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Literary terms to know

Terms in this set (50)

Allusion
A passing reference to an historical, political, social, or literary person, place, event, or work that the writer expects the reader to know.
Antagonist
Character or force in conflict with the main character.
Characterization
The process of revealing the personality of a character.
Direct characterization
The writer tells the reader what the character is like.
Indirect characterization
The writer shows the reader what the character is like.
Character
A person or animal around whose actions a story revolves.
Round character
A character with many different character traits.
Flat character
A character with only one or two character traits.
Static character
A character who does not change much in a story.
Dynamic character
A character who changes as a result of incidents in a story.
Climax
The point of greatest tension or greatest complication when the reader learns what the outcome of the conflict is likely to be; the turning point.
Conflict
The struggle between opposing forces or characters.
Internal conflict
The struggle within a character dealing with opposing needs, desires, or emotions.
External conflict
A character struggles against an outside force.
Dialect
The way of speaking that is characteristic of a region or group.
Diction
A writer's or speaker's choice of words.
Dramatic Irony
When the audience or reader knows something important
Exposition
Part of the plot that introduces the situation, setting, characters, and initial conflict.
Falling action
the plot events immediately after the climax that lead to the resolution.
Figurative language
Words or phrases that describe one thing to another using imaginative comparisons.
Metaphor
A direct comparison between two unlike things without the use of the words "like" or "as"
Personification
A comparison in which a non-human thing or quality is given human characteristics.
Simile
A comparison between two unlike things using the words "like", "as", "resembles", or "than".
Flashback
A scene that interrupts present action and tells what happened at an earlier time.
Foreshadowing
Use of clues to hint at events that will occur later.
Imagery
Use of descriptive language that appeals to the five senses.
Irony
Contrast between what is expected and what really occurs or is.
Mood
The feeling or atmosphere created by the author's use of words.
Motivation
The fears or conflicts or needs that drive a character.
Narration
The method used to tell a story; the point of view.
Narrator
The person telling the story, usually a character or the author.
Plot
The series of related events that make up the story.
Plot line
The diagram that shows what happens in the key parts to a story: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
Point of view
The perspective from which the story is told.
First person
The story is told from the author's or one character's perspective, characterized by the use of the pronouns I, me, my, we, and our.
Second person
Narrative which directs the reader to follow along or complete a task.
Third person omniscient
The narrator tells the story from the perspective of more than one character with all thoughts and feelings known.
Third person limited
The narrator tells the story from one character's perspective, with only his or her thoughts/feelings.
Protagonist
The main character; the hero or heroine.
resolution
The part of the story when all problems are resolved, the outcome is known, and the story ends.
Rising action
The main events that show the complication of the problem.
Setting
The time and place in which a story takes place.
Situation Irony
There is a contrast between what would seem appropriate and what really happens, or when what we expect to happen is in fact quite contradictory to what really takes place.
Surprise ending
An unexpected conclusion to a story.
Suspense
The uncertainty or tension about what is going to happen next.
Symbol
A person, place, thing, or event that stands for itself and for something beyond itself as well.
Symbolism
The use of images/symbols to represent a deeper meaning.
Theme
The central idea or meaning suggested by a story , usually a message about life.
Tone
The author's attitude toward the subject or the reader.
Verbal Irony
A writer or speaker says one thing but really means something completely different.
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