Glossary: Literary Terms to Know

These are terms that you are expected to know through all of your English courses at CHS. You will be tested on your ability to recall definitions of these terms, explain instances in the readings where the author used literary devices, and write passages from your own experiences using these devices.

Browse the glossary using this index

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M

Main Character(s)

Events in a story center around the lives of main characters.

Metaphor

A comparison of two things - without using the words like or as - is a metaphor.

EXAMPLES of metaphor

You are my sunshine.

A wire is a road for electrons.

Example from the TV series House: "Saying there appears to be some clotting is like saying there's a traffic jam ahead. Is it a ten-car pile up, or just a really slow bus in the center lane? And if it is a bus, is that bus thrombotic or embolic? I think I pushed the metaphor too far." (episode "Euphoria, Part 1")

"Words are bullets, and should be used sparingly, aimed toward a target."
(Army Colonel Dick Hallock)

"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players..." (Shakespeare)

Minor Character(s)

Minor characters interact with main characters and help move the story along.