Literary Terms

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as a term in literary history, realism refers to fiction and drama of the late nineteenth century that concentrated on ordinary middle-class existence and its daily concerns like money, society, and marriage. The characters are bankers, farmers and housekeepers, not swashbuckling pirates, gallant knights, or supernatural beings. In a more general sense, realistic refers to a manner of representing life; it is the opposite of romantic.

short story

a short prose fiction usually depicting a single incident (unlike most novels). A newer form than the novel, the modern short story dates from the early nineteenth century.

story of initiation

a short story depicting a decisive incident that initiates a character into a higher state of awareness, whether for better or for worse. E.g.: John Updike's "A & P."

theme

a term used in different ways: for the main idea (but not necessarily the subject) of a work of literature; an idea which a work explores; or an argument that a work advances. Therefore, a theme can be identified in a complete sentence, a noun phrase, or a single word: in George Orwell's Animal Farm, "the corrupting influence of power," "power," or "Power corrupts."

protagonist

main character. A more general term than hero; not all protagonists are heroic.

antagonist

a character (or sometimes a thing) in conflict with the main character or protagonist.

conflict

the central problem or issue to be resolved in a plot, involving the main character struggling against another character(s) or obstacle (e.g., Janie's pursuit of love in Their Eyes Were Watching God). Conflict can also refer to the ideas in a literary work (e.g., "The Road Not Taken" dramatizes the conflicting values of conformity and independence).

exposition

the revelation (usually early) in a story or play of necessary background information.

Freytag's Pyramid

a graphic organizer which helps a person to visualize the plot of a story; it consists several parts: the exposition, the inciting moment, the dramatic question, the rising action, the crisis situation, the climax, the falling action, and the denouement.

setting

the location of a story. It may be important in developing character, motivation and meaning. In To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee carefully establishes what Maycomb is like.

foreshadowing

a hint that is fully understood only in retrospect after the reader discovers more information later in the plot. The term does not simply mean an omen or an explicit prediction of something that will happen later. Foreshadowing is always a noun; foreshadow is a verb.

Literary Terms

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