A
A major character who opposes the main character in a story or play.
Protagonist
The means by which an author describes the appearance and personality of a person in a story or play.
Characterization
The point of view of a piece of writing in which the narrator refers to himself as “I.”
First Person Point of View
The use of words that sound like what the mean.
Onomatopoeia
Giving an inanimate object human characteristics.
Personification
The repetition of first consonants in a group of words.
Alliteration
The point at which the action in a story or play reaches its emotional peak.
Climax
Language that does not mean exactly what it says.
Figurative Language
A comparison that does NOT use “like” or “as.”
Metaphor
The main character of a novel, play, or story.
Protagonist
A reference to something or someone, often literary.
Allusion
To explain how things are alike.
Compare
A story that illustrates a moral, often using animals as the characters.
Fable
A long speech by one character in a play or story (that everyone is supposed to hear).
Monologue
The action of the story that summarizes the plan of the main story.
Plot
The overall feeling of a work, related to tone and mood.
Atmosphere
The elements that create a plot. This can be internal or external.
Conflict
A technique in which an author gives clues about something that will happen later in the story.
Foreshadowing
A legend that embodies the beliefs of people and offers some explanation for natural and social phenomena.
Myth
A comparison that uses “like” or “as.”
Simile
A story in which the characters represent abstract qualities or ideas.
Allegory
To explain how things are different
Contrast
A long poem narrating the adventures of a heroic figure.
Epic
A phrase made up of two seemingly opposite words.
Oxymoron
A question not meant to be answered.
Rhetorical Question