Literary Terminology

ALLUSION 

• A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor.
  
• A figure of speech which imitates the sound of what it describes.
  
• A reference to a historical figure, place, or event.
  
• The use of sensory details that appeal to the five senses.
  

Tags

CCSS.RL.1.3

CCSS.RL.2.3

CCSS.RL.3.3

CCSS.RL.4.3

CCSS.RL.K.3

Hyperbole 

• The use of sensory details that appeal to the five senses.
  
• A figure of speech which imitates the sound of what it describes.
  
• A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor.
  
• A slant rhyme or half rhyme occurs when the vowel sounds are not quite identical.
  

Tags

CCSS.RL. 6.5

CCSS.RL.1.4

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.3.5

CCSS.RL.K.5

SIMILE 

• A direct comparison between two basically different things.  A simile is introduced by the words “like” or “as”.
  
• A slant rhyme or half rhyme occurs when the vowel sounds are not quite identical.
  
• The use of sensory details that appeal to the five senses.
  
• A figure of speech which imitates the sound of what it describes.
  

Mood
 

• Something concrete, such as an object, action, character, or scene that stands for something abstract such as a concept or an idea.
  
• A group of lines forming a unit in a poem (as a paragraph in a story would).
  
• The overall emotional feeling of a work.
  
• The pattern that the end rhymes form in a poem or stanza.

Tags

CCSS.RL. 6.5

CCSS.RL.1.4

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.3.5

CCSS.RL.K.5

METAPHOR 

• A group of lines forming a unit in a poem (as a paragraph in a story would).
  
• A reference to a historical figure, place, or event.
  
• A comparison between two different things not using the words “like” or “as”.
  
• A direct comparison between two basically different things.  A simile is introduced by the words “like” or “as”.
  

PERSONIFICATION 

• A figure of speech which imitates the sound of what it describes.
  
• Something concrete, such as an object, action, character, or scene that stands for something abstract such as a concept or an idea.
  
• A group of lines forming a unit in a poem (as a paragraph in a story would).
  
• Human characteristics are given to non-human animals, objects, or ideas.
  

Speaker 

• Something concrete, such as an object, action, character, or scene that stands for something abstract such as a concept or an idea.
  
• A direct comparison between two basically different things.  A simile is introduced by the words “like” or “as”.
  
• The use of sensory details that appeal to the five senses.
  
• The voice that communicates with the reader of a poem, similar to a narrator of a story. This is usually a character separate from the actual poet.
  

Tags

CCSS.RL. 6.5

CCSS.RL.1.4

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.3.4

CCSS.RL.K.5

Rhyme Scheme 

• The pattern that the end rhymes form in a poem or stanza.
  
• A group of lines forming a unit in a poem (as a paragraph in a story would).
  
• A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor.
  
• The main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work.
  

Stanza 

• The pattern that the end rhymes form in a poem or stanza.
• A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor.
  
• A group of lines forming a unit in a poem (as a paragraph in a story would).
  
• The main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work.
  

Tags

CCSS.RL. 6.5

CCSS.RL.1.4

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.3.5

CCSS.RL.K.5

Imagery 

• A comparison between two different things not using the words “like” or “as”.
  
• Human characteristics are given to non-human animals, objects, or ideas.
  
• The use of sensory details that appeal to the five senses.
  
• A reference to a historical figure, place, or event.
  

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.L.7.5

CCSS.L.8.5