Literary Terms Pretest Key Mark your paper honorably

Literary Terms Pretest Key Mark your paper honorably: where you missed the answer, mark it wrong, and write in the correct meaning, samples, etc.

#1: Mood The effect of the words and images generated by the writing ON THE AUDIENCE. Mood descriptors are similar to tone because they deal with attitudes and emotional responses. Tone and mood can be very similar in some pieces, and very different in others.

#2: Alliteration The repetition of initial sounds. This is a sound device. You have seen these in their extreme form in tongue twisters like: She sells seashells by the seashore.

#3: Personification Giving human characteristics to a non-human object or animal. This is another form of figurative language. Ex. The willows whispered in the wind. Anthropomorphism is a specialized type of personification wherein we attribute human emotions to animals: the puppy cried all night.

#4: Flat Character A character that is one-dimensional. A stereotype. We have no clue about the hopes, dreams, etc. , of these characters, nor do we care to. Examples: dumb jock, ditzy blond, absent-minded professor, pencilnecked geek, macho cop, kooky artist, etc.

#5: Theme The message about life or the universe that the author wants you to see. U. M. = Universal meaning. The theme is always expressed in a complete sentence. For instance, “love” is not a theme. “Love is a beautiful thing that makes life complete” is a theme.

#6 Setting Time and place of a story. This can be city, state, nation, continent, classroom, daytime, nighttime, 1900, the future, etc.

#7: Protagonist Main character in a story. Usually we like the protagonist and he/she is a good person: animals like him/her, etc. In films where the characters are stereotypes or archetypes, the protagonist wears white.

#8: Round Character A three-dimensional character who is well fleshed-out for us. We understand who they are, what they love, dream, hate, etc. These are the memorable characters that we think of almost as real people we know.

#9: Hyperbole Extreme Exaggeration: Another form of figurative language that you use frequently in your world. Ex. I told you one million times to learn hyperbole! That guy called one thousand times last night.

#10: Dialect You know you are reading dialect when you see that the author has written, not according to correct grammar and usage, but in a way to reflect the way people really talk and sound. This is often used to inform the reader of a regionalism, educational level, ethnicity, etc.

#11: Simile An indirect comparison between two unlike things that share some quality or attribute using like, as, seems, or than. This is figurative, not literal, language. You use it all the time in common speech. Ex. That man acts like a dog; she is meaner than a witch.

#12: Dynamic Character These characters change as a result of the action of the plot. The conflict changes them in some way—usually enlightening them and making them better.

#13: Tone The author/speaker's attitude toward the subject. Some tone descriptors: angry, sarcastic, amused, serious, curious, etc.

#14: Imagery Words and images intended to help you imagine with your senses. Visual—helps you imagine what something looks like. Aural—helps you imagine how something sounds. Tactile—“ “ feels like Gustatory--” “ “ ' tastes like Olfactory--” “ “ “ smells like Kinetic--” “ “ “ moves like Thermal--” “ how warm/cold something is

#15: Exposition Background information: you learn about setting, characters, and history to the story. Ex. A long, long time ago in a fairy forest, there lived a kindly old woman and her grandson who loved bunnies. P. S. Sometimes a story begins in the middle of the action instead of with Exposition—that's called “In Medias Res. ”

#16: External Conflict A character has a conflict/problem with another force outside of himself/herself. ex. Character v. Nature, Character v. Another Character, or Character v. Society.

#17: Third Person Omniscient Point of View Narrative style wherein the speaker knows the thoughts and feelings of ALL characters. The God-like narrative technique.

#18: Symbol Words and images that represent something deeper and more important than themselves. Ex. A flag is never just a piece of material—it means something to the people who fly it. That's why people get testy if you rip theirs down and stomp on it. : )

#19: Internal Conflict One of two types of conflict. This one takes place within the mind of one of the characters. Should he stay or should he go? Should she jog the mile or take a nap?

#20: Static Characters These characters do not change as a result of the action or conflict. They stay the same from the beginning to the end. These static characters are most often also the flat characters.

#21: Antagonist The character that is in conflict with the protagonist. Sometimes the antagonist is a person/character, but it can be nature, or society, etc. Stereotypically the antagonist wears black in film.

#22: First Person Point of View Narrative told from the point of view of the speaker/narrator/author. First clue you are reading first person: “I” and “me” and “we, ” etc.

#23: Onomatopoeia Sound Device When words sound like what they are. This is also a sound device like. . . Examples: boom, tinkle, thud, jingle, gulp, creak, slap, etc.

#24: Third Person Point of View Narration wherein the speaker knows the thoughts and feelings of ONLY ONE character. Speaker uses pronouns, “he, ” “she, ” and “they. ”

#25: Metaphor Direct comparison between two unlike things that share some commonality or characteristic. This is also figurative language, and you also use this technique in everyday speech. Ex. My dad is the rock in the family. The linebacker is a house.

Additional Point of View… Second Person Point of View Narrator speaks directly to the audience using the personal pronoun “You. ” Should be avoided in your own writing. A technique that is used sparingly to create a particular tone/mood.

Additional Sound Devices: “Cacophony” Sound device wherein an author uses harsh, clashing sounds to evoke a particular mood in his/her audience Often used in works dealing with violence, or aggression Example from the war poem, “Dulce et Decorum Est”: “Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge”

Additional Sound Devices: “Euphony” Sound device wherein an author uses soft, smooth, liquid sounds to create a mood Often used to describe things the author sees as beautiful, gentle, loving, etc. Example from Robert Herrick’s “Upon Julia’s Voice”: “So smooth, so sweet, so silv’ry is thy voice, ”

Additional Poetic Descriptors… “Structured Verse” Poetry written in regular rhythmical pattern or meter Usually has a structured rhyme scheme Examples are: Haiku, Sonnets, Acrostics,

Additional Poetic Descriptors… “Free Verse” Poetry NOT written in a regular rhyme scheme or meter It seeks to capture the rhythms of speech It is the dominant form of contemporary poetry