| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Setting of Time | General or specific time the story takesplace; length of time span covered in the book; stated or implied |
| Setting of Place | General or specific place where the story is taking place; may shift during the story; stated or implied |
| Setting of Tone (Mood) | The frame of mind or state of feeling created by a piece of writing; simple or complex |
| Point of View | The perspective from which the events of a story are told and/or interpreted. |
| First Person (POV) | Teller of the story is a character in the story; limited by self as a person; reader should identify bias |
| Third Person Omniscient (POV) | The teller is not a character in the story; knows every character in the novel thoroughly |
| Third Person Limited (POV) | Teller is not a character in the story; limited in that he knows only certain characters; remaining characters seen objectively |
| Third Person Objective (POV) | Reporter version; teller records only what sees; cannot report thoughts of their characters |
| Plot | Series of events that are interrelated and that progress because of the interplay of one force upon another (conflict) to a climax; the "action" or a story |
| Stage | divisions in the plot |
| Introduction | (stage 1) a beginning situation, an openning event; exposition of major conflict; setting established; introduction of main characters |
| Rising Action | (stage 2) series of events grouping out of the beginning situation; leads to climax |
| Climax | (stage 3) point where the ending situation is seen as inevitable; crisis stage of the conflict |
| Falling Action | (stage 4) ending situation; closing event; resolution of conflict |
| Conflict | The struggle which grows out of the opposing forces in the plot; major one between protagonist and antagonist; may be minor ones as well |
| Internal | conflict type; person in conflict with some aspect of self |
| External | conflict type; person in conflict with some force that exists outside their self |
| Person vs. Self | kind of conflict; internal |
| Person vs. Person | kind of conflict; between one or more person and one or more other persons |
| Person vs. Society | kind of conflict; between one or more persons and a social attitude or value represented by society. |
| Person vs. Nature | kind of conflict; between person or persons and environment |
| Person vs. Fate | kind of conflict; between person or persons and a supernatural force/ God |
| Exposition | stage 1 of conflict; the major conflict is revealed |
| Complication | stage 2 of conflict; protaganist must surmount minor obstacles/conflicts inorder to resolve major conflict |
| Crisis | stage 3 of conflict; point where the resolution of major conflict becomes inevitable |
| Resolution | stage 4 of conflict; conflict is resolved as action falls |
| Major (Characterization Type) | character is absolutely necessary to the work as it exists; appears frequently and play a major role in the plot development |
| Minor (Characterization Type) | characters do not appear as often; their roles are not as necessary to the work as the major character |
| Dynamic (Characterization Type) | character undergoes a major attitudinal change during the course of the work |
| Static (Characterization Type) | character remains essentially the same throughout the work |
| Round (Characterization Type) | complex character; fully developed to the extent that he/she becomes reasonably predictable |
| Flat (Characterization Type) | simple character; not fully developed; usually stands out as having one or two strong characterisitics |
| Protagnist | Character around whom action evolves; not necessarily the "good guy" |
| Antagonist | Force that opposes the protagonist; not necessarily the "bad guy" |
| Methods of Character Development (1-11) | What character 1.says, 2.does, 3.thinks, 4.How the character reacts to others; 5/6.what others say/think about the character; 7.how character relates to surroundings; 8. How character reacts to others; 9. speech habits (talk); 10. appears; 11.personality description by narrator |
| Word Structure (Technical Aspects of Style) | word difficulty level, word choice (vividness/ preciseness), dialect association |
| Sentence Structure (Technical Aspects of Style) | sentence complexity, clarity, pattern as to dialect association |
| Mechanics Structure (Technical Aspects of Style) | grammar; punctuation |
| Division Mode Structure (Technical Aspects of Style) | chapters, books, diaries, etc. |
| Metaphor | strong comparison of two dissimilar items for the effect of description (no "like" or "as"): "Her feet were boats." |
| Simile | weak comparison of two dissimilar items for the effect of description; uses "like" or "as": "Her feet were like boats." |
| Alliteration | repetition of INITIAL identical consonant sounds in words that occur in close proximity: Larry the Lobster |
| Consonance | repetition of identical consonant sounds INTERNALLY in words that occur in close proximity: taxing foxes (X) |
| Personification | giving to animals, ideals, or inanimate objects, human forms or characteristics: "the sun smiled" |
| Onomatopoeia | a word that sounds like what it signifies: "Achoo" |
| Synechdoche | part signifying the whole; a whole signifying a part: "that girl was nothing but ass" |
| Metonymy | using a word that is closelty associated with another to signify the latter: "The pen is mightier than the sword." (sword represents the military) |
| Hyperbole | extreme exaggeration: "there were a million questions on that test" |
| Parody | work burlesquising a serious work: Wierd Al songs, "Livin' in the Fridge" |
| Spoonerism | interchange of two identical sounds in words that makes another meaningful phrase: "Muck Fichigan" |
| Foreshadowing | dropping important hints by the author to prepare the reader for an anticipation of the outcome |
| Retrospection (flashback) | Interruption of the main series of events to recreate a situation or event of an earlier time as though it were occuring in the present |
| Dialogue | writing realistic conversation that is appropriate for the time, place, and characters |
| Dialect | recreation on the printed page of an accent sound: "g'day gov'na" |
| Irony | A situation that is the opposite of what might be expected or considered appropriate |
| Satire | criticism of manners, individuals, or political or social institutions by holding them up to ridicule |
| Suspense | anxious expectation as to the outcome of events |
| Paradox | statement that is seemingly contradictory or absurd that is actually well founded or true: "method to his madness" |
| Allegory | extended metaphor |
| Allusion | reference made to famous historical or literary figure or event |
| Stream-of-Consciousness | uninteruppted uneven and endless flow of consciousness of one or more characters |
| Anachronism | false assignment of an event, a person, a scene, or a language to a time period when it was not in existence |
| Sarcasm | Satire that is intended to hurt: "yeah right" |
| Assonance | repitition of identical VOWEL sounds in words that occur in close proximity: "it's hot and monotonious" |
| Verisimilitude | degree of probability of possibility that a work possesses |
| Theme | moral or lesson that was the author's purpose for writing the story |
| Biographical Influence | author's life often influence work; characters may be reflections of people author has known, etc. |
| Conventional Symbolism | symbol that is universally understood: cross, flag, skull and bones |
| Original Symbolism | symbol that has been contrived by the author to have signifigance in one or a series of works |
Combine with other sets
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