Literary Terms

the means through which an author reveals a character's personality

• alliteration
• antagonist
• aside
• characterization

the conversation between characters in a work of literature

• antagonist
• climax
• conflict
• dialogue

a scene in a story that occurred before the present time in the story

• climax
• conflict
• flashback
• foreshadowing

a main or important character

• major character
• minor character
• static character
• dynamic character

an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its individual words

• hyperbole
• idiom
• imagery
• irony

the feeling the reader gets from a work of literature

• mood
• onomatopoeia
• personification
• plot

the sequence of events in a story

• plot
• point of view
• protagonist
• setting

the environment in which a story takes place

• point of view
• protagonist
• setting
• simile

an object, setting, event, animal, or person that on one level is itself, but that has another meaning as well

• point of view
• protagonist
• symbol
• a story's main message or moral

the author's attitude toward the subject matter or toward the reader or audience

• point of view
• setting
• symbol
• tone