Literary Elements Allusion The reference to a wellknown

Literary Elements

Allusion • The reference to a well-known work of literature, famous person or historical event.

Antagonist • The person of thing working against the protagonist

Characterization • The method an author uses to reveal characters and their personalities.

Static Character • One whose personality and values don’t change in the story

Dynamic Character • One whose personality and values do change in the story.

Round Character • One who has many dimensions to his/her personality

Flat Character • A stereotyped character (dumb blonde, school nerd, etc) • One personality trait

Direct Characterization • The author directly tells about the character.

Indirect Characterization • The character is revealed through his/her actions, dialogue, or what others says about him/her

Conflict • The problem or struggle in the story between the antagonist and the protagonist. It triggers the action in the story • Man vs man, man vs society, man vs self, man vs nature, man vs supernatural, man vs fate/destiny

Climax • Usually the most intense point in a story. It is the moment the conflict is resolved

Figurative Language • Language that interprets ideas beyond the ordinary, literal (real) meaning.

Figurative Language Examples • Simile – comparison using like or as of two unlike things • Metaphor – a comparison not using like or as of two unlike things • Personification – giving human qualities to nonhuman things

Flashback • Returning to an earlier time for the purpose of making something more clear

Foreshadowing • Giving hints or clues of what is to come later in the story

Hyperbole • An exaggerated statement

Imagery • Descriptive words or phrases that create sensory experiences (appealing to the five senses) for the reader.

Irony • Situational – when there is a contradiction between what is expected to happen and what actually happens. Sometimes the contradiction is an unlikely coincidence.

More Irony • Dramatic – when the reader or the audience sees a character’s mistakes but the character does not. • Verbal – when the writer says one thing and means another

Mood • The feeling a text arouses in the reader: happiness, peacefulness, sadness, gloom, fear, frustration, humor

Plot • The sequence of events in a story which include an exposition (introduction), rising action, climax, falling action, resolution

Point of View • The Vantage point from which a story is being told.

1 st Person Point of View • the teller of the story is in the story – uses I, me

3 rd Person Point of View • the teller of the story is not in the story – uses he, she, they – Omniscient – all knowing, the narrator knows more about the characters and events than any one character can know – Limited – the narrator tells only the thoughts and feelings of one character

Protagonist • The main character in a story. It is the character whose story the reader follows.

Repetition • Using the same word or phrase more than once for impact and effect.

Rhyme Scheme • The pattern of end rhyme in a poem which can be charted as a, b, c etc.

Setting • The time and place of the story • Includes time of day, year, season, etc.

Sarcasm • The use of praise to mock someone or something

Satire • Making fun of human vice or weakness often using humor, sarcasm, or exaggeration in an attempt to change the weakness

Speaker • The narrator of poetry

Stanza • A grouping of lines that form a unit of poetry • A stanza is to a poem like a paragraph is to an essay

Sound Devices • Alliteration – the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of a word. • Example: The big, beefy bull.

Sound Devices • Assonances – The repetition of the same vowel sounds. • Example: The scattering of crabs.

Sound Devices • Consonances – the repetition of the same consonant sounds within the word. • Example: The little battle

Sound Devices • Rhyme – the repetition of the same sounds at the ends of words. • Example: The cat in the hat.

Symbolism • A person, place, thing, or event in a story used to represent something else.

Theme • A statement of message about life that the author is trying to teach the reader. When writing theme, don’t refer to characters in the story.

Tone • The overall feeling or attitude of the writer about his/her subject. It is the writer’s voice.