Literary Terms
An educated guess based on what you already know and what is in the text.
What is an inference?
A group of lines in a poem (like a paragraph).
What is a stanza?
What needs to be changed about the following sentence to make it correct?
"Amadeus Mozart was a brilliant composer he was said to be a perfectionist too."
What is "A brilliant composer, Amadeus Mozart was said to be a perfectionist"?
The process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.
What is characterization?
A figure of speech comparing to unlike things without using like or as.
What is metaphor?
A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader.
What is foreshadowing?
Number of beats (syllables) per line.
What is rhythm?
What needs to be changed about the following sentence to make it correct?
Because of the hurricane warning, everyone "sat inside and talked about the game around the dining room table."
What is "sat inside, around the dining room table, and talked about the game"?
A character with little to no complex emotions, motivations, or personality. They also don't undergo any kind of change.
What is a flat character?
A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes.
What is personification?
Using a person, object or idea to borrow everything it represents and apply it to something else.
What is symbolism?
The repetition of a word or phrase in consecutive sentences, lines, or stanzas.
What is anaphora?
What needs to be changed about the following sentence to make it correct?
The "patients" in the front room were given their flu shots.
What is no change?
A character who contrasts with another character
What is a foil?
Words or phrases appealing to one or more of the five senses in order to create a mental picture.
What is imagery?
What the author mostly wants you to know in part of a text. Must be one sentence long and not include anything word-for-word from the text.
What is theme?
The repetition of consonant sounds in words to create a sound effect.
What is consonance?
What needs to be changed about the following sentence to make it correct?
When "someone has" been drinking, they are more likely to speed.
What is "drivers have"?
A character who undergoes significant internal change throughout the course of a story
What is a dynamic character?
The use of words that imitate sounds.
What is onomatopoeia?
A story in which each aspect of the story has a symbolic meaning outside the main story itself.
What is an allegory?
The repetition of vowel sounds without repeating consonants; sometimes called vowel rhyme.
What is assonance?
What needs to be changed about the following sentence to make it correct?
"Greg only threw the shot put" twenty feet.
What is "Greg threw the shot put only"?
A type of character who remains largely the same throughout the course of the storyline
What is a static character?
Writing or speech that is used to create vivid impressions by setting up comparisons between dissimilar things.
What is figurative language?