literary terms to know

LITERARY TERMS TO

KNOWEXAMPLES

Character Protagonist: e.Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

Antagonists: i. Nag & Nagaina, king cobras

Minor characters: l. Chua, a rat &Coppersmith bird

Characterization

DIRECT: f. Rikki-Tikki was a very curious mongoose.

INDIRECT:g. Rikki put his nose into the ink on a writing table.

Climax

m. In “The Monkey’s Paw”, Mr. White sent his dead son, Herbert, back to the grave with his third & final wish.

Conflict

n. EXTERNAL: Rikki-Tikki and the cobras are natural enemies and wish to kill each other.

p. INTERNAL: When Rikki sees the huge size of Nag’s five-foot body slither into the bathroom he is very frightened.

Figurative Lang.

r. This is the opposite of literal language and makes writing more interesting to the reader.

Flashback

s. Rikki remembered what his mother had told him about what to do if he ever came across Englishmen.

Foreshadowing

In “Sweet” John had to stay after school every Friday until he passed his spelling test; he stayed after every Friday no matter how much he studied.

t. In “The Landlady” Billy feels a strong pull into the landlady’s house.

Hyperbole

v. After Rikki killed Nag, Rikki thought his own body was broken into forty pieces from the battle.

Imagery

w. The dachsund’s skin was hard, cold, grayish-black, dry and perfectly preserved.

Irony

x. The landlady seemed terribly nice and looked like a best friend’s mother welcoming one into the house. She had a round pink face and gentle blue eyes.

Metaphor

y. “I am death!” Karait, the dusty brown snakeling said.

Mood

a. Dark and gloomy (the night the captain visits the Whites)

Personification

b. The animals in the Indian garden speak, have feelings, cry and chuckle in “RTT”

Plot

h. • In “Sweet” John likes a girl, Gina Lucci• He asks her to go steady, she agrees & he

buys her a gift• John misspells a word on her card & GL

breaks up w/ him• John still has his friend Sandy

Point of View

1st person - Z. John, in “Sweet” tells his story using “I” – “Gina Lucci was my idea of the perfect sixth-grade girl.”

o. 3rd Person Limited - In “The Landlady” the story is told using “he” and we know what Billy is thinking.

Omniscient –q.-In “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” the story is told using “he” and we are told what all the characters are thinking & feeling.

Setting

• J. A modest home in the English countryside, around 1900

Simile

k. Billy thinks the landlady moves just like a jack-in-the-box in her doorway.

Theme

c. Be careful what you wish for. (“The Monkey’s Paw”)

e

Tone

d. Civilized, polite, proper, and welcoming in “The Landlady”

Symbolism

u. Rikki’s red eyes represent his fierceness