MP1-literary terms to know

1. 1)Characterization– the way an author reveals a character. Direct characterization: the author tells the audience the personality characteristics of the character. Indirect characterization: the author reveals character through a description of his/her actions, thoughts, beliefs, looks and other’s opinions. • 2)Static Characters– a character that does not change over the course of the story. • 3)Dynamic Characters– a character that changes over the course of the story. • 6)Diction/word choice-the author’s choice of words, which has an impact on the way the words are received by the audience. Think of using “girl”, “woman”, “ma’am”, “lady”, “chick” or “sweetheart” to refer to various females in your lives. • 15)Anecdote—a personal story. • 14)Author’s purpose—the reason why an author writes: to inform, to persuade, to entertain, to express.

2. 8)First Person Point of View– the narrator is referring to him or herself. You will see 'I,' 'me,' 'my,' 'mine,' 'we,' 'us' and 'our.' • Great for autobiographies and fiction. Not for use in essays and scholarly works. • 9)Second Person Point of View-- this is when the reader is directly addressed with 'you,' 'your' and 'yours.' • Great for self-help books and letters of advice. Not for use in essays and scholarly works. • 10) Third Person Point of View: An outside narrator tells the story. Great for fiction and scholarly works. • A. Third Person Point of View (LIMITED)-- the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of one character. All characters are described using pronouns such as 'they', 'he', and 'she.' But, one character is closely followed throughout the story. • B. Third Person Point of View (OMNISCIENT)-- the narrator knows all the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story. The audience is able to know and see everything about each character.