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9th Grade English End of Course Test Literary Terms
Literary terms which may be part of the EOC. (These terms may show up in test questions or in the answer
choices. Students must know these terms and their meanings.)
Plot: the sequence of events in a narrative work (story).
Exposition: the beginning of a story that introduces the characters, setting, and conflict.
Rising Action: the events which complicate the story and lead towards the climax of the story.
Climax: the highest point of interest and intensity in a story.
Falling Action: the events directly proceeding the climax and leading towards the resolution of the story.
Resolution: the outcome of a story.
Character: any of the people, animals, or forces which interact to create the plot of a story.
Round Character: a character who reveals various, and sometimes contradictory, personality traits.
Flat Character: a character who reveals only one character trait.
Dynamic Character: a character whose personality goes through a transformation in a story.
Static Character: a character whose personality remains unchanged throughout a story.
point of view: the viewpoint from which the story is told.
1st person point of view: a character WITHIN the story tells the story.
3rd person limited point of view: a character NOT IN the story tells the story, and the reader sees the thoughts
of ONE character.
3rd person omniscient point of view: a character NOT IN the story tells the story, and the reader sees the
thoughts of MORE THAN ONE character.
conflict: a struggle between opposing forces.
internal conflict: a struggle within oneself / one’s mind / one’s heart.
external conflict: a struggle between outside forces.
personification: giving human characteristics to NON-HUMANS.
irony: the difference between appearance and reality.
situational irony: reader and characters are surprised by the outcome / actions.
dramatic irony: reader knows more than characters know.
verbal irony: opposite of what is meant is said.
mood: the feeling or atmosphere the author creates in a story.
flashback: a literary device in which an earlier episode, conversation, or event is inserted into the chronological
sequence of a narrative.
tone: the reflection of the writer’s or speaker’s attitude towards his subject, communicated through words and
details that express a particular emotion/opinion; the attitude of the author, evident from the diction, use of
symbolism, irony, and figures of speech. (Tone can be described as playful, sad, happy, humorous, etc.).
direct characterization: the author or narrator makes direct statements about a character’s traits.
indirect characterization: the author or narrator reveals a character’s traits through his or her actions and
speech.
foreshadowing: the use of clues to hint at future events in a story.
theme: the main idea or message of a literary work. A theme is NOT the subject of the work, but an insight about
life or human nature that can be applied to the story, other stories, real life, etc.
figurative language: language used for descriptive effect
simile: a figure of speech using LIKE or AS to compare two unlike things.
metaphor: a figure of speech that compares or equates two unlike things by speaking of one as if it is the other.
protagonist: the central character in a literary work around whom the main conflict revolves.
antagonist: a person or force in society or nature that opposes the protagonist in a literary work.
In Medias Res: literally “to begin in the middle”; The Odyssey is an epic which begins IN MEDIAS RES.
Myth: A traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that portrays
the worldview of a people, as by explaining aspects of the natural world or delineating the
psychology, customs,
or ideals of society
allusion: A reference to a well-known person, written work, art piece, historical figure or event, etc. (EX: If you
keep playing basketball like that, you’ll be the next Michael Jordan.)
epithet: A term used to characterize a person or thing; A term used as a descriptive
substitute for the name or title of a person, such as The Great Emancipator for Abraham Lincoln.
Epic Poem: has these characteristics:
Length – so long that it cannot be read or performed in a single sitting.
Style – written in elevated language, does not conform to traditional poetic structure.
History – epic poems are written by poets who believe the story to be historically real.
Epic Hero – the main character is an epic hero.
Epic Hero: generally conforms to these details:
- is a character of noble birth
- receives a charge (e.g. from a god to complete a quest)
- completes a test (to test worthiness to complete said quest)
- enjoys the assistance of various mythical, human, or animal helpers
- is beguiled by a main antagonist, often supernatural
- travels to a magical/unreal world, unable to be visited by a normal human (e.g. the underworld or the world of the
gods)
- an escape from the quest/a low point (the hero questions the validity of his quest and seeks to escape from his
responsibility)
- a resurrection (either from being dead or from a dead-like state of mind, such as an unwillingness to
complete the quest, and may also be a hero who was thought to be dead who was rediscovered)
- a restoration (e.g. a king restored to his throne)
foil: a character with character traits directly opposite another character within the same literary work.
chorus: a character in Elizabethan drama which acts as the narrator, commenting on the action, etc.
prologue: the introductory lines of a literary work.
dialogue: direct conversation between two or more characters.
pun: a play on words.
oxymoron: a seemingly contradictory term. (EX: jumbo shrimp, bittersweet, icy hot)
rhymed couplet: a pair of lines of poetry, each with the same end rhyme pattern.
soliloquy: a speech delivered by a character alone on stage.
sonnet: a 14 line poem
aside: a comment made by a character to the audience; other characters do not hear the comment
epilogue: the closing lines of a literary work.
tragedy: a literary work in which the main character (s) suffers a downfall.
tragic hero: the main character of a literary tragedy who suffers a downfall due to his own flaw.
tragic flaw: the character trait of the tragic hero that leads to his downfall.
Alliteration: the repetition of beginning sounds which provides emphasis to the words. (Non-literary example =
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.)
Assonance: The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, especially in stressed syllables, with changes in the
intervening consonants, as in the phrase tilting at windmills.
Ballad: A song or poem that tells a story; a form of verse to be sung or recited and characterized by its
presentation of a dramatic or exciting episode in simple narrative form.
Dramatic Poetry: Poetry that uses the elements of a drama (one or more characters speak to themselves or to
the reader, a tense situation or emotional conflict is present, etc.)
Epic Poetry: A long narrative poem centered on the actions of a hero who must embark on a journey and battle
human and non-human conflicts, The purpose of an epic poem is to entertain, teach, and inspire the audience with
examples of how people can strive to succeed against great odds.
Hyperbole: An extreme exaggeration used for emphasis. (Non-literary example = He must weigh a million pounds!)
Imagery: the “word pictures” that writers use to help create an emotional response in readers. Imagery is
effective when it appeals to the five senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell.
Lyric Poetry: poetry, often songlike, with emphasis not on narrative, but on the speaker's emotion. Whereas a
narrative is set in the past, telling what happened, a lyric is set in the present, catching a speaker in a moment of
expression. (A lyric can, of course, glance forward or backward.)
Mood: the feeling or atmosphere created in a literary work that suggests a specific emotion, hints at the quality
of the setting, etc. In poetry, word choice, line length, rhythm, etc. contribute to the mood. Descriptive language
and figures of speech also contribute to the mood.
Narrative Poetry: verse that tells a story. This includes ballads and epics, plus other poems.
Ode: a poem intended to be sung; a lyric poem that is long, elaborate, and supposed to be on a lofty theme, such as
immortality or a hero's victory.
Onomatopoeia: A word that suggests the sound it represents. (Non-literary example = slash, gush, buzz, etc.)
Oxymoron: A combination of seemingly contradictory words. (Non-literary example = loving hate, cold fire, icy hot,
etc.)
Repetition: A literary technique in which emphasis is created by using the same words or sounds several times.
Rhyme: repetition of identical or similar sounds.
Rhyme Scheme: the arrangement of rhymes in a poem or stanza. Rhyme schemes are written as a pattern of
letters, beginning with A.
Rhythm: verbal stresses of words which occur at regular intervals in a poem.
Sonnet: normally a fourteen-line iambic pentameter poem. The conventional Italian sonnet is rhymed abba, abba,
cde, cde; the English, or Shakespearean, sonnet is rhymed abab, cdcd, efef, gg.
Speaker: the person whose voice is revealed through a poem
Stanza: a rhythmical unit in which lines of poetry are commonly arranged.
Symbol: an image with significance beyond literal definition; Natural symbols are symbols recognized as standing
for something in particular even by people from different cultures. (Rain usually stands for fertility or the renewal
of life; a forest--mental darkness or chaos; a mountain--stability, etc.). Conventional symbols are symbols which
people have agreed to accept as standing for something other than themselves (a poem about the cross would
probably be about Christianity; similarly, the rose has long been a symbol for love).
Verse: can be either a stanza or a single line of poetry