9th Grade Pre-AP Literary Terms

ELEMENTS OF A STORY--THE ESSENTIAL PARTS OF A PIECE OF LITERATURE

Types of Characters:
A *Character is a person, animal, or a natural force presented as a person appearing in a literary work.
*Protagonist--the main character involved in the central conflict.
*Antagonist--the force or person who works against the main character's attempt
to solve the problem; may be another character, society, nature, or force within
the protagonist.
Foil--a character whose traits are in direct contrast to those of the principal character. The foil typically
highlights the traits of the protagonist. The foil is usually a minor character, although if there are two
protagonists, they may be foils of each other.
Flat Characterone who is not fully developed; we know only one side of the character.
o A Stereotype is a flat character of a familiar and often repeated type. A character who is not
developed as an individual, but as a collection of traits and mannerisms supposedly shared
by all members of a group.
Round Characterone who is fully-developed, with many traits--bad and good--shown in the story. We feel
that we know the character so well that he or she has become a real person.
*Static Characterusually a minor character who tends to remain unchanged throughout the story; things
happen to these characters without things happening within.
*Dynamic Characterone who undergoes change in response to events in the story.
*Mood--the feeling or atmosphere a reader senses while reading a piece of literature.
*Narrator/Speaker--The voice used by an author to tell a story or speak a poem. The speaker is often a created
identity, and should not automatically be equated with the authors self.
*Plot--the sequence of actions or events in a story.
*Climax--the highest point of tension in the plot.
*Conflict--a problem that confronts the characters in a piece of literature.
*Internal--character struggles within himself or herself
*External--character struggles against nature, another person, or society
Common conflict types: man or woman against nature--against self--against society--against man or
woman--against technology
*Exposition--occurs at the beginning of a work of fiction; established background
information or lays out the scene.
*Rising Action-- the series of events that build up and create tension and suspense. This tension
Is a result of the basic conflict that exists and makes the story interesting.
*Falling Action (denouement)--the unraveling of the plot following the climax.
*Resolution--the final part of the plot where you learn how everything works out.
*Point of View--the perspective from which a writer tells a story.
*First person--narrator or one of characters tells the story using "I."
*Third person--a narrator or someone outside the story is telling it using
" he, she, or them. "
*Omniscient narratoran all-knowing narrator who is not a character in the story and who can
report the thoughts and feelings of the characters, as well as their words and
actions. (See also
limited omniscience and neutral omniscience.)
*Setting--The physical and social context in which the action of a story occurs. The major elements of setting are the
time, the place, and the social environment that frames the characters.
*ThemeA central meaning in the work which provides a unifying point around which the plot, characters, setting,
point of view, symbols, and other elements of a work are organized. It is important not to mistake the theme for the
actual subject of the work; the theme refers to the abstract concept that is made concrete through the images,
characterization, and action of the text. It is a statement about life or human nature that the author conveys to the
reader, i.e., Be careful about what you wish for. . . .
*Tone--the authors attitude toward the subject (serious, sarcastic, objective, compassionate) which readers may infer
from the language, imagery, and structure.

*review material studied in earlier grades

LITERARY DEVICES--TECHNIQUES USED FOR STYLISTIC PURPOSES

*Note: Authors use literary devices to develop the literary elements; for example, symbolism may develop a theme or
deepen the readers understanding of setting.
An Anachronism is the assignment of something to a time when it was not in existence.
An *Analogy is the comparison between two unlike things; the narrator provides an example of something unknown
by describing a known thing, situation, or example.
An Anaphora is one of the devices of repetition, in which the same expression (word or words) is repeated at the
beginning of two or more lines, clauses or sentences.
An *Antonym is a word or expression having a meaning opposite to a meaning of another word or expression.
An Archetype refers to characters, plots, themes, images, patterns, and stories that recur throughout the history of
literature consistently enough to be considered a universal concept or situation.
An Aside is used in a play when a characters comment is directed to the audience or another character, but is not
heard by any other characters on stage. It reveals what the character is thinking or feeling.
Assonance is the repetition of similar vowel sounds, especially in a line of poetry.
An Asyndeton is the omission or absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence.
Blank verse in poetry or lines of dramatic verse is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. In this verse form, each
line is divided into five units, or feet, with stress falling on every second syllable. Most of Shakespeares characters
speak in blank verse.
A Bildungsroman is a novel that deals with the development of a young person, usually from adolescence to
maturity, and is frequently autobiographical. It is sometimes called a coming of age story.
*Characterization is the means by which a writer reveals a person, animal, or natural force in a literary work.

Direct characterization occurs when the author or narrator makes direct statements about a
characters traits.
Indirect characterization occurs when the author or speaker reveals a characters personality
through the characters own words, thoughts, and actions and through the words, thoughts, and
actions of other characters.

A Chorus is a group of singers distinct from the principal performers in a dramatic or musical performance, and also
the song or refrain that they sing.
Comic relief is a humorous scene, event, or speech in a serious drama. It usually provides relief from
emotional intensity, while at the same time highlighting the seriousness of the story.
A *Conclusion is the ending of a piece of writing that provides closure to the piece and expresses the
authors feelings about his or her experience.
The *Conflict/catalyst is a struggle between two opposing forces or characters in a short story, novel, play, or
narrative poem. In a selection there can be both primary (main/major) and secondary (minor) conflicts
o *External conflict exists when a character struggles against some outside force
Man vs. man
Man vs. nature
Man vs. society
o *Internal conflict exists within the mind of a character who is torn between different courses of action
Man vs. himself
A Connotation is the unspoken or unwritten meanings associated with a word beyond its dictionary definition.
Denotation is the literal meaning or dictionary definition of a word.

*review material studied in earlier grades

*Description is a detailed portrayal of a person, place, thing, or event. It appeals to the senses, helping readers to
see, hear, smell, taste, or feel the subject.
*Dialect is the characteristic speech of a particular region or social group.
*Dialogue is the conversation between two or more characters in a literary work.
Diction is a writers choice of words to convey a particular tone or meaning.
A Dramatic monologue is a form of dramatic poetry in which one speaker addresses a silent listener in an intense or
emotional situation.
A Dramatic structure is the parts that make a drama, each representing a phase of the dramatic conflict:
introduction, rising action, climax or crisis (turning point), falling action, and resolution
An Epic is a long narrative poem that traces the adventures of a larger-than-life hero. They intertwine myths, legends,
and history, reflecting the values of the societies in which they originate. In epics, gods and goddesses often intervene
in the affairs of humans.
An Epic poem is a long narrative poem on a serious subject with elevated or formal style.
An Epic simile is a long, elaborate comparison that continues for several lines. It is a feature of epics, but is found in
other poems as well.
An Epiphany is a moment of sudden realization of the true meaning of a situation, person, or object; a spiritual flash
that changes the way one views himself and the world around him.
An Epistrophe is the repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences.
An Epithet is a brief phrase that is used to characterize a person, place, or thing.
A *Fable is a short, simple story, usually with animals as characters, designed to teach a moral truth.
*Fiction is literature in which situations and characters are invented by the writer.
*Figurative language is language used for descriptive effect, often to imply ideas indirectly.
*Flashback is a literary device in which an earlier episode, conversation, or event is inserted into the chronological
sequence of a narrative.
A Foil is a character who provides a strong contrast to another character. This character may emphasize another
characters distinctive traits or make a character look better by comparison.
Foot is the basic unit in the measurement of rhythm in poetry.
*Foreshadowing is an authors use of clues that hint at events that will occur later in the plot.
Free Verse is poetry that has no fixed pattern of meter, rhyme, line length, or stanza arrangement.
A *Genre is a category or type of literature characterized by a particular form or style.
Gothic is a term referring to literature that has a gloomy, foreboding setting and contains strong elements of horror,
mystery, and the supernatural.
The *Hero is the main character in a literary work, typically one whose character or deeds inspire the admiration of
the reader.
Hubris is arrogance, excessive self-pride and self-confidence. (Odysseus tragic flaw)

*review material studied in earlier grades

Hamartia is a term coined by Aristotle to describe "some error or frailty" that brings about misfortune
for a tragic hero. The concept of hamartia is closely related to that of the tragic flaw: both lead to the
downfall of the protagonist in a tragedy. Hamartia may be interpreted as an internal weakness in a
character (like greed or passion or hubris); however, it may also refer to a mistake that a character
makes that is based not on a personal failure, but on circumstances outside the protagonists
personality and control.

*Imagery refers to words or phrases that, because of their sensory details, appeal to readers five senses, helping
them imagine how things look, feel, smell, sound, and taste.
In media res is the literary technique of opening a story in the middle of the action and then supplying information
about the beginning of the action through flashbacks.
Internal rhyme is rhyme that occurs at some place before the last syllables in a line.
An Invocation is an address to a deity for aid; a prayer for help. (invocation to the muse)
A *Metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things which are basically dissimilar without
using like, as, or seems.
o

An extended metaphor is one where there is a single main subject to which additional subjects and
metaphors are applied. The extended metaphor may act as a central theme, for example where it is
used as the primary vehicle of a poem and is used repeatedly and in different forms.

An Implied metaphor is a metaphor that is not directly evident but can be inferred using subtle hints
or clues found within the literary work.

Meter is a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that gives a line of poetry a predictable rhythm. The
unit of meter within a line is called a foot. Each type of foot has a unique pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
Monologue refers to a speech by one person, usually in a drama.
*Mood is the prevailing feeling or emotional climate of a literary work, often developed, at least in part, through
descriptions of setting and development of atmosphere.
A *Motif is a recurring important idea or image the author uses to emphasize an idea or theme within the work.
Motivation is something that prompts a person to act in a certain way, or that determines the outcome of a situation
or story.
A *Myth is a traditional story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that informs or
shapes the worldview of a people, as by explaining aspects of the natural world or delineating the customs or ideals of
a society.
A *Narration is the kind of writing or speech that tells a story.
The *Narrator is one who tells a story.
*Nonfiction is prose writing about real people, places, and events.
A *Novel is a book length fictional prose narrative, typically having a plot that unfolds through the actions, speech and
thoughts of characters.
Parallelism is the use of a series of words, phrases, or sentences that have similar grammatical form. It emphasizes
the items that are arranged in the similar structures.
A Polysyndeton is when conjunctions (e.g. and, but, or) are used repeatedly in quick succession, often with no
commas, even when the conjunctions could be removed.

*review material studied in earlier grades

Repetition is a literary device in which sounds, words, phrases, lines, or stanzas are repeated for emphasis in a
poem, a speech, or another piece of writing.
A Rhetorical question is a question asked solely to produce an effect or to make a statement, but not expected to
receive an answer.
Rhyme is the repetition of the same stressed vowel sounds and any succeeding sounds in two or more words.
Rhyme scheme is the pattern that the end rhymes form in a stanza or in a poem. It is designated by the assignment
of a different letter of the alphabet to each new rhyme.
Rhythm is the pattern of sound (beats) created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables, especially
in poetry.
*Sensory details are words that convey sensory experiences --- seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling.
A Shift is a change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization, or insight gained by the speaker, a
character, or the reader.
A *Short story is a brief fictional narrative in prose.
A *Simile is a figure of speech comparing two essentially unlike things using like, as, or seems.
A Soliloquy is a long speech spoken by a character in a dramatic work, who is typically alone on stage. The speech
reveals the private thoughts and emotions of the character.
A Sonnet is a lyric poem of fourteen lines, almost always written in iambic pentameter and typically following strict
patterns of stanza divisions and rhymes. Two basic types are Italian or Petrarchan and the English or Shakespearean.
A Stanza is a group of lines forming a unit in a poem. A stanza in a poem is similar to a paragraph in prose.
*Style is the distinctive way in which an author uses language.
*Suspense is the quality of a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem that makes the reader or audience uncertain
or tense about the outcome of events.
A *Synonym is a word having a meaning that is the same or nearly the same as that of another word in the same
language.
Thesis is the central idea or purpose of an essay or other work of non fiction, commonly stated in one or more
sentences.
Tragedy is a play in which a main character, or tragic hero, suffers a downfall. That character typically is a person of
dignified or heroic stature. The downfall may result from outside forces or from a tragic flaw in the character.
Tragic flaw is a weakness within the main character of a tragedy and is the cause of his downfall.
Tragic hero is the main character of a tragedy who suffers a downfall.
*Voice is the distinctive use of language that conveys the writers or narrators personality to the reader. It is
determined by elements of style such as word choice and tone.
*Word Choice is the selection of words to convey meaning, suggest attitude, and create images.

TYPES OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE--TECHNIQUES USED FOR STYLISTIC PURPOSES

Allegory-- a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning-- the underlying
meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications
of abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy.
*Alliteration--repetition of the first sound --usually a consonant sound--in several words of a
sentence or a line of poetry.

*review material studied in earlier grades

*Allusion--a brief reference to a person, place, thing, event, or idea in history or literature. Allusions
imply reading and cultural experiences shared by the writer and reader, functioning as a kind of
shorthand to bring the reader into a world of experience outside the limitations of the story itself.
Authors assume that careful readers will recognize (or look up!) allusions and relate their meaning to
the new context.
Anthropomorphism--Where animals or inanimate objects are portrayed as people. (e.g. in Animal
Farm the animals can talk, walk, and interact like humans).
Apostrophe is a figure of speech in which a writer speaks directly to an idea, object, or person who is
not present, something that cannot speak back.
Assonance The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in neighboring words. (e.g. "Flash
with a rash/gimme my cash/flickin' my ash/Runnin with my money, son, go out with a blast."(Busta
Rhymes, "Gimme Some More")
Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds, typically within or at the end of non rhyming
words.
*Hyperbole--A description which uses exaggeration or extremes to convey emphasize a
characteristic; e.g. "I told you a thousand times!" does not mean the person has been one thousand
times.
Idiom-- An expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended to a
common use of that expression separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it
is made and usually specific to a group of people. (e.g. break a leg)
*Irony is a contrast or an incongruity between what is stated and what is meant, or between what is
expected to happen and what actually happens. It is simply the difference between appearance and
reality.
o
o
o

Dramatic irony exists when the reader knows something that a character does not
know.
Situational irony exists when the actual outcome of a situation is the opposite of what
is expected.
Verbal irony exists when a person says one thing and means another.

Sarcasm is a form of verbal irony that exists when a person appears to

be praising something, but is actually insulting it

Metaphor vs. Simile--A metaphor is direct relationship where one thing IS another (e.g. "Juliet is the
sun"). A simile, on the other hand, is indirect and usually only likened to be similar to something else.
Similes usually use "like" or "as" (e.g. "Your eyes are like the ocean").
Onomatopoeia The use of words (such as hiss or buzz) that imitate the sounds associated with the
objects or actions they refer to.
Oxymorona pairing of opposite words that somehow make sense (e.g. jumbo shrimp, original copy)
A Paradox is a statement that seems contradictory or absurd but that expresses the truth.
Personification--Where inanimate objects or abstract concepts are given human thoughts, actions,
perceptions and emotions. E.g. "The moon danced mournfully over the water" - you see that a moon
cannot actually dance or with mourning, therefore it is being personified in order to create artistic
meaning.
Pun A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar
sense or sound of different words. (e.g. Kings worry about a receding heir line.)
*Symbol(ism) is any object, person, place, or action that has a meaning in itself and that also stands
for something larger than itself, such as a quality, an attitude, a belief, or a value.
Understatement is language that makes something seem less important than it really is.

*review material studied in earlier grades

*review material studied in earlier grades