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Literary Terms Master List (scroll down for further grades) Grade 9 Terms

Alliteration Protagonist/Antagonist

Allusion Pun

Aside Resolution

Atmosphere/mood Rhyme

Characterization Rhythm

Characters - Flat/Round, Dynamic/Static Rising action

Climax Sarcasm

Compare/Contrast Setting

Conflict Internal/External/Central Simile

Dynamic/Static character Slang

Euphemism/Idiom Soliloquy

Falling action Stereotype

Flashback Symbol

Foreshadowing Synonym

Homophones/Homonyms Theme

Hook Thesis

Hyperbole Imagery

Inform/Persuade/Entertain Introduction

Irony Dramatic Irony Situational Irony Verbal

Major/Minor Character Metaphor

Myth

Narrator/Author/P.O.V. (differentiate and learn basics of 1st and third person)

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Grade 10 Terms Grade 11 terms

Allegory Dialect

Analogy Diction

Anecdote Extended metaphor

Assonance/Consonance/Dissonance Hamartia

Bias Major Appeals –logos,pathos.ethos

Character foil Methods of development

Cliché Metonymy

Colloquialism Motif

Connotation/Denotation Paradox

Elegaic Parallel Structure

Propaganda Pathetic Fallacy

Prose Reliability of narrator

Repetition Rhetorical Devices

Satire Rhetorical Question

Parody Style (of writing, of author)

Sonnet Synecdoche

Stanza Syntax

Summary Tragic hero

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OLC4O

Term: Definition:

Alliteration

The use of the same beginning sounds in a series of words. This poetic device is used to add a melodious effect, e.g. sleepy students snore while testy teachers teach.

Allusion

An implied reference to something from history, mythology, religion, literature, pop culture or other bodies of knowledge, e.g. hit by Cupid’s bow.

Aside

In drama (plays), a few words or a short passage spoken in an undertone or to the audience. By convention the aside is presumed inaudible to other characters on stage.

Assonance The close repetition of the same vowel sounds between different_{consonants, e.g.}_{His shirts}_a_{re ch}_a_lk-white_a_nd_a_ll_a_like_.

Atmosphere/mood

the mood, atmosphere, and feeling of a text, the intangible quality which appeals to extra sensory as well as sensory perception. For example, the mood at the beginning of Hamlet is tense and

apprehensive, or even "jumpy."

Characterization

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Characters: Flat/Round, Dynamic/Static

A round character seems real and is revealed to the reader in considerable detail. By contrast, a flat character is not well

characterized, and the reader does not know much about him/her. A Dynamic character is a character that changes or undergoes some form of developement throughout a narrative. This

development is often the key feature of the protagonist. A static character, by contrast, does not develop or change. Flat

characters are often static, and dynamic characters must, in a sense, be round characters.

Climax The part of a narrative at which a crisis is reached and resolution_ensues.

Compare/Contrast

A method of development in which something is compared and contrasted to something else (or multiple other things). The purpose is often to better understand the item in question.

Conflict

Internal/External/Central

In a narrative, conflict is a tension between two elements. Conflict may be internal, as in between a character and him/herself, or external, as in between two different characters, or between a character and nature/society. The central conflict is the main conflict of a narrative. There may be said to be 6 distinct forms of conflict: Person v.s Self, Person v.s Person, Person v.s Society, Person v.s Nature, Person v.s Technology, Person v.s

Supernatural.

Dynamic/Static character

A dynamic character changes, or undergoes some sort of development. The protagonist is often a dynamic character. A static character does not change or develop.

Euphemism

The substitution of a mild and plesant expression for a harsh and blunt one, such as "to pass away." Euphemism is often figurative, and not literal.

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Flashback any scene or episode in a play, novel, story, or poem which is_{inserted to show events that happened at an earlier time.}

Foreshadowing

an indication, suggestion, or hint that a particular event will

happen at a later point in the literary work. Not to be confused with a "red herring" (foreshadowing that leads you astray)

Homophones/ Homonyms Words that are pronounced in the same way, and words that are written in the same way. Homonym is the same as homograph.

Hook an artistic technique, usually occuring at the beginning of a work_{or section, that effectively "grabs" the reader's attention.}

Hyperbole Exaggeration for humorous or dramatic effect, e.g., _{died laughing}_. she nearly

Idiom A form of expression where the meaning is not the grammatical or_{logical one; a figurative, not literal expression.}

Imagery

The creation, through specific words and phrases, of sensory images in the reader's mind. Imagery is most often visual,

appealing to the sense of vision, but can also appeal to our sense of smell, touch, taste, and vision.

Inform/Persuade/

Entertain Examples of the purpose of a text or narrative

Introduction

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Irony Dramatic

when the reader or the audience knows more about the situation than a character or several characters; the effect is often

humorous or dramatic

Irony Situational When there is a contrast between what happens and what was_{expected (or what would seem appropriate).}

Irony Verbal When what is meant is the opposite of what is said. Similar to_sarcasm.

Major/Minor Character Characters in texts may be major, minor, or somewhere in_between

Metaphor An implied comparison between two unlike things. Metaphors do_{not contain like or as,}_{e.g., she’s a brick.}

Myth

In general, a myth is a story which is not 'true' and which involves supernatural or super-human beings. Myth is often concerned with creation, and explains how something came to be.

Narrator/Author/P.O.V. (differentiate and learn basics of 1st and third

person)

Point of view is the perspective from which a narrative is told. The main povs or types of narrators are 1st person (I got out of bed, and then I ate breakfast), 3rd person limited (narrator tells the story by saying 'he' and 'she', but does not know everything, such as the thoughts of characters), and 3rd person omniscient (where the narrator is all-knowing)

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Oxymoron A figure of speech in which two contradictory terms are combined_{to emphasize their significance, e.g.}_{fiery ice, sweet sorrow.}

Personification

A literary device in which human qualities or actions are attributed to inanimate objects, e.g. the foghorn moaned. Human notions can also be used to represent abstract qualities, things or ideas, e.g. justice is a blindfolded woman holding a scale, Mother Country, Father Time.

Plot the plan, design, and pattern of events in a narrative. Plot is the_{sequence of what happens.}

Protagonist/Antagonist The protagonist is the main character of a work, and the antagonist is the character that opposes the protagonist.

Pun The humorous use of words that sound the same. e.g. _{black and white and red (read) all over? A newspaper.}What’s

Rhyme Scheme The rhyme scheme refers to the arrangement of rhyming words in_{a poem. The rhyme scheme can be fixed or variable.}

Rhythm the effect created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed_{syllables and the duration of syllabls.}

Rising action The part of a play or narrative the precedes, or comes before, the_climax

Sarcasm

Sarcasm is a harsh or bitter remark or taunt where what is literally expressed is not what is meant. Often sarcasm may be a form of verbal irony.

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Simile A direct comparison between two unlike things using _than_, e.g_{., “Life is like a mountain.”} like, as, or

Slang Slang is informal language. It is the "language of the street."

Soliloquy

(Drama)Soliloquy is a speech, often fairly long, in which a character, alone on the stage, expresses his thoughts and feelings.

Stereotype a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a_{particular type of person or thing:}

Symbolism The use of a concrete object to stand for an abstract or more_{complicated idea, e.g.,}_{a lion symbolizing courage}_.

Synonym A word that has the same or a very similar meaning as another_word

Theme

the theme is the central idea of a work. As opposed to a simple subject or topic, the theme may be understood as 'a statement about a topic'

Thesis

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Grade 10 Terms & Definitions

Allegory

An allegory is a story with a double meaning: a primary or surface meaning, and a secondary or under the surface meaning (symbolic meaning). The story can therefore be read at two levels (or in some cases multiple levels). Animal Farm is a good example of an allegory, in which the animals on the farm allude to political history.

Analogy A way of explaining something by comparing it to something else

Anecdote A brief account of or story of an individual or an incident, used often to_{illustrate a point or to entertain}

Assonance/Consonance/ Dissonance

Assononce: the repetition of similar vowel sounds, usually in words that are close together, to ahieve a particular effect of sound. Consonance: The close repetition of identical sonsonant sounds before and after differetn vowels (slip - slop, creak - croak). Dissonance: the

arrangement of cacaphonous (disagreeing, harsh mixture) sounds in words for particular effect

Bias A tendency to be strongly for or against something.

Character foil

A person (different character) or thing that contrasts with and exmphasizes the qualities of another. Protagonists often have

character foils (other characters or things that help the characterization of the protagonist through contrast with the foil)

Cliché

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Colloquialism

A colloquial word, phrase, or expression is one in everyday use in speech and writing. It is informal, everyday language, plain and

relaxed. Example: "The man, a dodgy customer with a hifty look in his eye, was clearly up to no good."

Connotation/Denotation

The denotation is the literal, Dictionary Definition of a word. The connotation is the meaning that "comes with" the context; it is the implied meaning. Connotation is often understood as either negative, positive, or neutral, but may really be quite specific.

Elegy (adjective form elegiac)

An elegy is a sad poem, often composed for someone who is deceased.

Propaganda

Propaganda is a text, work, or content that is devoted to the spreading of a particular idea or belief. Related to "propagate" - to promote. The term propaganda was originally taken from the latin congregatio de propaganda fide, which was the title of a 1622 committee of the Roman Church responsible for foreign missions and the dissemination of the faith

Prose

Derived from the latin proversa oratio meaning straightforward

discourse. Prose is a direct form of language, ordinarily used in speech and writing. Unlike poetry or verse, it is not restricted by rhythm, rhyme, etc.

Repetition

Repetition is a device used to accentuate and unify texts. Many different types of things may be repeated, such as sounds, words, phrases, stanzas, ideal, allusions, metaphors, etc.

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Parody A work (writing, music, tv clip, etc.) that deliberately copioes the style of_{another work in order to be amusing/entertaining/satirical}

Sonnet A poem of 14 lines using a fixed rhyme scheme

Stanza A group of lines forming the basic unit in a poem. It is to poetry like a "paragraph" is to prose.

Summary a brief statement of the main points of something

Tragedy