70 Literary Terms

HOLT Literature

plot

plotchain of related events that tells us what happens in a story

conflict

problem faced by a character

conflict

resolved

how the story turns out

resolved

complications

situations that create conflict

complications

climax

when the outcome of the conflictis decided

climax

resolution

the last part of the plot;the end of the story

resolution

subplots

parts that are part of the largerstory but are not as important

subplots

parallelepisodes

the storyteller repeats the main outline of an episode several times

parallelepisodes

proposition

propositionan opinion;usually in the beginning of a persuasivearticle

facts

factsthe results of scientific research and surveys

statistics

statisticsfacts in number form

examples

examplesspecific instances that illustratereasons or facts

anecodotes

brief stories, such as personal experiences

anecodotes

opinion

opiniona belief or an attitude

foreshadowing

clues that hint at what will happen later

foreshadowing

characterization

the way a writer reveals character

characterization

motivation

motivationwhat makes people behave the way they do

motives

motiveswhy characters do the things they do

biography

biographythe story of someone’s life writtenby another person

actions

actionswhat characters say and do

character

characterthe way someone is

biased

biasedone-sided, treatment of a subject

autobiography

the story of a writers own life by the writer

autobiography

setting

settingwhere and when a story takes place

mood

moodatmosphere; the feeling of the story

chronology

chronologytime order; what happens first, next, and last

inference

inferenceeducated guess based on clues the writer gives you and your own experience

conclusion

conclusionfinal thought or judgement about what you have read

valid

validboth true and logical

generalization

a broad statement that can applyto many situations

generalization

theme

themeanswers the question“What does this reveal?”

the general idea or insightabout human existence

main idea

main ideathe message, opinion, or insight that is central to a pieceof non-fiction

refrain

refrainrepeated sounds, words, phrases,lines, or a group of lines

allusion

allusiona reference to features of a culture that people share(literature, religion, history,mythology, sports)

Ex: “I have a dream” speech

narrator

narratorperson telling the story

verbal irony

verbal ironywe say just the opposite of whatwe mean

situationalirony

situationalirony

what happens is different fromwhat we expect

dramatic irony

dramatic irony

we know something a characterdoesn’t know

fallaciousreasoning

fallaciousreasoning

“false thinking”when people draw incorrect or false conclusionsEx: Because the world is flat, you’ll fall off if you sail to the end.

sterotyping

sterotyping

sterotypingbelieving that all members of a group sharea certain characteristic

Ex: All teenagers are angry and rebellious, and they all sleep too late.

fallacy

fallacythe assumption that a problemor situation has only one possiblecause

Ex: If we don’t elect Jane classpresident, girls will have no say in running the school.

analogy

analogya comparison of two things to showhow they are alike; used to explainone concept by showing how it issimilar to another concept

personification

personification

a non-human thing is describedas if it were human or alive anddid something only living thingsdo

metaphor

metaphordirectly compares two very different things

Ex: The moon was a goldenGrapefruit high up in the sky.

simile

similecompares one thing to anotherusing like, as, than, resembles

Ex: The moon looked like a gleaming new penny.

lyrics (poem)

lyrics (poem)

poems that express feelings anddo not tell stories

narrativepoem

narrativepoem

a poem that tells a story

ballad

balladsong or a song like poem that tellsa story usually about lost love orbetrayal or death

tall tale

tall talean exaggerated, far fetched storythat betrayal or death is obviously not true

exaggeration

exaggerationstretching the truth

epic

epiclong narrative poem written in formal or elegant language thattells about a series of eventsundertaken by a great hero

ode

odeoriginated in Ancient Greece;celebrate a particular poem or thing

sonnet

sonnetfourteen line poem

lambic

lambicverse in which the stressis on every other syllable,starting with the unstressedbeat

elegy

elegya poem of mourning

free verse

free versedoes not follow a regular rhyme,scheme, or pattern

alliteration

alliterationrepetition of consonant sounds

Ex: snow falling fast

onomatopoeia

onomatopoeia

the use of words whose soundsecho their meaning

Ex: the chains saw’s buzz

imagery

imagerylanguage that evokes sensationsof light, sound, smell, taste, andtouch

figures of speech

figures of speech

language that is based on comparisons and is not literally true (metaphors, similes, personification)

rhythm

rhythmthe rise and fall of the voice,produced by sounds

speaker

speakerthe person who tells the storyor talks to you in the poem

unity

unityall the story’s details support themain idea or topic

logic

logiccorrect reasoning

idiom

idiommeans something different fromthe literal meaning of each word

Ex: “Hold your tongue” meansdon’t speak in English

epilogue

epiloguea brief closing section to a pieceof literature

consumer

consumersomeone who buys somethingor uses what someone else buys

warranty

warrantyspells out exactly what happensif the product doesn’t work properly and what you are required to do to receive service

contract

contractspells out exactly what serviceswill and will not be provided

productinformation

tells what the product will do

productinformation