitution of a mild or pleasant expression for one that is too strong or unpleasant

Exposition

introduction or beginning of a story that reveals important background information

Figurative Language

words or phrases that are meaningful but not literally true

Flashback

a transition in a story to an earlier time, that interrupts the normal chronological order of events

Foreshadowing

alludes to a later point in the story

Genre

a category that authors use to describe the primary content and tone of their writing

Hyperbole

obvious and intentional exaggeration

Imagery

uses vivid description that appeals to a readers' senses to create an image or idea in their head

Juxtaposition

act of placing two elements, characters, settings, ideas, words, or things side by side, or close together, to allow for comparison and/or contrast

Metaphor

Used to make a comparison without “like” or “as”

Mood

an emotional state of mind or feeling

Motif

an image, sound, word, or symbol that comes back again and again

Onomatopoeia

naming of a thing or action by imitation of natural sounds

Oxymoron

a figure of speech that combines contradictory words with opposing meanings

Personification

representation of a thing or idea as a person or by the human form

Plot

cause‐and‐effect sequence of main events in a story

Point of View

refers to who is telling a story, or who is narrating it

Protagonist

character who drives the action--the character whose fate matters most

Repetition

using the same word or phrase over and over again in a piece of writing or speech

Resolution

the conclusion of the story by the resolving of conflicts between characters

Rhyme

a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words

Rhyme Scheme

a poet's deliberate pattern of lines that rhyme with other lines in a poem or a stanza

Setting

the time, place, and environment in which a story occurs

Simile

a comparison between two things, usually using the words “like” and “as”

Situational Irony

irony of something happening that is very different to what was expected

Soliloquy

the act of talking to oneself

Speaker

the author's persona or perspective

Stereotype

clichéd or predictable characters or situations

Suspense

audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict

Symbol/Symbolism

(figure of speech in which) an object, a person, a situation, or an action that is used to represent something.

Theme

the main idea or underlying meaning a writer explores in a novel, short story, or other literary work

Tone

reveals the narrator's attitude as conveyed by their specific word choice

Verbal Irony

a statement in which the speaker's words are incongruous with the speaker's intent