Literary Terms
to create pictures in the mind of the reader that suggest certain feelings
What is... imagery
stated clearly in the text; straightforward
What is... explicit
a feeling of a word such as positive, negative, or neutral
What is... connotation
a vivid illustration created with words
how an author builds and presents a character to the reader
What is... characterization
making the issue seem less important or severe than it really is
What is... understatement
to use direct quotes or indirect paraphrasing to support a claim
What is... cite
the dictionary definition of a word
What is... denotation
beliefs or views from a person who is knowledgeable in a certain area
What is... expert quote
does not change throughout the story
What is... static character
a feeling of anxious uncertainty about the outcome of events in a literary work
What is... suspense
to state something believed to be true; a position or thesis
What is... claim
a group of lines in a poem
What is... stanza
to show similarities and differences
What is... comparison
experiences a significant internal change
What is... dynamic character
the form of a language spoken by people in a certain region
What is... dialect
to break down information into parts to understand what it means or how it works
What is... analyze
perspective from which a story is presented OR
author’s position on or belief about a topic
What is... point of view
a scenario to help the reader relate to or understand something
What is... example
complex character with many angles about them
What is... round character
a brief story about an interesting or amusing event that adds context and understanding to the text
What is... anecdote
inferences or claims made by the reader based on close examination of the text (the result of analyzing)
What is... analysis
writer’s selection of words to convey a feeling
What is... word choice
a piece of data from a study (usually %)
What is... statistic
character with little to no complex personality
What is... flat character