feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage

struggle between opposing forces

Conversation between characters

a brief story or poem, usually with animal characters, that teaches a lesson or moral

story composed orally and then passed from person to person by word of mouth. They reflect cultural beliefs and environments from which they come.

character whose actions are inspiring or noble.

humorous, rhyming five-line poem with specific rhyme scheme.

use of words that imitate sounds

the outcome of the conflict in a plot

section of uninterrupted action in the act of a drama

anything that stands for or represents something else

a reference to a well-known person, event, place, literary work, or work of art

the author’s main reason for writing

the set of ideas associated with a word in addition to the specific meaning

a writer’s word choice and the way the writer puts words together

writing that tells about imaginary characters and events

the author’s use of clues to hint at what might happen later in the story

expression that has a meaning particular to a language or region

a highly musical verse that expresses the observations and feelings of a single speaker

figure of speech that links two contradictory words

the repetition of sounds at the ends of words

the time and place of action

figure of speech that uses “like” or “as” to make a comparison.

message about life that is expressed in many different cultures and time periods

makes a comparison between two or more things that are similar in some ways, but otherwise unalike.

person or animal that takes part in the action of a literary work.

two consecutive lines of verse with end rhymes.

story written to be performed by actors.

writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally. It is used to state ideas in imaginative ways.

poetry not written in a regular, rhythmical pattern, or meter.

the use of words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses to describe how something looks, smells, sounds, tastes, or feels.

figure of speech in which something is described as though it were something else.

a reason that explains a character’s thoughts, feelings, actions, or speech.

a story that can be either fiction or nonfiction

figure of speech in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics

the perspective from which a story is told.

the story is told by a character who uses the personal pronoun “I”

that narrator knows and tells about what each character feels and thinks.

the narrator relates the inner thoughts and feelings of only one character, and everything is viewed from this character’s perspective

group of lines of poetry that are usually similar in length and pattern and are separated by spaces.

a brief story about an interesting, amusing, or strange event.

(also called turning point) the high point of action in the plot

the dictionary meaning of a word

the part of a story that introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation

a scene within a story that interrupts the sequence of events to relate to events that happened in the past

a type of literature

a contradiction between what happens and what is expected.

the rhythmical pattern of a poem

fictional tale that explains the actions of gods or heroes or the origins of elements of nature. They are part of oral tradition.

a speaker or character who tells the story.

the sequence of events in which each event results from a previous one and causes the next.

the main character in a literary work.

regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem.

a feeling of anxious uncertainty about the outcome of events in a literary work

central message in a literary work.

a character or a force in conflict with the main character

poem with a shape that suggests its subject

the form of a language that is spoken by people in a particular region or group

a character struggles with an outside force, such as another person or a force in nature

a struggle that takes place within the mind of a character

a character whose behavior and attitude contrast with those of the main character

three-line Japanese verse form: the first line has 5 syllables, the second has 7, the third has 5.

widely told story about the past---one that may or may not be based on fact

a lesson taught by a literary work

writing that presents and explains ideas or that tells about real people, places, objects, or events.

a regularly repeated line or group of lines in a poem or song

the writer’s attitude toward his or her audience and the subject.