ELA 8 Literary Terms

2. Main idea/message/moral of the story – what the author wants you to think about
5. The way the author speaks to the reader… the author’s attitude toward the theme
7. Time and place of the story – includes societal attitudes and cultural norms
9. Hints/clues the author gives which allow the reader to predict a later event
10. Anything that opposes the protagonist – anything that gets in the way of the protagonist reaching his or her goal(s)
11. The audience/reader knows something the character(s) do not
13. A character that DOES NOT change from the beginning to the end of the story
15. A reference to a statement, a person, a place or an event from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, or popular culture
16. The high point of the story; where the character, usually the protagonist, makes a decision, a discovery, and/or takes a decisive action
17. a figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant
18. the words an author and/or writer chooses to use
19. When an object represents an idea
21. Main character; this character could be a hero, “good” or “bad” or a combination of both.
23. found at the beginning of the story. Includes protagonist, setting, hint of conflict, and POV
25. type of literature
26. The contrast between what is expected to happen and what actually happens

1. Placing or imagining things side-by-side – this is done to compare and/or contrast ideas, concepts, literary elements
3. conflict against and outside force
4. The emotions the author creates in the reader – “how you feel”
6. A character that undergoes change during the course of a story
8. When a character goes back to an earlier event/incident
12. action All action/events after the climax
14. conflict within the main character
20. incident Event that gets the plot moving
22. action All action leading to the climax
24. the manner in which an author constructs a sentence