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Literary Terms
Literary Terms that will be on the exam
26
English
10th Grade
01/09/2010

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Term
Exposition
Definition
Is background information on the characters and setting. The EXPOSITION may also explain what happened before the story began. 
Term
Rising Action 
Definition
series of events that leads to the climax of the story.
Term
Climax/crisis
Definition
The story's highest point of interest. 
Term
Falling Action 
Definition
the falling action in a work of literature is the sequence of events that follows the climax and ends in the resolution. 
Term
resolution or denouement
Definition
the series of events that follow the plot's climax. It is the conclusion or resolution of the story. 
Term
Point of View
Definition
a way the events of a story are conveyed to the reader; it is the "vantage point" from which the narrative is passed from author to the reader. 
Term
conflict/complications
Definition
problem within the story; the four types are internal, external, supernatural, and societal. 
Term
setting
Definition
the time, place, physical details, and circumstances in which a situation occurs. Settings include the background, atmosphere or environment. 
Term
characterization
Definition
how an author brings a character to life. Characterization is the physical appearance, actions, speech, and behavior of a character, and his or her interaction with other characters. 
Term
flashback
Definition
an interruption in the narrative to show something that happened before. 
Term
foreshadowing
Definition
hints an author gives related to the story. 
Term
mood
Definition
a feeling the story creates in the reader.
Term
tone
Definition
the author's attitude towards the subject, characters, and reader. 
Term
dialogue
Definition
a conversation between characters.
Term
symbols/symbolism
Definition
person, place, thing, or event used to stand for something abstract in the story. 
Term
irony
Definition
referring to how a person, situation, statement, or circumstance is not as it would actually seem. Many times it is the exact opposite of what it appears to be. There are many types of irony, the three most common are verbal, dramatic, and situational. 
Term
analogy
Definition
a comparison of ideas or objects that are completely different, but are alike in one important way. 
Term
personification
Definition
a figure of speech where animals, ideas, or inorganic objects are given human characteristics.
Term
simile
Definition
a comparison between two objects using like or as. 
Term
metaphor
Definition
a comparison between two things without using like or as (saying one thing IS or another). 
Term
imagery
Definition
involves one or more of your five senses (hearing, taste, touch, smell, sight). An author uses a work or phrase to stimulate your memory of those senses. 
Term
hyperbole
Definition
an extravagant exaggeration. It is a figure of speech that is a grossly exaggerated description or statement. In literature, such exaggeration is used for emphasis or vivid description.  
Term
antagonist
Definition
a character in a story or poem who deceives, frustrates, or works against the main character or protagonist in some way. It necessarily doesn't have to be a person. 
Term
protagonist
Definition
main character or lead figure in a novel, play, story, or poem. 
Term
euphemism
Definition
an inoffensive or indirect expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive or too harsh. 
Term
figure of speech 
Definition
a rhetorical device that achieves a special effect by using words in distinctive ways. 
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