Literary Terms
1)Plot - the sequence of events in a story
2)Exposition - the opening part of the story where the basic setting, basic characters, and basic situation are introduced
3)Suspense - rising action in a story - a feeling of curiosity or uncertainty about the outcome of events
4)Climax - the highest point of a story - the most exciting events occur - greatest emotional involvement takes place - it is the point in the story when it is known how the problems are going to be resolved
5)Falling Action - the tying up of loose ends - taking care of things in order to resolve the story
6)Resolution - the outcome of a story - all the problems in the story are settled - events end, and the final outcome is told or implied
7) Denotation - the dictionary meaning of a word
8) Connotation - the set of associations that occur when you hear or read a word
9)Simile - a comparison of two different things or ideas through the words "like" or "as" : e.g. "The warrior fought like a lion."
10)Personification - giving inanimate objects or abstract ideas human characteristics: e.g. "The wind cried in the dark."
11) Metaphor - a type of comparison where a thing is regarded as something symbolic of something else
12)Setting - time, location, and atmosphere of a story
13)Characters - the story's actors; people, animals, machines, or anything about whom the story is written
14)Dynamic Character - a character that learns, changes, or grows during the course of the story
15)Static Character - a character that has not changed and is the same at the end of the story
16)Theme - the overall meaning the author is trying to convey through his story - the central message of a literary work. It is not the same as the subject, which can be expressed in a word or two (courage, survival, pride, etc.). It is expressed as a sentence or general statement about life or human nature, such as "Pride goes before a fall."
17)Rhyme - the repetition of sounds in two or more words or phrases that appear close to each other. End rhyme occurs at the end of lines. Internal rhyme occurs within a line. Slant rhyme is approximate rhyme. A rhyme scheme is the pattern of the end rhymes (ABABCC).
18)Onomatopoeia - the use of words that mimic sounds they describe: e.g. "buzz" or "bang".
19)Flashback - a scene that interrupts the action of a work to show a previous event
20)Alliteration - the practice of beginning several consecutive or neighboring words with the same sound: e.g. "The twisting trout twinkled below."
21)Point of View - the perspective from which a narrative is told
The three most common types of Point of View are:
***1st Person - when the narrator is a character in the story and the words "I", "me", "we", "us" or "our" are used
***3rd Person Limited - when the author can only enter the minds of a few characters or the mind of one character
***3rd Person Omniscient - when the author can enter the minds of all characters
22)Chronological Order - to arrange in the order in which the events actually occurred
23) Foreshadowing - the use of hints or clues to tell what is going to happen at a later time in the story
24) Conflict - a basic struggle between two opposing forces
The two basic categories of Conflict are:
***Internal Conflict - to struggle inside oneself with your conscience - usually with some fault in your personality, like greed or jealousy
***External Conflict - to struggle with something outside of oneself - usually nature or another person
The four types of Conflict are:
A) Man vs Man - main character struggles with another human being
B) Man vs Nature - main character struggles with natural forces
C) Man vs Himself - main character struggles with his/her own conscience or character
D) Man vs Society - main character struggles with a group of people, or the rules or standards of the human environment in which he/she lives
25) Allusion - to refer to a previously done recognizable work
26)Sarcasm - the use of verbal irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it: e.g. "As I fell down the stairs headfirst, I heard her say, "'Look at that coordination.'"
27) Myth - a traditional story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors or heroes that informs or shapes the world view of a people
28) Mystery - a novel, short story, play, or film whose plot involves a crime or other event that remains puzzlingly unsettled until the very end
29) Cliche - an expression that has lost its power or originality from overuse
30) Protagonist - the central character of a drama, novel, short story, or narrative poem
31) Antagonist - the character who stands directly opposed to the protagonist
32) Characterization - details that describe or give information about a character
33) Direct Characterization - when the author states directly what the character is like
34) Indirect Characterization - when the reader must figure out what the character is like by observing the a) appearance b) speech c) actions and d) reactions of others to that character
35) Euphemism - a polite word or phrase used in place of one that may be too direct, unpleasant, or embarrassing
36) Turning Point - the point at which the entire story could have gone another way
37) Oxymoron - a combination of two opposite or contradictory terms: e.g. "There was a loud silence after the bird crashed into the window and landed in Fido's genuine imitation beef puppy chow."
38) Cause - the reason for a result, consequence, or effect
39) Effect - the result or consequence brought about by a cause
40) Idiom - an expression peculiar to a particular language that means something different from the literal meaning of each word: e.g. "It's raining cats and dogs."
41)Hyperbole - a deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration: e.g. "The shot heard 'round the world."
42) Irony - the pretense of ignorance in order to ridicule or expose truth
The three types of irony are:
A) Verbal Irony - someone says one thing while meaning the opposite
B) Situational Irony - what is expected to happen is in fact the opposite of what happens
C) Dramatic Irony - when the audience or the reader is aware of something characters in the story are not aware of
43) Mood - a feeling or subtle emotional overtone created in the reader by a literary work or passage
44) Diction - word choice - a writer's vocabulary used, appropriateness, and vividness of his or her language
45) Dialogue - a conversation between characters
46) Analogy - a comparison that explains or describes one subject by pointing out its similarities to another subject
47) Literal Language - the use of words in their ordinary senses - the opposite of figurative language
48) Figurative Language - writing or speech not meant to be taken literally (examples: simile, metapor, hyperbole, oxmoron, personification, etc.)
49) Archaic Language - language that is out of use today
50) Pun - a humorous play on words involving double meanings: e.g. "When the electricity went out, Fido was de-lighted to be alone with Fluffy.
51) Rising Action - Presents complications that intensify the conflict and builds suspense.