TASC English Literature key terms

A conclusion a reader draws by combining clues in a text with prior knowledge, even though the author never states that conclusion directly.

The central point a passage conveys about its subject, broad enough to cover the whole text rather than one supporting detail.

A specific fact, example, or quotation inside a text that explains, illustrates, or backs up a larger claim the writer makes.

Surrounding words, sentences, or situations in a passage that help a reader work out the meaning of an unfamiliar word without a dictionary.

A direct quotation or precise reference taken from a passage and used to justify an interpretation or answer about that passage.

A brief restatement of a text's most important points in a reader's own words, leaving out minor details and personal opinion.

A rewording of a short passage that keeps the original meaning intact while changing the wording and sentence structure.

A broad idea about life or human nature that a literary work explores and develops throughout, such as loyalty or the cost of ambition.

A recurring image, phrase, object, or situation that appears repeatedly in a work and reinforces its themes or mood.

A concrete object, person, or event that stands for a larger abstract idea beyond its literal meaning in the story.

A narrative in which characters, settings, and events consistently represent abstract ideas or moral qualities on a second level of meaning.

The attitude a writer or speaker expresses toward the subject and audience, conveyed through word choice, detail, and sentence structure.

The emotional atmosphere a text creates in the reader, shaped by setting details, imagery, sound devices, and pacing.

A writer's deliberate choice of words, including their level of formality, precision, and emotional shading, which shapes style and tone.

The arranged sequence of events in a story, usually moving through exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

The central struggle between opposing forces in a narrative, whether person against person, society, nature, or the self.

The moment of greatest tension in a narrative, where the main conflict reaches its turning point and the outcome becomes inevitable.

A hint or early clue an author plants that prepares readers for an event occurring later in the story.

The techniques an author uses to reveal a character's personality, including direct description and indirect evidence from speech, action, and others' reactions.

The main character whose goals and choices drive the narrative forward and whose fate most concerns the reader.

The character or force that opposes the protagonist and creates much of the story's central conflict.

A character whose traits contrast sharply with another character's, making the other's qualities more visible to the reader.

The perspective from which a story is told, such as first person, third-person limited, or third-person omniscient.

The degree to which a storyteller's account can be trusted, judged by gaps, contradictions, bias, or limited knowledge revealed in the text.

The time, place, and social conditions in which a story's action occurs, often influencing character behavior and mood.

Language that departs from literal meaning to create vivid comparisons or effects, including metaphor, simile, personification, and hyperbole.

A comparison that states one thing is another without using like or as, transferring qualities from one object to a different one.

A comparison of two unlike things using the words like, as, or than to highlight a shared quality.

A figure of speech that gives human qualities, emotions, or actions to animals, objects, or abstract ideas.

Descriptive language appealing to the senses that creates vivid mental pictures and contributes to a work's mood and meaning.

A gap between what is said or expected and what actually happens or is meant, often used to expose folly or create emphasis.

A situation in drama or narrative where the audience knows something important that a character on stage or in the story does not.

A speech in which a character alone on stage reveals private thoughts aloud to the audience rather than to another character.

An extended speech delivered by one character, either alone or in the presence of others, that develops character or advances the plot.

A brief remark spoken by a character directly to the audience, supposedly unheard by other characters on stage.

The written instructions in a play script describing setting, movement, gesture, and delivery, which guide performance and reveal character.

The emotional or cultural associations a word carries beyond its dictionary meaning, such as the warmth implied by home.

The literal, dictionary meaning of a word, independent of the feelings or associations it may suggest to readers.

The unstated meaning or attitude beneath a character's words or an author's surface narrative, inferred from context and tone.

Describes writing that aims primarily to instruct or teach a moral lesson rather than simply to entertain its audience.