Grade 8: Literary Terms, Unit 1

A summary is a concise, complete, and accurate overview of a text.

A symbol is anything that stands for or represents something else.

Symbolism is the use of symbols.

With a partner, come up with an antonym, a word with the opposite meaning, for each of the following words: wearily, frail, and sheepishly.

The voice of a verb shows whether the subject of the verb is performing the action or receiving it.

A monologue is a speech given by a character that expresses that character's point of view.

Nonfiction is prose writing that presents and explains ideas or that tells about real people, places, objects, or events.

A narrative is a story. Novels and short stories are types of fictional narratives.

In a nonfiction narrative, the writer often sequences events in chronological order so that one event proceeds to the next in the order in which they actually happened.

Transitions are words and phrases that connect and show relationships among events and ideas.

The resolution is the outcome of the conflict in a plot.

A dialogue is a conversation between characters.

An author's tone is his or her attitude toward a subject or audience.

To develop the tone of a literary work, an author considers the connotations of the words he or she uses, or the ideas and feelings associated with the words.

Connotations often suggest meaning beyond the word's dictionary definition, or denotation.

Mood is the feeling created in the reader by a piece of writing.

Poetry is one of the three major types of literature, the others being prose and drama.

The theme is a central message, concern, or purpose in a literary work.

A lyric poem is a highly musical verse that expresses the observations and feelings of a single speaker.

An omniscient third-person narrator knows everything that happens and reveals what each character thinks and feels.