Literary Devices Alliteration - repeating the same beginning sounds of words EG: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled

peppers" Allegory A story in which people, things and actions represent an idea or generalization about life. EG: The Jade Pendant (a story written by Catherine Lim) Allusion a reference in one story to a well-known character or event from another story, history, or place EG: the rise of the baseball team from last place to first was a real Cinderella story; at times teachers need the wisdom of Solomon to make decisions Antagonist The bad person in a story; opposes the protagonist EG: Voldemort in Harry Potter Assonance The repetition of similar internal vowel sounds in a group of words EG: Fleet feet sweep by sleeping geeks. Connotation The feeling associated with a word EG: the words "pop quiz" often carry with them a feeling of uneasiness, but "ice cream" brings a smile to the face of most children Denotation The dictionary definition of a word. EG: ice- the frozen form of water Foreshadowing giving hints or clues of what is to come later in the story EG: This was the first bad thing to happen to him today, but more was yet to come. Hyperbole exaggeration EG: Im so hungry I could eat a horse! Irony using a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its normal meaning EG: You study all-week for a spelling test, then misspell your name on the test/You beg your parents to let you have a kitten, then you discover youre deathly allergic to them Metaphor a creative comparison between two things that are not usually compared EG: His toes were ice cubes Oxymoron a figure of speech which brings two opposite terms together EG: honest thief, bad luck, big baby, awfully nice, common differences, fully empty, Parody A humorous story that mocks its targets by imitating and exaggerating them. EG: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by John Scieszka has the story of the Three Little Pigs explained from the wolfs point of view, and in his version it was all a big misunderstanding and he was innocent. Personification giving something that is not a person, human-like qualities EG: animals or objects that speak, think, feel, and/or walk on two legs Point of view the perspective from which the story is told EG: 1st person narrator is a character in the story; uses I, we, etc.

3rd person - narrator outside the story; uses he, she, they 3rd person limited - narrator tells only what one character perceives 3rd person omniscient - narrator can see into the minds of all characters. Protagonist The main character in a story, play or novel. Often a good or heroic type EG: Harry Potter Satire Making fun of something with humor and wit for the purpose of improving it. Satire may be offensive, but generally, when done in the right spirit, the people it makes fun of should not be offended. EG: Jonathan Swifts A MODEST PROPOSAL. He uses satire thought the whole poem. He says Lest us eat the children. He does this to point out poverty as a major problem in the country. Simile a creative comparison between two things that are not usually compared that uses the word "like" or "as" to link the two things EG: Her lips were like rose petals Stanza a group of lines in a poem that are separated from other lines by a blank line; a stanza in poetry functions like a paragraph in a story or essay EG: *see poem at the end of this glossary (each paragraph or set of lines is a stanza)

Symbol any person, object, or action that has additional meaning beyond itself EG: As a boy sits in class on the first day of school, he stares out the window at a basketball sitting on the blacktop in the playground. As he gazes at it, the basketball reminds him of all the fun times he had over the summer. The basketball becomes a symbol of summer. Theme the central idea that runs through the story, usually expressed as an abstract noun (or statement). EG: loyalty, bravery, honesty, love, etc Tone The authors attitude towards the characters or the story. The author may not like the characters, and may make fun of them in a subtle way. Or even the opposite EG: The girl cast a lonely thin shadow on the gray brick wall, as her classmates tumbled merrily in the brightly flowered fields beyond the school.(the author feels sorry for the girl who isnt playing with the other children) Understatement when the author presents something as less significant than it really is EG: Mr. Brumble looked at both test papers, back and forth, back and forth, noting that all the answers were exactly the same. He put the papers down on his desk, crossed his arms and said, Boys, we have a little problem here. Verse A line of poetry EG: *see poem below (Each # is a verse)

* Lucky Trade By Matthew M. Fredericks

# I told my mom Id go to work # if she would go to school. # She thought that trading places once # just might be kind of cool. # So she agreed; I packed her lunch # and made her wash her face. # Then Mother said, "I wonder why # you want to take my place?"

# I wonder what you do at work # Id like to meet your boss # Now hurry up and brush your teeth # and dont forget to floss. # Theres just one thing, Mom, # That I forgot to mention: # Ill pick you four at four oclock # Today you have detention.