Literary Elements
Hinting at what will happen in a story before it happens
What is foreshadowing?
"Thunder flashed in the storm cloud outside as Elizabeth sat waiting for her lover to return."
What is foreshadowing?
The central claim of an argument with at least one supporting reason
What is a thesis statement?
A word that represents a sound
What is onomatopoeia?
Thud
Creak
Clang
What is an onomatopoeia?
Showing what a character is like through their thoughts, feelings, actions, words, etc.
What is characterization?
"Thomas said nothing as Janet screamed at him, waiting with hands clasped together in his lap, blinking slowly."
What is characterization?
The reliability, accuracy, and validity of a source
What is credibility?
Comparing two unlike things use "like" or "as"
What is a simile?
"Like the wind, she ran with speed and grace."
What is a simile?
The author's message to the reader or the moral of the story
What is theme?
"Good will conquer evil"
"All is fair in love and war"
"Be true to yourself"
What is theme?
A writer's distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression
What is diction?
Giving an inanimate objects thoughts/feelings or anatomy
What is personification?
"The stars winked in the night sky."
What is personification?
A narrator or speaker's way of seeing the world
What is perspective or point of view?
Students think "it's not that deep."
Mrs. Rochford knows it is ALWAYS "that deep."
What is perspective/point of view?
Sentence structure (order of words, combination of clauses, etc.)
What is syntax?
Comparing two things without using like or as (stating one thing IS another)
What is a metaphor?
"The roses of her cheeks glowed in the midday sun"
What is metaphor?
Language that evokes one of the five senses--sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, etc.
What is imagery?
"The wind whistled through the trees, buffeting the leaves and sending the scent of pine wafting on the breeze."
What is imagery?
"Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals--sounds that say listen to this, it is important."
What is an example of syntax?
A figure of speech that carries an additional meaning, often "untranslatable"
What is an idiom?
"Break a leg"
"Piece of cake"
"Hold your horses"
What is an idiom?