Literary Terms

Question 1

Short Story

Answer 1

brief fictional story

Question 2

plot

Answer 2

events in the story

Question 3

theme

Answer 3

message or lesson

Question 4

setting

Answer 4

where and when the story takes place

Question 5

characterization

Answer 5

how a character is portrayed

Question 6

Direct characterization

Answer 6

the narrator tells us what the character is like “You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch!”

Question 7

Indirect characterization

Answer 7

we find out through dialogue, description of the character, and what others say

Question 8

Protagonist

Answer 8

main character

Question 9

antagonist

Answer 9

character that has a conflict with protagonist

Question 10

round character

Answer 10

many human traits t make a personality

Question 11

flat character

Answer 11

one personality trait-sterotype

Question 12

dynamic character

Answer 12

character who changes mentally by the end of the story

Question 13

static character

Answer 13

character who doesn’t change

Question 14

Irony

Answer 14

expectation vs reality

Question 15

verbal Irony

Answer 15

sarcastic remarks “I can’t wait to go to Ms. Bailey’s class to take notes!”

Question 16

situational Irony

Answer 16

something happens that isn’t expected =fire station burns down, power goes out, police station gets robbed

Question 17

dramatic Irony

Answer 17

the audience knows something that the character doesn’t. A killer is behind the shower curtain-victim walks into a bathroom.

Question 18

allusion

Answer 18

reference to history or culture that the author expects us to know

Question 19

conflict

Answer 19

problem

Question 20

Internal conflict

Answer 20

man vs. self(internal)
man vs. man(external)
man vs. nature(external)
man vs. society(external)
man vs. higher power/fate(external)

Question 21

point of view

Answer 21

perspective of the story

Question 22

first person

Answer 22

narrator uses

Question 23

third person omniscient

Answer 23

narrator is not in the story but knows everything

Question 24

third person limited

Answer 24

the narrator is not in the story but knows all things

Question 25

second person

Answer 25

"you", recipes, how-to guides, instructions

Question 26

foil

Answer 26

characters that are opposite of eachother

Question 27

simile

Answer 27

Comparison using Like or as "He was as fast as a cheetah"

Question 28

metaphor

Answer 28

Comparison not using like or as- "He was a cheetah on the field."

Question 29

personification

Answer 29

giving human traits to nonhuman objects

Question 30

flashback

Answer 30

past memories

Question 31

Foreshadowing

Answer 31

giving hints to what will happen in the future

Question 32

allegory

Answer 32

story with a moral or lesson/characters are symbolic and literal

Question 33

satire

Answer 33

making fun of weaknesses in society to prove a point

Question 34

mood

Answer 34

How does a story/reading makes the reader feel

Question 35

tone

Answer 35

the author's attitude toward his/her work

Question 36

imagery

Answer 36

language that appeals to the 5 senses

Question 37

symbolism

Answer 37

somethin that represents an idea or brief dove=peace, flag= patriotism, skull and crossbones=poison

Question 38

dialogue

Answer 38

conversation between characters

Question 39

Exposition

Answer 39

Background info in a story

Question 40

narrative hook

Answer 40

found in the exposition/ hooks the reader's attention so they want to keep reading

Question 41

rising action

Answer 41

events in story leaving to the climax of the conflict

Question 42

climax

Answer 42

the highest point of interest in the story-the Ah Ha moment

Question 43

falling action

Answer 43

events leading to the end of the story

Question 44

Resolution

Answer 44

the conflict is resolved at the end f the story. Not always a happily even after

Question 45

epic

Answer 45

long poem or story narrating a hero's deads and adventures

Question 46

hyperbole

Answer 46

extreme exaggeration."I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

Question 47

onomatopoeia

Answer 47

words that sound like the noise/sound effects "Oink" "Meow" "Bang" "Boom"

Question 48

soliloquy

Answer 48

long speech by a character on stage alone"thining aloud"

Question 49

suspense

Answer 49

the feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about something

Question 50

voice

Answer 50

authors use of lauguage to make the story unique

Question 51

Oxymoron

Answer 51

words that contradict each other (jumbo shrimp, pretty ugly, icy hot, small crowd, old news)

Question 52

Myth

Answer 52

traditional story concerning a history of a people explaining a natural event