Literary Terms English
About this set
Created by:
rachelizabeth97 on September 12, 2011
Log in to favorite or report as inappropriate.
Order by
33 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 protagonist | the main character |
| antagonist | the character/force the protagonist struggles against and must overcome |
| characterization | the process of revealing the personality of a character in a story |
| direct | we are told directly what the character is like |
| indirect | the first 5 ways of revealing a character |
| static | a character who does not change much in the story |
| dynamic | a charcter who changed because of the story's events |
| flat | has 1 or 2 traits that can be described in a few words |
| round | has many different character traits |
| conflict | struggle or clash between opposing characters or forces |
| internal conflict | takes place within a character's own mind |
| external conflict | a character struggles against an outside force |
| dialect | was of speaking that is characteristic of a particular region or group of people |
| exposition | type of writing that explains, gives information, difines, or clarifies an idea |
| flashback | scene in a movie, play, short story, novel, or narrative poem that interrupts the present action of the plot to flash backward and tell what happened at an earlier time |
| foil | character who is used as a contrast to another character |
| foreshadowing | the use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in a plot |
| irony | contrast between expectation and reality-between what is said and what is really meant-between what is said and what is expected to happen-what is expected to happen and what really does happen-between what appears to be true and what is really true |
| verbal irony | writer/speaker means one thing but says something different |
| situational irony | occurs when theme is a contrast between what would seem appropriate and what really happens |
| dramatic irony | when the audience/reader knows something a character doesnt know |
| plot | series of related events that make up a story include the story's basic situation, exposition, conflict, main events, climax. resolution and denovement |
| point of view | vantage point from which a writer tells a story |
| 1st person | a character s telling the story using "I" |
| omniscient | the person telling the story knows everything |
| 3rd person (ltd.) | the narrator zooms in on the thoughts and feelings of just 1 character |
| setting | the time and place of a story or play |
| suspense | uncertainty or anxiety the reader fells about what is going to happen next in a story |
| theme | central idea of a work of literature |
| universal themes | themes commonly found in the literature of all ages |
| tone | attitude a writer takes toward a subject, a character, or the audience |
| tragedy | play that depicts serious and important events in which the main character comes to an unhappy end |
| voice | the writer's or speaker's distinctive use of language in a text |
First Time Here?
Welcome to Quizlet, a fun, free place to study. Try these flashcards, find others to study, or make your own.