Glossary of Literary Terms (Scope Magazine)

Define alliteration.

• Clues or hints about something that is going to happen later in the story.

• Words spoken to the audience by a character in a drama that are not supposed to be heard by the other characters onstage.

• When two or more words in a group of words begin with the same sound (usually, the same letter or group of letters).

• The opponent or enemy of the main character, or protagonist.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.5.5

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

Define antagonist.

• The opponent or enemy of the main character, or protagonist.

• The main or central character of a work of literature.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Define aside.

• The feeling the reader gets from a work of literature.

• The comparison of two unlike things to illuminate a particular quality or aspect of one of those things.

• A character who does not play a large role in a story.

• Words spoken to the audience by a character in a drama that are not supposed to be heard by the other characters onstage.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.10

CCSS.RL.6.7

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.7.7

CCSS.RL.8.7

Define characterization.

• The comparison of two unlike things to illuminate a particular quality or aspect of one of those things.

• The means through which an author reveals a character’s personality.

• Language that portrays sensory experiences, or experiences of the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

• : The sequence of events in a story.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Define climax.

• The point in a play, novel, short story, or narrative poem at which the conflict reaches its greatest intensity and is then resolved.

• An expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its individual words.

• Clues or hints about something that is going to happen later in the story.

• Extreme exaggeration used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement that is not meant to be taken literally.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.5

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Define conflict.

• The perspective from which a story is told.

• The use of words whose sounds imitate the sounds of what they describe, such as hiss, murmur, growl, honk, buzz, woof, etc.

• A struggle between opposing forces.

• The sequence of events in a story.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Define dialogue.

• When two unlike things are compared—using like or as—in order to illuminate a particular quality or aspect of one of those things.

• A story’s main message or moral.

• The author’s attitude toward the subject matter or toward the reader or audience.

• The conversation between characters in a work of literature.

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3

Define dynamic character.

• A character who undergoes a significant internal change over the course of a story.

• A character who does not undergo a significant change over the course of a story.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Define figurative language.

• The literal meaning of a word is its definition as you would find it in a dictionary.

• A scene in a story that occurred before the present time in the story. Flashbacks provide background information about events happening during the current narration.

• Clues or hints about something that is going to happen later in the story.

• Language that portrays sensory experiences, or experiences of the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.5.5

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

Define flashback.

• The literal meaning of a word is its definition as you would find it in a dictionary.

• An expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its individual words.

• Extreme exaggeration used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement that is not meant to be taken literally.

• A scene in a story that occurred before the present time in the story. Flashbacks provide background information about events happening during the current narration.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.5.5

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3