Literary Terms

story in which each aspect of the story has a symbolic meaning outside the tale itself. i.e. Animal Farm

repetition of initial consonant sounds: i.e. Peter Piper Picked a peck of pickled peppers.

a reference to another work of literature, a person, or an event (verb form: alludes). i.e. Mona Lisa's Smile

a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person

a character or force in conflict with the main character (not necessarily "the bad guy")

a published collection of poems or other pieces of writing

a very typical example of a certain person or thing, an original model on which something is patterned. i.e. that character fits the evil step-mother archetype

repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity. i.e. "How now, brown cow?"

an account of a person's life written by that person

a worn-out idea or overused expression. i.e. "and they lived happily ever after."

the associated or secondary meaning of a word or expression in addition to its explicit or primary meaning: i.e. youthful = positive connotation, whereas childish = negative connotation

repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity; sounds do not need to come at the beginning of a word: i.e. she sells sea shells by the sea shore

the final part of a narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved

communication between two or more people

specific word choice for an intended effect