Unit 4: Part 1 Literary Terms

Write a short testimonial—a personal statement affirming the value of something—about a literary work you have read.

His so-called love song is a dramatic monologue, a poem or speech in which a character addresses a silent listener.

Throughout the poem, Prufrock makes allusions, or references, to people and historical or literary events that hold meaning for him.

All fictional works have characters, the personalities represented in a story.

An allegory is a narrative in which every literal element has a symbolic meaning.

The allegory of the turtle helps Steinbeck express the novel's theme— the message, or comment on life.

A subgenre found in all forms of literature—poems, essays, novels, plays, and short stories—satire is writing that ridicules or exposes the faults of individuals, groups, institutions, or humanity at large.

Satirical writings vary in tone, or attitude, which may be bitter, harsh, gentle, humorous, sober, or comical.

An author's style is his or her unique way of writing. Many factors determine style, including word choice, sentence structure, and the arrangement of words on a page.

One way to make sure you understand the poet's essential meaning is to paraphrase, or restate ideas in your own words. Paraphrasing can help you determine the meaning of passages that may otherwise challenge your comprehension.

• Imagery: word pictures that appeal to the senses

• Personification: a figure of speech in which a nonhuman idea or thing is given human qualities

• Simile: a figure of speech comparing two seemingly different things and using the words like or as

As the name suggests, Imagist poetry evokes emotion and sparks the imagination through the vivid presentation of a limited number of images, or words and phrases that appeal to the senses.

As the organizer of the event, write an introduction that provides background about the poet and prepares the audience for the poetry they will hear.

Then, choose the letter of the word that is the best synonym, or word with a similar meaning, for the first word.

Decide whether each sentence below is logical. If it is not, rewrite the sentence to fix the logic, but do not replace the italicized word.

Subject-verb agreement requires that a subject and a verb agree in number.

A photograph is a visual image created when light falls on a sensitive surface, such as film or an electronic imager.

A ballad is a song or a song-like poem that tells a story—often, a story about adventure or love.