Literary Terms

the time and place of the story; it is key in developing a story’s atmosphere

• setting

• atmosphere

• tone

• theme

the general mood or feeling of a story

• tone

• atmosphere

• mood

• theme

a comparison using the words “like” or “as”

• simile

• metaphor

• allusion

• personification

a comparison between two seemingly different things, with hopes of giving more meaning to one of them

• personification

• metaphor

• simile

• alliteration

the view from which a story is told

• personification

• protagonist

• characterization

• point of view

tells the story from a character’s perspective

• first-person

• third-person limited

• third-person omniscient

told from the perspective of a character, but it is not the character who is telling the story

• first-person

• third-person limited

• third-person omniscient

narration tells the story from a “God-like” point of view

• first-person

• third-person limited

• third-person omniscient

the struggle between two opposing forces

• characterization

• suspense

• parody

• conflict

a struggle within a character’s own mind

• internal conflict

• external conflict