Literary Terms Crossword – Flashcards
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Allegory
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story in which characters, things, or actions represent or lead to a strong moral or lesson
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Allusion
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literary reference to a familiar thing
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Analogy
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comparison of two or more similar objects
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Anecdote
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short summary of a humorous event to make a point
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Antagonist
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person or things working against the main character or hero of a story
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Autobiography
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author's own account of his or her own life
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Biography
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story of a person's life written by someone else
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Conflict
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the problem; something verses something else
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Denouement
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outcome of the story
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dialogue
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direct conversation between characters
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Epic
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long narrative poem that tells the great deeds of a hero
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Epiphany
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the moment of sudden understanding
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Epitaph
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short verse written in memory of someone
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Essay
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kind of writing that expresses a person's viewpoint
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Exaggeration
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stretching the truth
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Expository
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kind of writing that explains something
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Fable
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short, fictional story usually involving animals that teach a lesson
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Flashback
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an event from the past presented in the present, out of order in the story
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Foreshadowing
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Giving hints or clues about what will come later in the story
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Genre
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category or type (of literature)
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Gothic
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characterized by mystery, castles, supernatural events, old mansions, etc.
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Hyperbole
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figure of speech that is an exaggeration or overstatement
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Imagery
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words chosen to paint a vivid picture in the reader's mind
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Irony
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words or phrases that convey the opposite meaning or expected outcome
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Malapropism
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humorous play on words resulting from two similar words being misused
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Metaphor
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figure of speech that is a comparison without using "like" or "as"
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Mood
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Feeling of the story (happy, sad, tense, suspenseful, etc.)
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Moral
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the lesson of the story
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Motif
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often-repeated idea in a story
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Narrator
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person telling the story
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Novel
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lengthy, fictional, written story
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Novella
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story longer than a short story, but not as long or complex as a novel
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Omnicient
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point of view in which the reader knows all thoughts, feelings, and actions of all the characters
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Oxymoron
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combination of contradictory terms (jumbo shrimp)
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Paradox
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statement that seems contrary to truth but may be true
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Parody
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story that uses humorous excessive exaggeration to mock something
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Personification
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figure of speech where an inanimate object or animal is given human characteristics
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Plot
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sequence of events in a story
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Protagonist
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main character of the story
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Quest
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series of events in search of something
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Sarcasm
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using false praise to mock someone or something
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Satire
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Literary device used to make fun of human weaknesses
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Setting
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Where the action takes place
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Simile
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figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared using "like" or "as"
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Soliloquy
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monologue revealing the thoughts of a character, usually alone on a stage
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Stereotype
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characterizing a person by the general qualities of a group of people, without individuality
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Symbol
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person, place, thing, or event that stands for something else
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Theme
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main idea; the point; a statement (usually about life or the human condition)
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Tragedy
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story in which the hero is destroyed
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Understatement
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figure of speech in which something is emphasized by presenting it as less than what it is
