Literary Terms 9th Grade

These are 20 common literary terms we will discuss frequently in this class.

Simile

A comparison using "like" or "as" (e.g., "as brave as a lion").

Metaphor

A direct comparison saying one thing is another (e.g., "Time is a thief").

Personification

Giving human qualities to non-human things (e.g., "The wind whispered").

Alliteration

Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words (e.g., "Peter Piper picked").

Hyperbole

An extreme exaggeration for effect (e.g., "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse").

Onomatopoeia

Words that imitate sounds (e.g., "buzz," "clang").

Imagery

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses (e.g., "The golden sunset warmed the sky").

Symbolism

Using symbols to represent ideas or qualities (e.g., a dove representing peace).

Situational Irony

When the opposite of what is expected happens or is meant (e.g., a fire station burns down).

Foreshadowing

Hints or clues about what will happen later in the story.

Flashback

A scene that takes the story back in time to explain something.

Dialogue

Conversation between characters.

Tone

The author’s attitude toward the subject or audience.

Mood

The feeling or atmosphere the reader experiences.

Theme

The main message or lesson of a story.

Allegory

A story with two meanings: a surface story and a deeper symbolic meaning.

Allusion

A reference to another work, person, or event.

Oxymoron

Two opposite words put together (e.g., "jumbo shrimp").

Pun

A play on words that have similar sounds but different meanings.

Repetition

Repeating words or phrases for emphasis.

Dramatic Irony

A situation in which the audience knows something that the characters do not, creating tension and engagement.

Verbal Irony

A figure of speech where a person says one thing but means another, often sarcastically.

Prose

Written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure, used in novels, essays, and everyday speech.