1.
antagonist: foe, opponent, adversary
2.
characterization: methods author uses to define and describe a character; physical features (usually least significant), what character says and does; what others in story say about character; what narrator/author says about character
3.
climax: point of highest interest, usually when protagonist resolves conflict; afterward no new conflict or tension is introduced
4.
conflict: problem to be resolved in literature; often more than one; person vs. self/society/nature/person
5.
connotation: what a word suggests beyond its surface definition
6.
denotation: The dictionary definition of a word
7.
denouement: tying up of loose ends at the story's finish
8.
exposition: introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation
9.
foreshadowing: literary device that provides subtle clues about something to come; usually ominous
10.
genre: type; the type of literature being analyzed
11.
hyperbole: intentional exaggeration that serves to make a point
12.
irony: a contrast between what is expected and what actually exists or happens; situational; dramatic; verbal
13.
literary eternal present tense: an artificial "present" used when writing about fiction, where things that occur in a work are described as happening right now
14.
mood: the emotional atmosphere in a literary work, the overarching feeling of the situation or setting; the emotion the work evokes in the reader
15.
narrative: writing that tells a story
16.
oxymoron: a figure of speech consisting of two apparently contradictory terms, e.g. "deafening silence"
17.
pathetic fallacy: the author's use of the weather or season to convey emotions of characters and reflect situation
18.
plot: series of related events that make up a story
19.
point of view: Vantage point from which a writer tells a story. In broad terms there are three possible: omniscient, first person, and third person limited.
20.
protagonist: main character struggling against something or someone else
21.
rising action: Aspect of the plot in which conflicts arise and tensions build
22.
satire: A literary tone the author uses to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness
23.
setting: Where and when the story takes place
24.
symbolism: A literary device in which an object, person, action, or place represents or stands for something beyond its literal meaning
25.
theme: Central idea of a work of literature; expressed as "The authors speaks of the pointlessness of war."
