Literary Terms

1. Literary Terms Write the complete definition.

2. Antagonist a major character in a book, play, or movie whose values or behavior are in conflict with those of the protagonist or hero

3. Climax the most important or exciting point in something such as an event or a story

4. Conflict opposition between or among characters or forces in a literary work that shapes or motivates the action of the plot

5. Dialogue the words spoken by characters in a book, movie, or play, or a section of a work that contains spoken words

6. Dynamic Character full of energy, enthusiasm, and a sense of purpose and able both to get things going and to get things done

7. Exposition the part of a literary or dramatic work in which the basic facts of setting and character are made known

8. External Conflict existing outside the body or mind, or the limits of something

9. Falling action Events following the climax of a story

10. Fantasy a type of fiction featuring imaginary worlds and magical or supernatural events

11. First person point of view a point of view in which an "I" or "we" serves as the narrator of a piece of fiction.

12. Flashback a scene or event from the past that appears in a narrative out of chronological order, to fill in information or explain something in the present

13. Flat Character without any interest or excitement, a neutral character

14. Foreshadowing to indicate or suggest something, usually something unpleasant, that is going to happen

15. Internal Conflict located within or affecting the inside of something, especially the inside of the body

16. Irony a situation, or the irony arising from a situation, in which the audience has a fuller knowledge of what is happening in a drama than a character does

17. Plot the story or sequence of events in something such as a novel, play, or movie

18. Point of View the perspective on events of the narrator or a character in a story

19. Protagonist the most important character in a novel, play, story, or other literary work

20. Resolution the point in a literary work when the conflict is resolved

21. Rising Action The action that lead up to the climax of a story

22. Round Character a major character in a work of fiction who encounters conflict and is changed by it

23. Setting the period in time or the place in which the events of a story are said to occur

24. Static Character minor characters in a work of fiction who do not undergo substantial change or growth in the course of a story

25. Symbol something that stands for or represents something else, especially an object representing an abstraction

26. Theme the main idea, or message, of an essay, paragraph, or a book