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Reading and Literature Terms
T
he GED reading test doesn’t test you on literary terms. Still,
you should still be familiar with some basic reading and
literature ideas. The point of these terms is not to remember all
the names, but to understand the ideas about writing and what an
author is trying to do.
Term
Definition
Act
An act is the largest section of a play. Plays
are divided into acts, and acts are divided into
scenes.
Alliteration
Alliteration is using words that start with the
same letter, like “Peter Piper picked a peck of
pickled peppers.”
Blank verse
Blank verse is a type of poetry that does not
rhyme.
Character
A character is a person in a story or play.
“Character” can also describe the qualities of a
character.
Characterization
Characterization is how the writer shows
the character’s qualities. For example, when
Ebenezer Scrooge won’t let his worker put coal
on the fire because he doesn’t want to waste
money, it is characterization showing that
Scrooge is greedy.
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Climax
The climax is the point in the story where the
conflict or difficulties are at their most dramatic
point and need to be resolved. In an action
movie, the climax might be a big fight between
the hero and the villain.
Conflict
The conflict is the trouble in the story. There
are three main types of conflict. Man vs. man
involves human beings disagreeing, fighting,
or having problems with each other. Man
vs. nature involves people caught in natural
disasters or struggling to survive. Man vs.
himself involves a person in conflict with himself
or herself. The character has inner troubles that
cause difficulties. Stories can have one, two, or
all three of these types of conflicts.
Couplet
A couplet is two lines of poetry that go together
and rhyme.
Dialogue
Dialogue is what two or more characters say
to each other. Basically, dialogue is characters
talking.
Figurative
language
Figurative language is language that doesn’t
just use words for their dictionary meaning.
Figurative language uses words to make
comparisons or for emotional impact.
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is when the writer hints at
something that will happen later in the story. It’s
a hint or suggestion of what’s coming up.
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Genre
A genre is the type of story you’re telling, like
science fiction, mystery, romance, drama,
comedy, or horror.
Hyperbole
Hyperbole is a big exaggeration, like saying
that the Thanksgiving turkey is the size of a
mountain.
Idiom
An idiom is a common type of phrase that
people use in everyday speech, but that doesn’t
just have a literal meaning, like saying someone
has “a chip on her shoulder” (meaning she’s
proud or haughty) or that passing the test will
be “a piece of cake” (really easy).
Imagery
Imagery is creating pictures that the reader
can visualize, through description. The writer is
trying to make you see, hear, feel, smell, or even
taste the scene.
Irony
Irony is when the truth, or what a character
means, is the opposite of what is said.
Sometimes irony can be similar to sarcasm.
There are different types of irony, like dramatic
irony (when the audience knows information the
character doesn’t know).
Line
In drama, a line of dialogue is what one
character says, called out by that character’s
name before the text.
In poetry, a line is one row (or line) of words in
a stanza. Poems are divided into stanzas, and
stanzas are divided into lines.
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Metaphor
A metaphor is a type of figurative language
when the writer says something is something
else, drawing a parallel between the two things.
For example, it’s a metaphor to say “my love is a
flower,” or “Bob is a pig.”
Meter
Meter is the rhythm of the language in poetry.
Monologue
A monologue is when, in a drama, only one
character talks to the audience.
Narrator
The narrator is a character who tells the story.
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is when a word is meant
to sound like what it means. Examples of
onomatopoeia are the words “woof,” “cock-adoodle-do,” and “meow.”
Oxymoron
An oxymoron is two contradictory or opposite
terms used together, such as “dark light” or
“empty fullness.”
Parody
Parody is an imitation of a type of writing, an
author, or a popular figure that makes fun of
that writing or person.
Personification
Personification is when a writer gives an
object, animal, or idea human characteristics.
For example, saying “the tree wept” is
personification because trees don’t cry. It’s
giving the tree a human characteristic.
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Point of view
The story’s perspective is its point of view. If a
character tells the story, saying, “I walked down
the street... I saw... I said...,” that’s known as
first-person point of view, from that character’s
perspective. If the narrator or storyteller isn’t a
character, and the story says, “He walked down
the street... He saw... He said...,” that’s known as
third-person point of view, from the perspective
of someone outside the story looking on.
Repetition
Repetition is used in writing to give emphasis to
certain ideas or words. One example is Martin
Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I have a dream”
speech, in which he repeats the words, “I have a
dream” for emphasis.
Rhyme
Rhyme is when words end with the same
sounds. Rhyme is typically used in poetry:
“Nature’s first green is gold, her hardest hue to
hold.”
Rhythm
Rhythm is the number of syllables in language
and how those syllables are emphasized. Many
poems are written according to rules of rhythm.
Satire
Satire is a type of writing that makes fun of
people or events. Often, satire makes fun of
political situations or political figures.
Scene
A scene is a small section of a play, usually taking
place in one setting. Plays are divided into acts,
and acts are divided into scenes.
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Simile
A simile is a comparison using a word such as
“like” or “as.” Examples of similes include, “fat
as a pig,” “big as a house,” or “swims like a
fish.”
Stanza
A stanza is a group of lines in a poem, usually
separated by extra space between the stanzas.
Poems are divided into stanzas, and stanzas are
divided into lines.
Theme
A theme is a main idea or message that a writer
wants to convey.
Tone
The tone is the mood of something that’s
written. Tone can be described with adjectives
such as straightforward, happy, sad, or angry.
Understatement
Understatement means saying something
much less strongly than is obviously true.
Understatement is typically sarcastic. For
example, you might say, “We just have a teeny,
tiny budget deficit” to make fun of how big the
budget deficit is.
©2008 by The GED Academy. You are licensed one copy of this document for personal use only. Any other
reproduction or redistribution is prohibited. All rights reserved. w w w . p a s s G E D . c o m