Literary Terms Flashcards
(28 cards)
Plot
The action or sequence of events in a story. It is usually a series of related incidents that build upon one another as the story develops
Setting
The time and place in which the action of a literary work occurs
Conflict
The problem or struggle in a story that triggers the action
Types of conflict
Person v person
Person v society
Person v self
Person v nature
Characterization
The method an author uses to create believable people
Five parts to plot graph
Exposition Rising action Climax Falling action Resolution
Theme
The statement about life that a writer is trying to get across in a piece of writing
Dialogue
The conversation carried on by the characters in a literary work
Aside
Character is speaking to audience but characters on stage don’t hear it
Epic
A long narrative poem that tells of the deeds and adventures of a hero
Foil
Someone who serves as a contrast or challenge to another character
Foreshadowing
Giving hints or clues of what is to come later in a story
Genre
Refers to a category or type of literature based on its style, form, and content
Irony
Using a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of it’s literal or normal meaning
Imagery
The use of words to create a certain picture in the readers mind - usually based on sensory details
Satire
A literary tone used to make fun of human vice or weakness, often with the intent of correcting or changing the subject of the attack
Stereotype
A form that doesn’t change has no mold of that particular person
Symbol
A person, place, thing, or an event used to represent something else
Metaphor
A figure of speech that compares or equates two or more things that have something in common. Doesn’t use like or as
Comic relief
A short funny episode that interrupts an otherwise serious or tragic work of drama
Simile
A figure of speech using like or as to compare seemingly unlike things
Hyperbole
A figure of speech in which great exaggeration is used for emphasis or humorous effect
Personification
A figure of speech in which an animal, object, force of nature, or idea is given human qualities or characteristics
Mood
The feeling or atmosphere that an author creates in a literary work
