lit terms
1. Colloquialism
A word or phrase used in everyday speech and informal writing but inappropriate for formal situations.
2. Imagery
Language that creates a picture or sensory experience of a person, place, thing, or idea.
3. First-person POV
A character within the story tells the story (“I,” “me”).
4. Third-person limited POV
An unknown narrator tells the story but focuses on the thoughts/feelings of one character.
5. Figurative Language
Words that are inaccurate if taken literally but create comparisons (similes, metaphors, etc.).
6. Foil
A character who contrasts another character to highlight qualities (often the hero vs. a funny or dark opposite).
7. Allusion
A reference to something known from history, literature, religion, politics, etc.
8. Point of View
The vantage point from which the story is told.
9. Theme
The insight about life revealed in a literary work.
10. Stream of Consciousness
A style of writing portraying the chaotic inner workings of a character’s mind.
11. Objective POV
A narrator who tells events without revealing any characters’ thoughts or feelings.
12. Diction
A writer’s choice of words.
13. Omniscient POV
An all-knowing narrator who can tell thoughts and experiences of many characters.
14. Soliloquy
A long speech delivered by a character alone onstage.
1. Flat Character
A character with only one or two traits; one-dimensional.
2. Antagonist
The opponent who struggles against the protagonist.
3. Direct Characterization
The author directly tells what a character is like.
4. Objective POV
A narrator who reports events with no thoughts or feelings included.
5. External Conflict
A conflict between a person and another person, nature, machine, or society.
6. Characterization
The process by which the author reveals a character’s personality.
7. Static Character
A character who does not change throughout the story.
8. Figurative Language
Words that are inaccurate literally but used to describe.
9. Indirect Characterization
When the author shows personality through actions, speech, appearance, and interactions.
10. Conflict
The struggle between opposing forces in a story.
11. Dynamic Character
A character who changes significantly during the story.
12. Protagonist
The main character or hero of the story.
13. Third-person POV
Narrator is outside the story using “he,” “she,” or “they.”
14. Internal Conflict
A conflict inside a character’s mind.
15. Round Character
A character with multiple dimensions; complex and realistic.
1. Alliteration
Repetition of the same consonant sounds in nearby words.
2. Theme
The insight about life revealed in a literary work.
3. Situational Irony
When there is a difference between what is expected to happen and what actually happens.
4. Imagery
Descriptive language that appeals to the senses.
5. Juxtaposition
Placing two ideas side by side for contrast.
6. Cliché
An overused figure of speech that has lost meaning.
7. Connotation
Emotional associations or overtones attached to a word.
8. Hyperbole
Extreme exaggeration.
9. Allusion
A reference to something culturally known.
10. Characterization
The process by which a writer reveals personality.
11. Mood
The atmosphere created by diction and details.
12. Static Character
one who does not change
13. Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part represents the whole.
14. Irony
A discrepancy between appearances and reality.
15. Onomatopoeia
Words whose sounds suggest their meaning.
16. Verbal Irony
When someone says one thing but means another.
17. Symbol
A person/place/thing that represents itself and something deeper.
18. POV
The vantage point from which a story is told.
19. Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something the character does not.
20. Internal Conflict
Opposing forces within a character’s mind.