Characters & Story Elements
Depth of a Story
Style
Word Choice
Comparisons & Critique
100

a "second self"

Alter Ego

100

“Story within a story”; usually, the "hidden story" has something to do with politics, religion, morality, or other deeper topics that are sometimes more difficult to explain outright.

Allegory

100

When something is left up to interpretation by the author or creator of the film

Ambiguity

100

Words or phrases that are spelled the same both forward and backward

Palindrome

100

Making a comparison between two unlikely things without the use of “like” or “as”

Metaphor

200

Details provided that give insight into the character

Characterization

200

A symbolic image or idea that appears frequently in a book, film, or story--can be symbols, actions, ideas, or words

Motif

200

When the audience knows something that the characters do not (the characters may arrive at an unexpected outcome, but the audience probably predicted it)

Dramatic Irony

200

When the same word is repeated at the end of sentences or clauses

Epistrophe

200

The use of humor, irony, or exaggeration to critique

Satire

300

An idea, symbol, theme, or characterization that is usually seen as a universal truth

Archetype

300

A reference to something else

Allusion

300

A way of presenting ideas or arguments to an audience in a way that convinces or persuades them

Rhetoric

300

Word choice or phrasing in any written text or spoken script

Diction

300

A rhetorical device used to make comparisons between two things that are not similar.

Example: “My mama always said “life is like a box of chocolates–you never know what you’re gonna get.”” (Forrest Gump)

Analogy

400

Giving human qualities to inanimate objects or things

Personification

400

Giving the audience hints or clues about what is to come in the book, story, or film

Foreshadowing

400

The close placement of two things–usually to highlight their differences

Juxtaposition

400

Words that sound like what they describe

Onomatopoeia

400

A comparison using the words “like” or “as”

Simile

500

Can be created with the use of description and can be explored by seeing what the scene reveals about the story or the subject

Mood

500

The central idea, topic, point, or meaning of a story

Theme

500

An extreme exaggeration

Hyperbole

500

The feel of a piece of writing or a film that is created by the style or voice used

Tone

500

A work that is created with the intention of imitating, to make fun of, or to critique the original work

Parody

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