Year 7 and 8: Literary Terms

Terms Definition
Alliteration The repetition of the same consonant sound, especially at the beginning of words.
Allusion A reference to another event, person, place or work.
Ambiguity Use of language where the meaning is unclear or has two or more possible meanings or interpretations.
Assonance Similar vowel sounds occurring together: Spoon the fool's food.
Caesura A break in the middle of a line of poetry, sometimes following enjambment (think of 'caesarean' or cut)
Colloquial Ordinary everyday speech and language (slang or dialect).
Connotation An associated meaning: for instance, the colour red connotes love and passion.
Consonant Every letter that is not a vowel (not A, E, I, O or U)
Dramatic Irony When the audience knows something the characters on stage do not know.
Direct Address When the writer speaks directly to the reader using the pronoun ‘you’.
Emotive Language that appeals to people’s emotions.
Language
Enjambment A line of poetry that flows on into the next line without a pause or punctuation.
End-stopped A line of poetry that has a clear pause or break at the end
Facts Statements that can be proven to be true
Form The ‘type’ of writing: for instance, novel, play, article, letter
Format The way writing is laid out on the page
Foreshadowing A hint of what is to come.
Hyperbole Exaggeration
Iambic 10 syllables in 5 pairs of 2. Each pair includes unstressed followed by stressed: TeDUM TeDUM TeDUM
Pentameter TeDUM TeDUM
Imagery The use of words to create a picture or "image" in your head.
Juxtaposition Placing two contrasting ideas/statements/things near each other. It is different to oxymoron.
Metaphor Direct figurative comparison saying one thing IS another (not 'like').
Metonymy refers to using one thing to describe something related to it, such as referring to the monarchy as simply
"the crown," or religious institutions as "the church".
Metre (or The regular use of unstressed and stressed syllables in poetry (iambic pentameter and dactylic for
Meter) example).
Narrative A piece of writing that tells a story.
Opinion A statement made by someone which cannot be proven to be true
Onomatopoeia Words which sound like the things they are describing: "bang", "crash", "squelch" etc .
Oxymoron Two things which are generally incompatible put together, like "bitter sweet". Not to be confused with
juxtaposition.
Pathetic fallacy When surroundings or weather reflect (not create) the inner mood of a character or event.
Pathos The effect in literature which makes the reader feel sadness or pity.
Personification Giving living (not necessarily 'human') attributes to inanimate or non-human things. It is a type of
metaphor. "Time must untie this knot".
Plot The sequence of events in a poem, play, novel or short story that make up the main storyline.
Point of View The perspective from which we hear what is happening.
Protagonist The main character.
Pun A play on words: "Time must untie this knot, not I... (Shakespeare's Twelfth Night).
Repetition Saying something more than once for effect.
Rhetorical A question that is not asked to be answered – to provide emphasis or encourage thought.
Question
Rhyme scheme The pattern of rhymes in a poem.
Rhythm The beat as created through the meter.
Simile Direct figurative comparison using like or as. Example: She’s like a busy bee. Non-example: ‘I look like her’.
Soliloquy Speech delivered directly to the audience (particularly in Shakespeare) in which the character says they
are thinking and feeling.
Sonnet A fourteen-line poem, usually written in iambic pentameter.
Stanza The blocks of lines into which a poem is divided - a 'verse'
Statistics (in non-fiction) facts and figures
Structure The way a poem or play or other piece of writing has been ‘built’ or put together.
Symbol One thing which represents something else. For example, a heart symbolises love.
Syntax The order of words or parts of speech in writing.
Triplication Repeating a word, phrase or idea three times for effect
Sentences Types and Parts of Speech

Term Definition
Noun A person, place or thing.
Concrete noun A noun you can experience physically with your senses.
Abstract noun An idea. You cannot experience it physically with your senses.
Proper noun A specific name of something. It always needs a capital letter.
Common noun A noun that is not a proper noun (all the rest). It does not need a capital letter.
Determiner A word placed in front of a noun to specify quantity (e.g., "one dog," "many dogs") or to clarify
what the noun refers to (e.g., "my dog," "that dog," "the dog")
Preposition Shows relation of one thing to another - on, at, in, by
Verb A doing word (expresses an action; these are called active verbs. For example, ‘Run’, ‘swim’ and
‘see’.) or being word (expresses states of being, thoughts and feeling; these are called stative
verbs. For example, ‘is’ ‘have’, ‘want’).
Adverb Adds information to a verb
Auxiliary verb A helping word that the main verb needs to be complete. (e.g.: fish were swimming)
Adjective A word that describes a noun.
Present Participle A word ending in ‘ing’. It can act as a verb or an adjective.
Prepositions A word that is used before a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun, showing relationship.
Subject The thing that is doing or being the verb.
Object The thing that is having the verb done to it.
Main clause A clause which must have a subject and a verb; it might also have an object. It does not have
any conjunctions (joining words). The order of parts is normally subject, verb, object.
Simple sentence One main clause with a full stop.
Comma splice A mistake, which involves joining two main clauses with a comma.
Conjunction A joining word : ‘and’, ‘although’, ‘since’, etc.
Compound sentence A sentence consisting of at least two main clauses joined together by a conjunction.
Co-ordinating Conjunctions which join parts of equal importance: FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, Because, Or, Yet,
conjunctions So)
Subordinate clauses A clause which does not make sense on its own; A main clause with a subordinating conjunction
at the beginning. When it is positioned before the main clause, a comma is necessary at the end
of the subordinate clause.
Complex sentence A sentence consisting of a main clause plus one or more subordinate clauses.
Interrogative sentence Essentially, a question (think of interrogate). Can be a Sentence or a word. "What?"
Declarative sentences Simply statements that relay information.
Imperative sentences Used to issue a command or instruction, make a request, or offer advice.

Analytical Writing Structure

Point What statement: What is your answer to the question? Make a clear statement that answers the
question.
Evidence How statement: How has the author done this? Select a supporting quotation.
Explanation/ Why statement: Why does the quotation you have Show you understand what the writer is
Analysis chosen support your answer? suggesting.

Punctuation

Name Symbol Use Name Symbol Use

Question ? Put at the end of a sentence that Exclamation ! Put at the end of a sentence that
Mark asks or requests something mark expresses strong feelings or
command
Full Stop . Used at the end of sentences Colon : Used at the end of main clauses to
that are not exclamations or show that more information follows
questions.
Commas , Used to separate parts of a Quotation ““ Used to show when someone is
sentence Marks saying something
Semi ; Punctuation that joins main Parentheses () Used to add additional information
Colon clauses and replaces a Em-dash –– not vital to the sentence.
conjunction