Literary Terms7th Grade Reading

Point of View• The vantage point from

which a story is told• First person— is told by a

character who uses the pronoun “I”

• Second person– “You”• Third person—narrator

uses he/she to tell the story; like you are on the outside looking in

…continuedThird person• Limited—the narrator

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

• Omniscient (all-knowing)—the narrator knows and tells about what each character thinks and feels

Character

• Any person or animal that takes part in a story

• (Characters can be round, flat, static, or dynamic)

Character, cont.

• Static character: These characters do NOT change throughout the story.

Character, cont.• Dynamic—changes inside

(their way of thinking) as a result of what happens to him/her in the story

Protagonist

• The main character in a literary work

Protagonist

• The main character in a literary work

Antagonist

• A character or force in conflict with the main character

Setting

• The time and place of the action in a story

Plot

• The sequence of events in a story

(Freytag’s Pyramid)

Theme

• The central message in a literary work

Figurative Language

• Writing or speech not meant to be taken literally (ex. Simile, personification, metaphor)

Metaphor

a comparison of two things without using

like or as, may say one thing and mean

another

Onomatopoeia

Words that are spelled like the sounds they make.

Conflict

• The problem in the story.– Internal Conflict: takes place

within the character's mind or heart

– External Conflict: takes place with an outside force

Oxymoron

Basically a phrase that has 2 words that would contradict each other, or just don't seem they should go together, such as "jumbo" and "shrimp.”

Simile

Comparing two uncommon things with the words ‘like’ or ‘as’

Alliteration

The repeating of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words

Ex. Tall Tommy told Teddy tall tales on Tuesday.

The “t” sound is repeated

Irony

A contradiction between what you think will happen and what actually happens.

Imagery

Language that appeals to one or more of the five senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching.A mental picture

Dialogue

A talk between two or more people or between characters in a play, film, or novel; quotation marks will be used.

Narrator

A person or character who tells a story.

Climax

The top of Freytag’s Pyramid, the highest point of interest or suspense

Direct Characterization

• the narrator or a character in the story tells us what we need to know about a character

Indirect Characterization

• we find out about characters indirectly through thoughts, comments, or actions of the characters

Flashback

When the current action is stopped and you look back to an earlier time in the story

Foreshadowing

When a writer provides hints that suggest future ; it creates suspense for what’s to come

Personification

Giving human characteristics (traits) to nonhuman characters.

Mood

A feeling that a literary work conveys to readers.

Tone

The author’s voice or attitude about what he/she writes

Style

The way an author uses language to write a story

Suspense

A feeling of growing tension or excitement.

Characterization OR Character Traits

All of the techniques a writer uses to create a character: physical appearance, their personality (what other characters say or how they feel about a character OR by his/her own thoughts and actions), direct comments about the character.