· IDIOM - expression whose meaning cannot be deduced
from the combined meanings of its actual words. It’s raining cats
and dogs. My uncle kicked the bucket last year.
I smell a rat. You don’t have a leg to stand on. Let’s play it by ear. Don’t let the cat out of
the bag. Take the bull by the horns.]
· CHRONOLOGICAL - presented or arranged in
the order in which events occur or occurred (prefix meaning time)
· STANZA – a number of lines of verse forming a separate unit within a poem. In many
poems, each stanza has the same number of lines and the same rhythm and rhyme scheme.
· RHYME SCHEME – the pattern of rhyming lines in a poem
· NARRATOR – person telling the story
· DECLARATIVE SENTENCE – makes statement
· INTERROGATIVE – asks question
· IMPERATIVE – gives command
· EXCLAMATORY – shows strong emotion
· SYNONYM – words that have similar meanings
· ANALOGY – a comparison/similarity
· PLAGIARISM – stealing another person’s idea or written work
and claiming as original
· PARAPHRASE – to rephrase using other words (same length)
· SUMMARIZE – to give a shorter version that gives the main points
· MONOLOGUE – long speech by one person
· FRAGMENT – incomplete sentence
· RUN-ON SENTENCE – two main clauses fused/smooshed together without
correct punctuation
· COMMA SPLICE – two main clauses joined incorrectly with only a
comma
aloofness
(n)/aloof (adj) – uninvolved or unwilling to be involved with other people or events
characterization
– the way a writer portrays the characters in a story or novel
coming-of-age
novel – novel where the protagonist grows and matures after difficult experiences (loss of innocence)
connotation
- emotions and feelings associated with a word
denotation
- dictionary meaning of a word
foreshadowing
- – author hints at what might happen later
gingerly
– adv - cautiously, warily, tentatively (p 62)
incredulous
adj – showing disbelief (p 24)
narrator
– the character in a work of fiction who is telling the story; someone who tells a story
nonchalantly
– adv – casually, calm and unconcerned (p 25)
outsider
– a person who doesn’t belong
to a particular group; person not accepted by society
premonition
a feeling something (usually bad) is going to happen (p 67)
protagonist
– main character in a story/novel
rat
race - A way of life in which people are caught up in a fiercely competitive struggle for wealth or power.
An exhaustin, usually competitive routine.
self-fulfilling
prophecy - a prediction that causes
itself to come true. May be false in the beginning, but it causes behavior to make itself come true!
stereotype
– popular
belief about specific social groups or types of individuals (simplified beliefs based on assumptions)
ALL LIT TERMS FOR BRIDGE TO LIT - click here for practice!
LITERARY TERMS FOR
THE ENTIRE SEMESTER:
1ST PERSON POINT OF VIEW
3RD PERSON OMNISCIENT
ACT
ALLITERATION
ALLUSION
ANTAGONIST
CHARACTERIZATION
CLIMAX
COMING-OF-AGE NOVEL
CONFLICT
CONNOTATION
DENOTATION
DIALOGUE
DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION
DRAMATIC IRONY
EPILOGUE
FLASHBACK
FORESHADOWING
HYPERBOLE
IMAGERY
INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION
METAPHOR
NARRATOR
ONOMATOPOEIA
OXYMORON
PERSONIFICATION
PLOT
POINT OF VIEW
PROLOGUE
PROSE
PROTAGONIST
REALISTIC FICTION
RESOLUTION
RHYME SCHEME
SCENE
SENSORY DETAILS
SETTING
SIMILE
SITUATIONAL IRONY
STANZA
SUSPENSE
SYMBOL
THEME
TONE
VERBAL IRONY
