Literary terms and devices
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Created by:
pinkninja77 on December 15, 2009
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21 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 setting | Where, when, what time period, what cultural feelings, what economics of story |
| round character | A complex literary character with fully developed and dynamic traits that does change in the course of the story |
| flat character | A literary character that can be defined by one or two traits and does not change in the course of the story |
| dynamic character | A character that undergoes a permanent change in outlook or character during the story |
| static character | A literary character that remains basically unchanged throughout a work |
| protagonist | the leading character, hero, or heroine |
| antagonist | The principal character in opposition (enemy) to the protagonist or hero |
| direct characterization | The author tells the reader what the personality of the character is |
| indirect characterization | The author shows the reader things that reveal the personality of a character |
| 5 main parts of plot development | exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution |
| omniscient narrator | Narrator who knows everything, may reveal the motivation, thought, and feelings of the characters, and gives the reader information |
| limited omniscient | Third person narrator that is OUTSIDE of the story being told. Omniscient narrator are "all knowing" of everyone's thoughts and feelings in a story. Limited omniscient narrators are all-knowing of either one or a few characters in a story--not everyone |
| 1st person narrator | • Character who tells the story that refers to himself/herself as "I" and "me" |
| 2nd person narrator | A narrative mode in which a main character is referred to as "you" in the story (the reader taking that role), by employment of second-person personal pronouns (such as "you"). |
| 3rd person narrator | Each and every character is referred to by the narrator as "he", "she", "it", or "they", but never as "I" or "we", or "you". It is necessary that the narrator is merely an unspecified entity or uninvolved person that conveys the story, but not a character of any kind within the story being told |
| fate | An unavoidable destiny |
| metaphor | Comparing two different things using the word "is" |
| simile | Comparing two things using the word "like" |
| foreshadowing | Creates suspense by hinting at something that will happen later in the story |
| tone | Mood; kind of language |
| irony | An outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected. |
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