Short Story Unit: Key Literary Terms

Theme -- the underlying meaning of a piece of literature

Summary -- a concise, accurate, and objective review of information presented surrounding the events that take place. A good summary only relays important material.

Inference -- An educated guess based on evidence and reasoning.

Characterization -- How an author reveals the personality of a character. This may come through dialogue, actions, descriptions, etc.

Allusion -- A reference to a person, event, thing, or another text.

Point of View -- The perspective a text takes when presenting its plot and narrative. For instance, an author might write a narrative from a specific character’s point of view, which means that that character is our narrative and readers experience events through his or her eyes.

First Person -- I

Second Person -- You

Third Person -- He, She, They, It, or a character’s name
Figurative Language - language that expresses meaning that is different from the literal interpretation. Ex: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole.