| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Plot | sequence of events in a story |
| Subplot | minor plot |
| Parallel Episode | two or more events happening at the same time |
| Exposition | beginning of a story |
| Setting | time and place of a story |
| Characters | the people or animals in a story |
| Protagonist | main character |
| Antagonist | opponent |
| Dynamic | character changes |
| Static | character stays the same |
| Flat | stereotype |
| Round | readers know more about character |
| Basic situation | who are the charactors and what do they want |
| Foreshadowing | hints at later events |
| Rising Action | events leading up to the climax |
| Conflict | problem in the story |
| Man vs. Man | conflict with others |
| Man vs. nature | conflict with natural disasters |
| Man vs. society | conflict with an element of society |
| Man vs. technology | conflict with technology |
| Man vs. self | internal conflict |
| Motivation | reason for behavior |
| Suspense | uncertainty of future events |
| Climax | turning point in the story |
| Denouement | resolution |
| Theme | main idea |
| Verbal Irony | occurs when what is said contradicts what is meant or thought |
| Situational Irony | opposite of what is expected |
| Dramatic Irony | reader knows but character does not |
| Point of view | perspective from which a story is told |
| First person | narrator is a character in the story |
| Third person limited | the narrator (not a character) focuses on thoughts and feelings of one of the characters. |
| Third person omniscient | all knowing narrator |
| Mood | atmosphere |
| Tone | the attitude a writer takes toward a subject |
| Style | author's way of writing |
| Poetry | literature in metrical form |
| Prose | ordinary form of written language |
| Personification | giving human qualities to non humans |
| Simile | comparison using like or as |
| Metaphor | comparison not using like or as |
| Alliteration | a series of similar sounds |
| Allusion | indirect reference |
| Imagery | language that appeals to the senses |
| Idiom | a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language |
| Symbolism | something that means more than what it already is |
| Dialect | a way of speaking that is characteristic of a particular region or group of people |
| Hyperbole | exaggeration, overstatement |
| Understatement | opposite of hyperbole |
Combine with other sets
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