Literary Terms for High School Students
I created this list for my high school students to use as review.
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Practice
Answer a few questions on each word. Get one wrong? We'll ask some follow-up questions. Use it to prep for your next quiz!
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Spelling Bee
Test your spelling acumen. See the definition, listen to the word, then try to spell it correctly.
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Vocabulary Jam
Compete head-to-head in real-time to see which team can answer the most questions correctly.
Explore the Words
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alliteration
use of the same consonant at the beginning of each word
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allusion
passing reference or indirect mentionA reference to a statement, person, place, event, or thing that is known from literature, history, religion, myth, politics, sports, science, or pop culture.
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anachronism
locating something at a time when it couldn't have existedExamples: the clock and book mentioned in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. In 44 B.C. there were no clocks; they used sundials to tell time. Also, there were no books; they used scrolls.
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antagonist
someone who offers oppositionThe character who comes into conflict with the protagonist in a literary work.
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assonance
the repetition of similar vowels in successive words
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ballad
a narrative poem of popular origin
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blank verse
unrhymed poetry, usually in iambic pentameter
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characterization
the act of describing essential featuresdirect characterization: where the author describes the character directly; i.e. john is a good soldier.
indirect characterization: where the author describes the character indirectly through actions, speech, appearance, private thoughts, or other characters responses. -
climax
the highest point of anythingThe most intense or exciting moment in the story when something happens to decide the outcome of the conflict.
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conflict
an open clash between two opposing groupsInternal Conflict: man vs. self
External Conflict: man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. society, man vs. the supernatural -
connotation
an idea that is implied or suggestedAll the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests.
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couplet
a stanza consisting of two successive lines of verse
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denotation
the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression
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denouement
the outcome of a complex sequence of eventsAKA resolution: the moment in a story where all problems are resolved, either happily or unhappily, and the story is closed (untying the knot)
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drama
a work intended for performance by actors on a stage
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enjambment
continuation from one line of verse into the next line
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epic
a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds
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exposition
a collection of things for public displayA type of writing that explains, gives information, or clarifies and idea.
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fiction
a literary work based on the imagination
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figure of speech
language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense
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flashback
a transition in a story to an earlier event or scene
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foreshadowing
the act of providing vague advance indications
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free verse
poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter
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hyperbole
extravagant exaggeration
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imagery
the ability to form mental pictures of things or events
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internal rhyme
a rhyme between words in the same line
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irony
incongruity between what might be expected and what occurs
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meter
a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in verse
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narration
giving an account describing a course of events
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nonfiction
prose writing that is not formed by the imagination
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novel
an extended fictional work in prose
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onomatopoeia
using words that imitate the sound they denote
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personification
attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas
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persuasion
communication intended to induce belief or action
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plot
a small area of ground covered by specific vegetation
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poetry
literature in metrical form
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point of view
a mental position from which things are perceived
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protagonist
the principal character in a work of fiction
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quatrain
a stanza of four lines
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rhythm
alternation of stressed and unstressed elements in speech
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satire
witty language used to convey insults or scorn
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scansion
analysis of verse into metrical patterns
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setting
the physical position of something
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simile
a figure of speech expressing a resemblance between things
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sonnet
a verse form of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme
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speaker
someone who expresses in languageThe voice that is talking to us in a poem.
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stanza
a fixed number of lines of verse forming a unit of a poem
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stress
the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note
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theme
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
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tone
the distinctive property of a complex soundThe attitude a writer takes toward the reader, a subject, or a character.
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triplet
one of three offspring born at the same time from the same pregnancy
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metaphor
a figure of speech that suggests a non-literal similarity
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didactic
instructive, especially excessivelydidactic literature: writing that aims primarily to teach (parables)
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symbol
something visible that represents something invisible
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soliloquy
speech you make to yourself
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end-rhymed
rhymed on the terminal syllables of the verses
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iambic
of metrical units having an unstressed/stressed patternuntressed, stressed syllable in a word: i.e. deny besiege
iambic pentameter: five iambs in a line of poetry (used in sonnets and Shakespeare's plays) -
dramatic irony
when the audience understands something the characters don't
Created on December 13, 2013
(updated December 13, 2013)
(updated December 13, 2013)