Download Literary Elements and Terms

Alliteration
 The repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words.
He sings a solitary song that
whistles in the wind.
Allusion
 A brief reference to a famous historical event or
literary writing.
"Five score years ago...." Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., used this in his “I Have a Dream
Speech.” This alludes to Abraham
Lincoln and the way he began his
“Gettysburg Address” by saying “Four
score and seven years ago….”
Assonance
 The repetition of vowel sounds in
neighboring words.
Her feet danced as she was sweeping
the street.
Bias / Propaganda
 Bias is a judgment or strong opinion based on a
personal point of view.
 Propaganda is a technique or tactic (such as emotional
appeal, bandwagon, repetition, testimonial) used to
influence people to buy or do something, or to
persuade them to believe as you do.
Characterization & Dialogue
 Characterization is the process of revealing a character
(personality, role, and appearance) in a story.
 Dialogue (speech of one or more characters’ between
themselves or their thoughts) is a key way to get
insight into the personality of a character.
“I say, my dear boy, won’t you kindly let me step into
the parlor on such a frigid day?” asked Uncle
Martin. This dialogue reveals Uncle Martin’s
character to be proper, polite, and a bit old-fashioned.
Genre
 A category used to classify literature, such as romance,
mystery, science fiction, poetry, etc.
Examples:
Lord of the Rings
Fantasy
Horror
Homophone
 Words pronounced alike that have different spellings
and/or meanings.
Examples:
flour
flower
heal
heel
Hyperbole
 An exaggeration.
I told you a billion times to keep
your bike out of the driveway.
His arms hung a mile out of his
sleeves.
Idiom
 A peculiar expression that cannot be taken
literally.
Let’s get on the ball.
Break a leg!
Imagery
 Language that evokes any of the five senses: hearing,
taste, touch, smell, sight. (Example from After Apple Picking, by
Robert Frost)
Magnified apples appear and reappear,
Stem end and blossom end,
And every fleck of russet showing clear.
My instep arch not only keeps the ache,
It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round.
And I keep hearing from the cellar-bin
That rumbling sound
Of load on load of apples coming in.
Internal Rhyme
 Rhyming within a line.
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly
there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at
my chamber door.
Irony
 An implied difference between what is said
and what is meant. Three kinds of irony:
 1. verbal irony is when an author says one thing and means
something else.
2. dramatic irony is when an audience perceives something
that a character in the literature does not know.
3. irony of situation is a discrepency between the expected
result and actual results.
 Example:
"A fine thing indeed!" he muttered to himself.
Literal vs. Figurative
 Literal – conveying an exact and accurate meaning
through words; true to fact
The sun was really shining brightly this morning.
 Figurative – language that cannot be taken literally as
it is written to create a special effect or feeling;
metaphoric or representative speech
The sun was smiling like a proud parent upon the
children of the Earth.
Metaphor
 The comparison of two unlike things.
He is a pig.
You are my sunshine.
Mood
The emotional feeling or
atmosphere generated in a
writing.
Tone
The attitude a writer takes
toward a subject or character in
his/her writing.
Tone example:
 Why am I here? he found himself wondering about
life. I am a good kid, Dylan thought. He sat silent and
wondered about the things really weighing on his
mind. In the hours of quiet meditation, Dylan realized
he was afraid of the future. All of his friends knew
what they wanted to be, and he had no idea what he
would do with his life. His older brother was already
excelling in Princeton, and even his kid sister was an
aspiring ballerina who wanted to study music. Dylan's
parents had chosen their professions straight out of
college and were both pretty successful.
Tone example:
 1. The overall tone of the language portrays Dylan as
 A.
pretentious
 B.
compassionate
 C.
generous
 D.
contemplative
Onomatopoeia
 A word that imitates the sound it represents.
Bang
Splash
Kerplunk
Oxymoron
 Putting two contradictory words together.
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
A small crowd had gathered.
Personification
 Giving human qualities to animals or
objects.
The sun was smiling on us today.
Which line contains
personification?
Vinnie passes the girls in the hallway
They look like flowers giggling in May
Their eyes sparkling like diamonds
All in their own constellations
Vinnie looks at the janitors
Sweeping the floors in silence
Sometimes a smile slips through
And they watch Vinnie watch them
Plot
 Storyline which contains
Exposition, Conflict, Rising Action,
Climax, Falling Action, Resolution
Point of View
1st person
I was going to the mall.
2nd person
You were going to the mall.
3rd person
They (he/she) were going to the mall.
Satire
A literary tone used to ridicule or
make fun of human vice or
weakness.
Simile
 The comparison of two unlike things using
like, as, or than.
He eats like a pig.
I wandered lonely as a cloud.
My fingers were colder than ice
cubes.
Symbolism
 An object that represents a thought or idea.
Symbolism – sample question
 Dion woke up to his alarm on Saturday morning with
the usual feelings of gloom and apprehension. Unlike
the kids who got to sleep in or watch morning
cartoons, Dion dreaded Saturdays. On Saturdays, he
had to go see Grandfather Gene, the most obstinate
person in the world.
Grandfather Gene's resilient habits included using a
hammer when eating crab, going barefoot on the
coldest days of winter, and barking at anyone who
knocks on his door. Any attempts to break his habits
were met with a gruff “I can do whatever I want.”
Symbolism – sample question
 The grandfather is a symbol of
 A.
bad eating habits
 B.
disappointment
 C.
stubbornness
 D.
exhaustion.
Theme
 The main idea or insight or lesson that an
author is trying to convey in his/her writing.
The theme of the movie The Wizard
of Oz is that there is no place like
home.
Theme – sample question
 One of the themes of the story “To Build a Fire” by Jack
London was
 A.
 B.
 C.
 D.
Watch where you mine for gold.
Listen to your elders.
Don’t try to kill your dog.
Snow shoes made out of tennis racquets don’t
work.
Syntax
Difficult would be it read to
the if words order out were
of.
Synonym vs. Antonym
Synonyms are words that mean the same.
Loud –
Bright –
Antonyms are words that mean the opposite.
Flat –
Annoying –