Literary Terms Review

Literary Terms Review Part I

Protagonist • Main Character • The “Good Guy”

Antagonist • Characters / Forces that work against the main character

Plot / Plot Development • Sequence of Events

Exposition • The beginning of the story • Setting, characters, etc. introduced

Narrative Hook • Introduces the central conflict

Rising Action • After the central conflict is introduced, this is a series of events and conflicts that lead to the climax

Climax • Most exciting/tensest part • Sometimes called the “Turning Point” • This is when the central conflict comes to a head; similar to ‘right before the commercial break’ moment

Falling Action • When you find out how the central conflict is resolved; similar to ‘right after the commercial break’ • All of the events from the Climax to the Resolution

Resolution • How the story concludes; loose ends are tied up • Denouement – an extension after the resolution; “The end of it all”; many times seen in an epilogue; the ‘long-term’ ending

Setting • Time & Place of a Story

Suspense • A feeling of tense excitement about how something will end; the I need to know NOW! feeling • Example: a mystery novel or movie

Conflict • A struggle between two opposing forces

Internal Conflict • Happens within the character • Type: Man vs Himself

External Conflict • Happens outside the character • 5 Types: • Man vs. Man • Man vs. Society • Man vs. Nature • Man vs. Technology • Man vs. Supernatural

Literal Language • Meant to be understood as is • No “deeper meaning” • Example: She was ugly.

Figurative Language • NOT meant to be understood on a literal level • Example: She was as big as a house.

Literary Terms Review Part 2

Foreshadowing • Hints of what will happen later in the story

Flashback • Returning to previous events

There are four types of characters

Static Character • Character stays the same

Dynamic Character • Character grows, changes, or matures over the course of the story

Flat Character • Not Fully Developed • Shows One Character Trait or very few overall • Usually minor character

Round Character • Fully Developed Character • Shows a Range of Character Traits • Usually Major Characters

Characterization • The way the author presents the character / reveals character traits • How the author lets “you” know how a character is • Two main methods of characterization

Direct Characterization • The author tells you

Indirect Characterization • The author shows you how a character is through • What the character says • What the character does • What other characters have to say about that character

Imagery • A Picture Painted with Words

Irony • The Difference between Appearance and Reality • 3 Types: Verbal, Situational, & Dramatic

Verbal Irony • When a character says one thing and means another • Ex) “Relaxed like a coiled rattlesnake”

Situational Irony • Difference between what the reader or character expects & what actually exists or happens • Someone goes into the kitchen for a knife but can only find spoons.

Dramatic Irony • The reader or viewer knows something the character does not know • Ex) In scary movies, When the victim does Not know the killer is Around the corner.

Symbolism • When something stands for / represents something else

Theme • The main idea / message of a story • The perception about life or human nature that the writer shares with the reader; an insight • Is not a lesson or moral

A good way to find theme is … • …to pay attention to the main character. • Does the person go through some sort of change? • What does he or she learn?

Point of View • The perspective from which the story is told • Ask: Who is telling the story? • Two main types

First Person Point of View The “I” Point of View - the character is in the story and ‘telling’ it to the reader

Third Person POV • Told by a narrative voice outside the action • Uses third person pronouns such as “he” “she” “they” • Two Types

Limited POV • A third person POV; has a ‘limited’ perspective - We only learn what the character tells us and do not get information about others

Omniscient POV • A third person POV; the “All Knowing” point of view; tells what multiple characters are doing and thinking

Speaker • Used In Poetry - The “Voice that talks to the reader” • Not the Poet

Narrator • Used in prose - The character or voice from whose point of view events are told

Dialect • A form of language as it is spoken in a particular area or by a certain group

Literal Language • Meant to be understood as is • No “deeper meaning” • Example: The flower is pretty.

Figurative Language • NOT meant to be understood on a literal level • Example: She was as big as a house.

8 Main Forms of Figurative Language Simile Metaphor Personification Alliteration Onomatopoeia Hyperbole Idioms Clichés

Hyperbole • A figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated • Ex) He’s as strong as a horse.

Literary Terms Review