Elements of Literature
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25 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Plot | the sequence of events in a story |
| Climax | Most exciting moment of the story; turning point |
| Exposition | introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation |
| Resolution | End of the story where the conflict is resolved and all loose ends are tied up |
| Protagonist | the main character in a work of fiction, often the hero |
| Antagonist | A character or force in conflict with the main character |
| Setting | where and when the story takes place |
| Conflict | the problem or problems characters face in a literary work |
| Man v. Man | a struggle between two characters, external |
| Man v. Himself | a struggle within one character, internal |
| Man v. Nature | When a character is in conflict with nature or nature's disasters |
| Man v. Fate | The leading character struggles against his/her fate and/or the powerful higher entity that controls that fate. |
| Man v. Supernatural | character at odds with a supernatural force (some other-worldly entity, such as ghosts, aliens, zombies, etc.) |
| Man v. Society | The leading character struggles against ideas, practices, or customs of society. |
| Irony | the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; or, incongruity between what is expected and what actually happens |
| Symbolism | A device in literature where an object represents an idea (has a figurative meaning as opposed to its literal meaning). |
| Motivation | the reasons, justifications, explanations for a character's actions |
| Foreshadowing | the use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in the plot |
| Theme | a central message or insight into life revealed through a literary work (Ex. "it was the usual 'boy gets girl' theme") |
| Mood | the overall emotion created by a work of literature |
| Point of View | the perspective from which a story is told |
| First-person | the narrator is a character in the story |
| Third-person | Point of view in which the narrator is outside of the story - an observer |
| Omniscient | when the narrator knows what is happening to every character, all-knowing |
| Limited Omniscient | narrator focuses on the view of only one character, usually the protagonist, can reveal the inner thoughts and feelings of this one character but presents the other characters from the outside only. |
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