Literary Terms

Plot: the sequence of events in a story that typically develops in five stages: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution

Exposition: the first stage of plot that introduces the main character(s), the setting, and the main conflict.

Rising Action: the second stage of plot that develops the conflict - the bulk of the story

Climax: the turning point of the story - the character comes face to face with the conflict

Falling Action: ties up loose ends

Conflict: a struggle between opposing forces - there are two main types of conflict: external and internal.

Foreshadowing: the writer's use of clues/hints that suggest things to come in the story

Antagonist: the principal character or force in opposition to the main character

Protagonist: the main character

Author’s Purpose: the author's reason for writing: to express thoughts/feelings, to
inform/explain, to persuade, to entertain

Character: individuals who participate in the action of a literary work

Main Character: the most important character in a literary work

Minor Character: less prominent characters that help support the plot- the story is not centered on them, but they help carry out the action of the story and help the reader learn more about the main character(s).

Dynamic Character: one who undergoes important changes over the course of the story

Static Character: stays the same over the course of the story

Characterization: the way a writer creates and develops characters' personalities

Fable: brief tale told to illustrate a moral or teach a lesson

Point of View(POV): the method of narration used in a story

First Person POV: the narrator is a character in the story

Third Person POV: the narrator is outside the story looking in

Third Person Omniscient POV: the narrator sees into the minds of all characters

Third Person Limited POV: the narrator sees into the mind of only one character

Foil: a character who provides a striking contrast to another character

Irony: a special contrast between appearance and reality

Situational Irony: a contrast between what the reader expects and what actually exists or
happens

Dramatic Irony: the reader/viewer knows something the character doesn't know

Verbal Irony: a character knowingly exaggerates or says one thing and means another

Mood: the feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader (how the reader feels)

Moral: a lesson taught in a literary work

Narrator: the character or voice that relates the story's events to the reader

Personification: a figure of speech in which human qualities are given to an object, animal, or idea

Short Story: work of fiction that centers on a single idea and can be read in one sitting; usually not more than 10,000 words

Style: the writer's unique way of communicating ideas - not what is said, but how it is said

Suspense: the excitement or tension th readers feel as they wait to findout how a story ends or
how a conflict is resolved

Theme: underlying message about life or human nature that the writer wants the reader to understand

Tone: the attitude of the author toward a subject

Setting: the time and place of the action of a story

Symbol: person, place, object, or activity that stands for/represents something else