English II EOC Literary Terms

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1. alliteration repetition of consonant sounds in words 19. metaphor a figure of speech comparing two unlike
that are close to one another (usually at things without using like, as, or than
beginning of words)
20. mood the feeling in a literary work (AKA
2. allusion a reference to a statement, person, place, atmosphere)
event, or thing that is known from
21. motivation the reason for or forces behind the action
literature, religion, mythology, politics,
of a character
sports, science or popular culture
22. narrative The telling of a story or an account of an
3. analogy comparison of two things to show that
event or series of events.
they are alike in certain ways
23. onomatopoeia the use of a word whose sound imitates or
4. anecdote short account of an incident (often a
suggests its meaning
biographical one)
24. paradox an apparent contradiction that is actually
5. archetype a character type, plot, or theme that
true
occurs frequently in literature and myth
and is thought to appeal in a universal way 25. parallel the structure required for expressing two or
to the unconscious and to evoke a structure more grammatical elements of equal rank
response; a pattern or model 26. personification a kind of metaphor in which a nonhuman
6. connotations all the meanings, associations, or emotions thing or quality is talked about as if it were
that a word suggests human

7. dialect a way of speaking that is characteristic of a 27. pun a play on multiple meanings of a word or
particular region or group of people on two words that sound alike but have
different meanings
8. direct used to tell directly what a character is like
characterization 28. purpose in literature, one's intention or objective in a
speech or piece of writing
9. dramatic irony occurs when the audience or reader
knows something important that a 29. refrain a repeated word, phrase, line or group of
character does not know lines

10. exaggeration overstatement (AKA hyperbole) 30. repetition the repeated use of the same word or word
pattern as a rhetorical device
11. external a character struggles against some outside
conflict force (which may be another character, 31. rhetoric describes the principles governing the art
society as a whole, or some natural force) of writing effectively, eloquently, and
persuasively
12. flashback a scene in a movie, play, short story, novel,
or narrative poem that interrupts the 32. simile figure of speech that makes a comparison
present action of the plot to tell what between two seemingly unlike things by
happened at an earlier time using a connective word such as like, as,
than
13. foreshadowing the use of clues to hint at what is going to
happen later in the plot 33. situational occurs when what actually happens is the
irony opposite of what is expected or
14. hyperbole a figure of speech that uses exaggeration
appropriate
to express strong emotion or create a
comic effect 34. soliloquy a long speech in which a character who is
usually alone onstage expresses his or her
15. idiom an expression whose meanings cannot be
private thoughts or feelings
inferred from the meanings of the words
that make it up 35. symbolism a device in literature where an object
represents something beyond itself, often
16. imagery language that appeals to the senses
an idea
17. indirect method of describing a character which
36. theme the central idea or insight of a work of
characterization allows the reader or audience to exercise
literature
his/their own judgment
37. tone the attitude a writer takes toward the
18. internal conflict a struggle between opposing needs,
reader, a subject, or a character
desires, or emotions within a single
character
38. understatement a figure of speech that consists of saying less than what is really meant or saying something with less force than is
appropriate
39. unreliable a narrator whose account of events appears to be faulty, misleadingly biased, or otherwise distorted
narrator
40. verbal irony occurs when a writer or speaker says one thing but really means something different, often the opposite of what
is said