Glossary of Literary Terms

Glossary of Literary Terms

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U W XYZ

Allegory – (11th Grade) An allegory is a story in which its parts - characters, setting, etc. - should also be understood as having a second, deeper meaning. Allegory is first taught with the tenth grade play The Crucible. Other allegories include the 11th grade novel Lord of the Flies and the 12th grade novel Animal Farm.

Alliteration – (8th Grade) Alliteration is the repetition of the first letter: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Allude / Allusion – (8th Grade) a reference to another story or poem: a reference to another well-known work of art. In the story "Go On or Die", Harriet Tubman is called “the Moses of her people”. In this way, the story refers to the Bible’s story of Moses, who led his people out of slavery. The most common allusions are to the Bible, to Shakespeare, or to Greek Mythology.

Allude is the verb form: The author alludes to the story of Moses.

Allusion is the noun form: The author has made an allusion.

Ambiguity – (10th Grade) is writing in which the author leaves something unclear on purpose. doesn’t tell the reader what to think about but instead

Analogy – (10th Grade)

Anecdote – (8th Grade) is a short story that makes a point; a very short story that serves as an example.

Antagonist – (8th Grade) the person who is against the main character in the story: the “bad guy”

Anthropomorphism – (10th Grade)

Antonyms – (8th Grade) words that mean nearly the opposite of each other

Article – (9th Grade) See Newspaper Genres

Aside – (9th Grade) An aside is when an actor speaks to the side - as though he was talking to himself. The other characters on stage ignore the speaker, as though they can't hear him. We study aside when we read Romeo and Juliet.

Autobiography – (8th Grade) a life story written by the person whom the story is about, such as "The Dogs Could Teach Me" by Gary Paulsen or "Camp Harmony" by Monica Stone

Ballad – (8th Grade) a poem or song that tells a story such as "Paul Revere's Ride", "Barbara Frietchie", or "Cremation of Sam McGee"

Biography – (8th Grade) a true story of someone’s life. In Eighth grade, we read such biographies as "Go On or Die" and Anne Frank.

Blank Verse – (9th Grade) poetry with out rhyme or meter. See examples.

Cadence – (10th Grade) a rhythm in writing

Canto – (11th Grade) Sometimes a long poem is divided into sections called cantos. These are like a chapters in a novel.

Carpe Diem – (11th Grade) Latin phrase meaning “seize the day” - to grab life right now. It's one of the ideas held by Romantics.

Catalog, Poetic – (10th Grade) a list that appears in a poem. The most famous examples can be found in the poetry of Walt Whitman.

Character – (8th Grade) the people or animals in the story (or occasionally, objects - see The Brave Little Toaster).

Characterization – (8th Grade) the techniques used by a writer to reveal the personality of a character.

Chronological Order – (8th Grade) writing in the order that it happened. This is a typical way to construct a story or an essay.

Cliché – (11th Grade) A cliché something that has been done so many times that most people are tired of it: the villain ties the hero's girlfriend to the railroad tracks. Clichés can also be phrases that we've heard over and over again: the bad guy says to the hero, "We're not so different, you and I". Avoid clichés like the plague.

Climax – (8th Grade) See Plot

Comedy – (9th Grade) Early drama was divided into comedy, tragedy, and history. A comedy ended with a happy ending, such as a couple marrying.

Comic Relief – (9th Grade) In a tragedy or serious drama, writers sometimes include a bit of comedy to give the reader or viewer some relief from the seriousness of it all.

Complications – (8th Grade) See Plot

Conceit – (10th Grade)

Concrete Poem – (10th Grade)

Conflict – (8th Grade)

External conflict describes a situation in which a character struggles against people or things around him. It can be one of two types:

Character vs. Character: the character must deal with an enemy or a competitor. In the story "Raymond's Run", the main character, Squeaky, is a racer who has to deal with Gretchen, another girl who is very fast. Squeaky also has to deal with other kids who make fun of her brother.

Character vs. Environment: the character must deal with the challenges of society or nature.

Internal conflict describes a situation in which the character must deal with a problem that exists inside himself or herself: a bad attitude, a disease, alcoholism, or perhaps a decision the character must make. It is sometimes called:

Character vs. Self: In the story "Raymond's Run", the main character is a character named Squeaky, a girl who has a negative attitude about other people. In the story, she learns that many people really aren't so bad.

Connotation – (8th Grade) The "feeling that a word carries with it, something beyond the dictionary definition. The word odor means a smell, but it often carries a negative connotation - the smell isn't pleasant.

Couplet – (9th Grade) a rhyming pattern in poetry in which pairs of lines rhyme - see examples.

Denouement – (10th Grade) (day-new-MAHN)

Deus ex Machina – (11th Grade) The phrase Deus ex Machina is Latin for "The god out of the machine." It refers to a story ending that is sudden or fake. Today, people like stories in which the characters solve their own problems. People today tend to believe the ending to be "Cheap" if the cavalry suddenly arrives and saves everyone. Many years ago, however, the Romans would have plays where the characters got into more and more trouble until they couldn't possibly get themselves out of it. Then the play would end when an actor playing god would be swung down on a crane (the "machine"). The god would then solve all their problems for them.

Dialect, Slang, and Jargon – (12th Grade) These terms are introduced with the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.

A dialect is any distinct variety of language used by a group of specific people, especially if that variety is difficult for outsiders to understand. Examples in English would include language used in a specific area (Hillbilly English or Southern English) or language used by a specific ethnic group (Cajun English or Ebonics, also called African American Vernacular).

Slang is very informal language. It is often more playful than Standard English. Slang may change rapidly.

Jargon is usually associated with an occupation or a specific area of study, etc. Examples would include computer jargon, military jargon, medical jargon, etc.

Dialogue – (8th Grade) Dialogue is the conversation between characters in a story. In ordinary prose, the writer encloses the words spoken in quotation marks. Mark said, "This has been my best summer ever." Typically, a writer also begins a new paragraph with each new speaker.

Diary – (8th Grade)

Diction – (8th Grade)

Didactic – (9th Grade)

Direct quotations – "Go On or Die"

Drama – (10th Grade) a story intended to be acted on the stage; a play. It usually involves conflict between characters. Typically, the written drama consists of dialogue and stage direction. The drama can also lack dialogue, in which case it is called a pantomime. The play may be written in either prose or verse. The characters' names are typically listed at the beginning of the piece.

Dramatic monologue – (10th Grade)

Editorial – (9th Grade) See Newspaper Genres

Elegy – (11th Grade)

Epic – (9th Grade) A long, heroic story written in verse with the following characteristics:

Epic Hero: The main character of the epic is a physically impressive hero of national or historical importance; he or she becomes larger-than life figure; the main character is usually male. The epic hero embodies the ideals of a nation or race.

The plot will focus on heroic deeds and events important to a culture or nation, such as the founding of the country; a series of great achievements or events; or a quest or journey undertaken in search of something important

A vast setting taking in much of the known world and sometimes the Land of the Dead

The epic is written in a formal, elevated style.

Epitaph – (11th Grade)

Epithet – (10th Grade)

Essay – (8th Grade) a short writing on a particular theme or subject. It usually is structured with an introduction, supporting arguments, and a conclusion.

Exaggeration – (8th Grade) "The Cremation of Sam McGee"

Exposition – (8th Grade) See Plot

Expository Text – (10th Grade) writing that mostly explains or conveys information. This term in introduced just before reading Of Mice and Men.

External Conflict – (8th Grade) see conflict

Fable – (8th Grade) Legend and Tall Tale Unit

Farce – (10th Grade)

Feature Article – (11th Grade) See Newspaper Genres.

Fiction – (8th Grade) A story that is fiction is one that is made up; nonfiction is true. Remember: Fiction is Fake.

Figure of Speech – (8th Grade)

Flashback – (8th Grade) The play Anne Frank begins long after most of the action takes place. Mr. Frank arrives at their hiding place after the war is over. When he finds Anne's diary, he begins to remember and the rest of the play is a flashback.

Foil – (9th Grade) A character that is contrasts another character. For example, if the main character is a coward, then the foil will be extremely brave to contrast him. Romeo and Juliet unit.

Folk Tale – (8th Grade) Legend and Tall Tale Unit

Foot, Poetic – (10th Grade)

Foreshadowing – (8th Grade) Foreshadowing is little hints about what's going to happen. In Roald Dahl's short story, "The Landlady", the main character seems to remember the other names in the guest book, and seems to remember that something nasty happened to them. The reader should also wonder if something nasty is going to happen to him.

Frame Story – (8th Grade) When most of a story consists of a long flashback, the beginning and ending parts are called the frame story. The central story could also be a tale told by one of the characters. For example, the 8th grade story "The Inn of Lost Time" begins and ends with two unemployed samurai stopping at an inn, where one of them a story about his youth. The play Anne Frank begins and ends years after most of the events have taken place. In the senior novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the main character Janie tells her life story to a friend.

Free Verse – (8th Grade) verse free of rhyming or meter - the poet essentially writes however he or she wants without restrictions. See examples.

Genre – (8th Grade) (ZHAWN-ruh) different types of writing or drama: fiction or nonfiction; western, romance, action, or science fiction; essay or tall tale; sonnet or haiku.

Haiku – (9th Grade)

Hyperbole – (9th Grade) [hi-PERR-bo-lee]

Iambic Pentameter – (9th Grade)

Imagery – (8th Grade) Language that appeals to the senses. First taught with the story "Mrs. Flowers", 1st quarter.

Consider, for example, Edwin Robinson’s poem “The House on the Hill”. The poet appeals to the senses of vision and sound when he writes:

Through broken walls and gray

The winds blow bleak and shrill

In Media Res – (11th Grade) Sometimes a writer chooses to begin a story in the middle of the action or on the verge or an important moment. This strategy is called in media res.

Interior monologue – (10th Grade)

Internal Conflict – (8th Grade) see conflict

Internal rhyme – (10th Grade)

Inversion – (8th Grade)

Irony (9th Grade) Irony occurs when there is a clash between two things:

When what is expected and what results clash, it is called situational irony. One would expect that a kidnapped child would be frightened and his kidnappers would be cruel, but this is the opposite of what is encountered in O. Henry's tale, "The Ransom of Red Chief".

When what is said clashes with what is meant, it's called verbal irony.

When the reader or viewer knows something that the character does not, it is called dramatic irony. The great suspense-film director Alfred Hitchcock said there's no suspense in putting a bomb under a character's chair unless everyone in the audience knows it's there and the character doesn't. That's a great example of dramatic irony.

Jargon – (11th Grade) See: Dialect, Slang, and Jargon

Kenning (11th Grade) Used in the Beowulf unit.

Legend, Myth and Tall Tale (8th Grade) Legend and Tall Tale Unit

A legend is a story handed down orally amongst a particular people, but unable to be proven as historical. The tales of King Arthur are famous examples.

A myth is a story concerned with gods and goddesses, and often tries to explain some natural event, such as the rising of the sun, the birth of the world.

A tall tale is a story with great exaggeration. Paul Bunyan is probably the greatest American example.

Letter to the Editor – (9th Grade) See Newspaper Genres

Limerick (8th Grade) A six-line poem with a specific rhythm. They are usually funny and often dirty. See examples.

Lyric – (8th Grade) a type of poetry that is like a song, especially one that pours out the poet's thoughts and feelings

Magic Realism – (9th Grade)

Marginalia – (11th Grade) are notes, scribbles, and editorial comments made in the margin of a book. People mark up books to help them learn and remember relevant information. Traditional marginalia include corrections, explanations of hard words and obscure passages, references to sources, and illustrative examples. Expressions of opinions were rare: like editors, annotators seem to have been expected to suppress private views in the interest of cumulative scholarship. Modern readers in contrast to late medieval reading only add personal reactions to the reading of the text. Some readers engage in argument with the books they read, or express distaste for or disapproval of them.

Memoir – (11th Grade) is the story of a significant moment in the writer's life told from a mature, reflective standpoint. They are narrations which have many elements of an essay: "While memoirs tell stories about one's own life, they are occasions in which the writer reflects on her life, tries to make sense of it in the present. To this extent, memoirs are also like essay--they attempt to make a point." Writing Memoirs. Community Writing Center. http://www.slcc.edu/wc/community/memoir.pdf See also this.

Metamorphosis – (8th Grade)

Metaphor – (9th Grade) A comparison in which an object or person is said to be something else.

For example, when Romeo stands beneath Juliet's balcony, he says:

But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun

Here, Juliet is said to be the sun despite the fact that she has nothing physically in common with a nuclear furnace hundreds of thousands of miles away. See also Simile.

Meter – (8th Grade) Meter is a rhythmic pattern, a regular and controlled repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables. See examples.

Monologue – (8th Grade)

Motif – (11th Grade) a repeated design or pattern

Motivation – (8th Grade)

Myth – (8th Grade) See Legend, Myth and Tall Tale

Narration – (8th Grade)

Narrative poem – (8th Grade)

Newspaper Genres – (9th Grade) Newspaper genres are studied in the To Kill a Mockingbird unit.

News Article – (9th Grade) Articles in a newspaper typically run on the front page or in the front page section. Its purpose is to present an unbiased presentation of the story. It may be written by a staff member of the newspaper or it may have been purchased from another news agency, such as the Associated Press. It typically features a headline, a byline, and a dateline.

Letter to the Editor – (9th Grade) typically, a letter to the editor is obvious that it contains personal opinion; usually ends with the name and town of the writer; usually appears on the back pages of the front-page section. The writer of a letter to the editor is not paid, but writes only to express his or her opinion.

Editorial – (9th Grade) A newspaper editorial obviously contains personal opinion; it could be written by the staff of the newspaper or it could be written by a commentator paid by the newspaper. Typically, editorials appear on the back pages of the front-page section.

Feature Article – (11th Grade) is an article in a newspaper or magazine that places emphasis on people or social issues rather than facts and hard news. The feature article is taught during the 11th grade Frankenstein unit.

Nonfiction – (8th Grade)

Nonfiction Narrative – (9th Grade) A non-fiction narrative tells a true story in a lively, story-like fashion. The writer of a non-fiction narrative will use setting, characterization, and conflict in much the same way as a fiction writer would do.

Novel – (8th Grade) A novel is a fictional story that is longer than a short story; it cannot be read in a single sitting. It is usually published in book form.

Ode – (10th Grade)

Onomatopoeia – (9th Grade) [ON-oh MON-oh PEE-uh] the quality of a word that actually sounds like what it means - buzz, clink, etc.

Oxymoron – (11th Grade)

Parable – (9th Grade)

Paradox – (10th Grade)

Parallelism – (10th Grade) phrases or sentences that repeat a similar structure. See part "A" of error 12 for an example.

Parody – (9th Grade)

Pastoral – (11th Grade)

Personification – (8th Grade) When a writer gives the characteristics of a person to an animal, an object, or an idea, it is called personification. In the short story "There will come Soft Rains", the author writes about the house as though it were alive and had a personality.

Persuasion – (8th Grade)

Plot – (8th Grade) The events that take place in a story. Often these follow a specific pattern a seen below. See The Wizard of Oz as an example.

Exposition – the beginning of the plot that introduces the characters and their main problem

Complications – sometimes called "Rising Action" - Things start happening.

Climax – The part of the plot that has the most action, the crisis of the theme, often just before the end. In Anne Frank, the climax occurs when the Nazis discover the two families' hiding place.

Resolution – The problem gets resolved.

Poetry – (8th Grade) See examples.

Poetic Catalog – (10th Grade) a list that appears in a poem. The most famous examples can be found in the poetry of Walt Whitman.

Point of View – (8th Grade)

First Person – "Raymond's Run", "Mrs. Flowers", "The Dogs Could Teach Me"

Third Person –

Third Person Limited –

Third Person Omniscient –

Prose – (8th Grade) This is "normal" writing - writing in paragraphs. It is not poetry or drama.

Propaganda – (10th Grade) People call persuasive writing propaganda if they believe that its technique is deceitful, sly, or underhanded. To call something propaganda is to make a judgment about it. Propaganda can appear as fiction or nonfiction.

In nonfiction propaganda, the author will attempt to set forth an argument, but it will be tricky or overly one-sided.

In fiction propaganda, the author will typically use character-development to sway his reader or viewer: characters that oppose the author's position will be portrayed negatively, but characters that agree with the author's position will be portrayed positively.

Protagonist – (8th Grade) the main character, the character who the story is about; sometimes referred to as "the good guy."

Proverb – (10th Grade) Many examples of proverbs can also be found in Things Fall Apart.

Pun – (9th Grade)

Quatrain – (10th Grade)

Realistic Fiction – (9th Grade) Realistic fiction is an attempt to portray characters and events as they really could be. Realistic fiction includes stories that could happen in the real world, in a time and setting that are possible, with characters that are true to life. We first encounter the term Realistic Fiction when we begin To Kill a Mockingbird.

Rebuttal – (8th Grade) the portion of an essay or speech that acknowledges the opponent's position and gives evidence or argument against it. A rebuttal is required on the ACT essay.

Refrain – (9th Grade) A refrain is short group of words that repeats throughout a song, poem, or speech. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech makes heavy use of this strategy.

Resolution – (8th Grade) See Plot

Rhetorical Question – (10th Grade)

Rhyme Scheme – (8th Grade)

Rhythm – (8th Grade)

Rising Action – (8th Grade) See Plot

Romance – (9th Grade)

Satire – (10th Grade) Satire uses ridicule or scorn in a humorous way to expose vices. Satire is encountered just before reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; at this time we read as an example "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift.

Setting – (8th Grade) when and where the story takes place. it also refers to the mood created by the setting.

Short Story – (8th Grade)

Slang – (11th Grade) See: Dialect, Slang, and Jargon

Simile – (9th Grade) A comparison in which an object or person is said to be like something else.

For example, in To Kill a Mockingbird, the narrator tells that:

ladies bathed before noon, after their three o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft tea-cakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.

Here, the ladies are said to be like cakes to help the reader see how hot Maycomb could be and the routine of some of the women as they responded to the conditions. See also Metaphor.

Soliloquy – (9th Grade) (so LILL ick wee) a longer speech in a play in which a character appears to be talking to himself or herself. Notice the word's similarity to the word "solo".

Sonnet – (9th Grade) a type of poem with fourteen lines. Usually, this consists of four quatrains and a couplet. See details and examples.

Speaker – (8th Grade)

Standard English – (8th Grade)

Stanza – (8th Grade) a stanza is to poetry what a paragraph is to prose.

Stereotype – (8th Grade)

Stream of Consciousness – (10th Grade)

Style – (8th Grade)

Suspense – (8th Grade) a feeling of tension because the reader or viewer doesn't know what's going to happen. In the short story, "The Monkey's Paw" or "The Landlady", the reader feels suspense because he or she

Symbol – (8th Grade)

Contextual Symbols – (11th Grade) Author invents the symbolic relationship. Contextual symbols are studied in 11th grade while reading Lord of the Flies and in 12th grade while reading The Great Gatsby.

Universal Symbols – (11th Grade) Reader accepts the symbol as common knowledge (snake=evil, white=purity). Universal symbols are studied in 11th grade while reading Lord of the Flies and in 12th grade while reading The Great Gatsby.

Synonyms – (8th Grade) words with almost the same meaning, such as what we do in our vocabulary exercises.

Tall tale – (8th Grade) See Legend, Myth and Tall Tale

Theme – (8th Grade) Themes are the ideas explored in a work, rather than the events that happen during the story (which would be plot). Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The theme is the message of the story. See examples.

Tone – (8th Grade)

Tragedy – (9th Grade)

Understatement – (8th Grade)

Unreliable narrator – (8th Grade) Usually, when a narrator tells a story, the reader can trust what they say, but sometimes an author will trick readers by having a narrator that is mad, lies, or just has a strong point of view. The reader can't take it for granted that what the narrator says is the undeniable truth. We see this in the eighth-grade story, "The Tell-Tale Heart".

Vernacular – (10th Grade) the ordinary speech of regular people