Literary Devices Vocabulary 01

the way an author reveals details about a character’s personality traits

• characterization

• theme

• mood

• tone

when an author tells the audience what the personality of the character is

• mood

• indirect characterization

• sensory details

• direct characterization

when an author shows things that reveal the personality of a character through speech, thoughts, effect on others, actions, and/or looks

• mood

• indirect characterization

• sensory details

• direct characterization

attitude of the author toward the subject, character(s), and/or the reader; conveyed through word choice

• mood

• setting

• symbolism

• tone

a struggle or problem a character must overcome

• conflict

• theme

• setting

• mood

the feeling or vibe created in the reader by the author’s choices in what and how to write; created through diction and story elements like setting, narration, and plot

• tone

• mood

• setting

• theme

a word that imitates a sound; when you say the word, it sounds like what the word means; could be considered a type of sensory detail

• onomatopoeia

• tone

• sensory details

• characterization

descriptions that engage readers through the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch; also called imagery

• mood

• tone

• sensory details

• onomatopoeia

the place and context in which a story occurs

• mood

• theme

• setting

• symbolism

when something in a story represents itself AND stands for a bigger idea

• onomatopoeia

• symbolism

• conflict

• sensory details