Definitions I
Definitions II
Examples
Give me an example of...
Wait, these are literary terms?!
100

What is a symbol?

An object, person, image, situation, or action that represents a more abstract idea

100

What is setting?

The time and place in which a story takes place

100

Ms. Budnik is as busy as a bee grading all these literary analysis essays!

Simile: comparison using "like" or "as"

100

A sentence with a metaphor.

Comparison between two unlike things WITHOUT using "like" or "as"

100

A Foil

Type of character that is set in contrast of another

200

What is diction?

A writer's word choice

200

What is foreshadowing?

Hints and details within a narrative to help predict something that will occur later in the text

200

The students were dying when Ms. Budnik wouldn't plus add them to resource.

Hyperbole: an overstatement or exaggeration

200

A sentence with an allusion.

A reference to an outside source.

200

Hubris

An extreme amount of pride, arrogance, or overconfidence leading to a character's downfall

300

What is mood/atmosphere?

The feeling or emotional reaction of the READER when reading a text

300

What is tone?

The AUTHOR'S attitude towards their subject, character, or work as a whole

300

The story jumped off the pages and caught my attention just by the first sentence.

Personification: attributing human qualities to non-human entities 

300

A sentence or two containing detailed imagery.

The use of descriptive language to create mental pictures in the reader's mind.

300

Intertextuality

the relationship and commonalities between texts

400

What is a motif?

A reoccurring image, symbol, or idea that appears throughout a story

400

What is an epigraph?

A brief passage at the beginning of a text that sets the tone or theme of what comes after

400

Someone who loves the hot, sunny weather but gets sunburnt.

Irony: contrast between reality and expectations; incongruity between what is expected vs. what actually happens

400

A sentence or two containing a juxtaposition.

Contrasting two things that are placed side-by-side.

400

Dues Ex Machina

plot device where an external force resolves a seemingly insolvable conflict or problem

500

What is an allegory?

The abstract or symbolic representation a narrative has

500

What is interior monologue?

A writing technique that exhibits a character's thoughts, feelings, and associations occurring within their mind

500

If you don't risk anything, you risk everything.

Paradox: a statement that contradicts itself, but reveals a deeper truth or hidden meaning

500

A few sentences or a passage using anaphora.

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive sentences.

500

Analepsis

plot device that interrupts the chronological sequence of a narrative with a scene from the past

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