Literary Terms Mrs. Scheitlin

1. Literary TermsMrs. Scheitlin

2. Plot Development • Introduction • Characters • Setting • Rising Action (conflict) (man v man…) • Climax (conflict no longer exists) • Falling Action (events just after climax) • Resolution (story ends)

3. Plot Development Climax F.A. Rising Action Resolution (conflict) Intro

4. Conflict • Man v Man • Man v Society • Man v Nature • Man v Self

5. Sub Plots • These are the support systems of the whole; they make a story much more interesting providing needed details for complete understanding…

6. Parallel Episodes • This is where an event is repeated somewhere else in time… • Even perhaps in another world…

7. Flashback • When the author takes you back in time to give you information that helps to explain events or character motivation in a story

8. Foreshadowing • When the author gives you hints about what will happen in the future

9. Suspense… • a state or condition of mental uncertainty or excitement, as in awaiting a decision or outcome, usually accompanied by a degree of apprehension or anxiety. • 2. a state of mental indecision.

10. Details • Small parts that go together to make a whole • They make writing more exciting • Can be sentences or groups of words • Can be your 5 senses • What details describe the following???

11. Imagery …allows a writer to showa writer what she means instead of just tellingsomeone. • I took a walk around the world toEase my troubled mindI left my body laying somewhereIn the sands of timeI watched the world float to the darkSide of the moonI feel there is nothing I can do • --"Kryptonite" by Three Doors Down

12. Theme • The writer’s message about life • Alienation • Ambition • TheAmerican Dream • Coming of Age • Community • Death • Education • Ethics… • …the list goes on and on

13. End of List #1 • Please stop here

14. Antagonist • The evil character in the story • The character who works in opposition to the main character (protagonist)

15. Protagonist • Usually describes as the main character in a story… • The hero!

16. Flat Characters • Characters who are one-dimensional • They represent only one character element (evil, happy-go-lucky, timid, a bully).

17. Round Characters • Characters who are wholly developed. • You have great insight into the many different facets of their personality.

18. Static Characters • These characters never change throughout the story

19. Dynamic Characters • These characters do change, or grow, throughout the story.

20. Character Motivation • Why does the character act the way he does??? • Some of us want wealth, power, love, food, and, as you can see, often these are interrelated. To find the heart of a character we must find his/her motivation.

21. Character Motivation • We learn about the character by what he says and does • We learn about the character from what others say about him

22. Dialog Related to Characterization • Dialog that is specific to that character. • “Luke. I am your father!”

23. Archetypes • the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype.

24. Direct Characterization • The process by which the personality of a fictitious character is revealed through the character's speech, actions, and appearance. He was tall and exceedingly lank, with feet that served as shovels, and a long snipe nose.

25. Indirect Characterization • the writer reveals information about a character and his personality through that character's thoughts, words, and actions, along with how other characters respond to that character, including what they think and say about him.

26. End of List #2

27. Mood • The feeling one gets when reading • Suspense • Patriotic • Light and funny • Horrifying • Anxious • Anger

28. Tone • The author’s attitude toward his writing • Understanding the author’s tone will lead to understanding the meaning of the writing

29. Connotation • The feelings you bring to the definition of a word • Home – a building where people live… would you rather live in a mansion or a slum?

30. Denotation • The dictionary definition of a word • Home – a building where people live

31. Dialect • A regional variation of speech • Southern accent • Boston accent • NYC accent

32. Idiom • A group of words that can not be taken literally • It’s raining cats and dogs.

33. Style • 1) the machinery of writing • 2) the writer's voice • Achieved through words • concrete, specific • Omit unnecessary words • Powerful verbs and nouns • Avoid clichés and jargon • Use of connotation and denotation

34. Irony • Where what happens is not what you expected to happen • Situational irony – based on events • Verbal irony – based on language

35. Allusion • A reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place, or thing • …a Mona Lisa smile

36. Point of View • Ist person • I, me, we, us • 2nd person • you • 3rd person limited • Only inside one character’s mind • 3rd person omniscient • Inside the minds of many characters

37. Setting • Time • Place

38. Metaphor • Saying that something IS something else

39. Simile • A comparison of 2 unlike things using the words “like” or “as”

40. Personification

41. Hyperbole • Extravagant exaggeration or overstatement

42. Alliteration

43. Oxymoron • A phrase made up of words with opposite meanings

44. Motif • a recurring subject, theme, or idea in a literary, artistic, or musical work

45. Epiphany • A sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something