Short Story & Poetry Review (copy)

Study these flashcards to review before the formative quiz.

Theme

• Universal truth/message

• Must be written as a complete sentence

• No character names or events

• No personal pronouns (you)

• No advice

• No cliches (overused sayings)

Example: One theme in “Seventh Grade” is that unexpected outcomes can lead to unexpected happiness.

Point of View

• 1st Person: The narrator uses personal pronouns such as I, me, we, and my, and the reader hears the story based on the narrator’s personal experiences in the story.

• 2nd Person: The narrator uses the pronoun you, and the reader feels as if the narrator of the story is speaking directly to her or him.

• 3rd Person: The narrator uses pronouns like he, she, they, and them, and the narrator is not a character in the story.

Demonstrative Pronouns

• This

• That

• These

• Those

Example: Those are my shoes.

Line

A single row of text in a poem (not always a complete sentence)

Stanza

A paragraph of lines in a poem (group/section of text)

Rhyme Scheme

A pattern that appears when the last word of a line rhymes with another word at the end of a line (ex. ABCB)

Example: The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation
And it looks like I'm the queen

Simile

Comparing two things using the words “like” or “as”

Example: She was as quiet as a mouse.

Metaphor

Comparing two things without using the words “like” or “as”

Example: He was an angry bear.

Personification

Giving a non-living thing human-like characteristics

Example: The rain danced on my umbrella.

Sensory Details

Details that help readers understand a story by appealing to their senses:

• Sight (ex. The sunset was a mix of bright orange and yellow hues)

• Sound (ex. I could hear the soft BZZZZ sound coming from the hive of bees)

• Taste (ex. The sour, tangy taste of the lemon coated my tongue)

• Touch (ex. I could feel the sharp pain sting the back of my head as the child pulled my hair)

• Smell (ex. The stench of the dirty diaper that was sitting in the pile of garbage from three weeks ago made me vomit)