Literary Terms 7th 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 personnarrator uses he/she to tell the
story; like you are on the outside looking in continued Third person Limitedthe narrator relates
the inner thoughts and feelings of only one character, and everything is viewed from the characters 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. Dynamicchanges 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
(Freytags 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 Freytags 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 whats to come
Personification Giving human characteristics (traits) to nonhuman characters. Mood
A feeling that a literary work conveys to readers. Tone The authors 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.
