Grade 8 Literary Terms
What does Imagery mean
Words that paint a picture that appeal to your five senses
What does mood mean
Emotional response of the reader to the text
What does personification mean
A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes
Simile
A figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with 'like' or 'as')
Metaphor
Uses two nouns and compares or contrasts them to one another without using "like" or "as"
Symbol
An image that means something more than is shown
Allusion
Reference to a statement, person, place or event from literature, mythology, history, the Bible or the arts.
Details
Facts revealed by the author or speaker that support the attitude or tone of the literary work.
Archetype
A type of character, action, situation or pattern that occurs over and over again in lterature.
Motif
A recurrent element in a literary work such as a pattern or strand of imagery or symbolism.
Anecdote
A brief account of an interesting event intended to entertain or make a point.
Epiphany
A sudden striking realization or understanding of something; an "ah ha" moment.
Theme
A central message or insight into life revealed through a literary work; a univeral lesson about life or human nature.
Irony
A contrast between appearance and reality; usually one in which reality is the opposite from what it seems. When one thing is expected to happen or be and the exact opposite occurs
Repetition
A device in which words, sounds and/or ideas are used more than once to enhance rhythm and to create emphasis devices in
Emphasis
Giving importance or special significance to certain aspects of a story; emphasis is created through repetition, abundant detail, contrast and mechanical devices.
Satire
Writing that ridicules something, often in order to bring about change; satire can poke at a person, a group of people, an attitude or a social situation.
Pun
A play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply different meanings; used for serious or comic effect.
Idiom
An accepted expression that has a figurative rather than a literal meaning.
Paradox
A statement that seems to contradict itself, but in reality expresses a possible truth.
Oxymoron
A form of paradox that combines a pair of opposite terms into a single unusual expression.
Hyperbole
A deliberate, extravagant and often outrageous exaggeration used for either serious or comic effect.
Cliche
A saying that is so common it is no longer interesting; many similes, metaphors, and idioms are cliches.