Ms. Thompson’s Comprehensive List of EOC Test Terms

Don’t lose this! You will need it to review the terms that will be on the end-of-course test that all ninth-grade English students must take. This test will be worth 25% of your grade for the year. We have learned nearly all of these words in class already. I strongly recommend making flashcards of the ones you don’t know well.

Term	Definition
alliteration	repetition of sounds at the beginnings of words
antagonist	character or force opposing the protagonist
archetype (archetypal)	a pattern, image, or character occurring in the art and literature of many cultures
aside	comment said by an actor supposedly not heard by the other actors onstage
assonance	repetition of similar vowel sounds
atmosphere	mood, or feeling created in a reader by a literary passage
ballad	a narrative folk song with simple stanzas and a repeated refrain
biased	marked by a preference that inhibits impartial judgment; not objective
character	person who takes part in the action of a literary work
characterization	creation or development of a literary character
climax	high point of interest or suspense in a work
conflict	a struggle between opposing forces; several types: person vs. person, person vs. self, person vs. nature, person vs. society
connotation	implied or suggested meaning of a word
consonance	repetition of consonant sounds
couplet	two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme and have the same metrical pattern
denotation	the literal (dictionary) definition of a word
dialect	characteristic speech of a region or social group
dialogue	a conversation between characters
diction	choice of words

direct characterization	development of a character through direct statement of the character’s traits (“telling”)
dramatic irony	difference between what a character in a work knows and what the audience or reader knows

dynamic character	a character who changes over the course of a literary work
epic poetry	long narrative poetry that tells about the deeds of gods of heroes

exposition	writing or speech that explains or informs
external conflict	struggle between a character and another character or outside force
fable	story, often involving animals, that teaches a lesson or moral
fact	objectively real information
falling action	events that follow the climax
figure of speech	a general term for certain creative literary devices, such as simile and metaphor
first-person point of view	uses “I”; perspective of a story as told by one of the characters
flashback	interruption of the plot to recount an event from an earlier time
flat character	a simplified, one-dimensional character
foil	a character, often minor, who contrasts with a major character
foreshadowing	use of clues to suggest what will happen later in a literary work
haiku	a Japanese poem with lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables
hero/heroine	a major character of a work whose actions are inspiring or noble
hyperbole	exaggeration for effect
iambic pentameter	metrical pattern (used by Shakespeare) that alternates unstressed and stressed syllables
imagery	descriptive language that appeals to one of the five senses
indirect characterization	development of a character by showing his/her actions, thoughts, feelings or words
internal conflict	struggle within a character
irony	difference between appearance and reality

limerick	humorous 5-line poem with the rhyme scheme aabba
lyric poetry	poetry expressing the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker
metaphor	a comparison that does not use like or as
meter	the rhythmical pattern of a poem
monologue	a long speech by a single character

mood (see atmosphere)	atmosphere, or feeling created in a reader by a literary passage
moral	lesson taught by a literary work
myth	story that explains the actions of gods or the causes of natural phenomena
narrative poetry	poetry that tells a story
narrator	speaker or character who tells a story
objective	unbiased; impartial

onomatopoeia	the use of words that imitate sounds
opinion	a personal judgment
oxymoron	a brief paradox
paradox	a seeming contradiction that may nonetheless be true
parody	a literary work that imitates another work for comic effect or ridicule
persona	a fictional self created by the author to tell a story; literally means “mask”
personification	giving human characteristics to something that is not human
plot	sequence of events in a literary work
point of view	perspective from which a story is told
prologue	an introduction to a novel or play
prose	writing without rhyme, meter, or line breaks; not poetry
protagonist	main character in a work
pun	a play on words
resolution	end of the central conflict, often following the climax
rhetorical question	a question asked for effect that doesn’t require an answer
rhyme	repetition of sounds at the ends of words
rhyme scheme	the pattern of rhyming words in a poem
rising action	events that lead to the climax

round character	a complex, three-dimensional, realistic character
satire	writing that ridicules or holds up to contempt the faults of individuals or groups
second person point of view	uses “you” (rare in fiction)
setting	the time and place of a literary work
simile	comparison using like or as
soliloquy	speech by a single character; monologue

sonnet	a 14-line poem in iambic pentameter, usu. with the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg
stage directions	in a play, words in italics that indicate the actions of the characters
stanza	a group of lines in a poem considered as a unit
static character	character who does not change over the course of a literary work

style	writer’s way of writing, determined by diction, imagery, sentence structure, formality, and organization
suspense	feeling of growing uncertainty about the outcome of events
symbol	object that stands for something else
theme	a central message, idea, or insight in a work
third-person limited point of view	uses “he” “she”; only gets inside the mind of one character
third-person omniscient point of view	uses “he” she”; gets inside the mind of more than one character
tone	writer’s attitude towards his or her subject and audience; e.g., formal or informal, serious or playful, bitter or sympathetic, straightforward or ironic
tragedy	literature that shows the downfall of a noble or outstanding person, often caused by his/her own actions
verbal irony	use of words to suggest the opposite of their actual meaning