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Literary Terms
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Protagonist | the leading character, hero, or heroine in fiction |
Antagonist | the person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another |
Plot | the sequence of events involving characters in conflict. Has 4 parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution |
Characterization | the way in which an author develops the characters so that readers can picture them and understand their feelings (direct, indirect) |
Conflict | the struggle between the protagonist (main character) and the opposing force, which forms the basis of the plot. External or Internal |
Climax or Turning Point | the most exciting part of a story where there is a major turning point in the plot |
Resolution or Denouement | the ending; the problem is solved and the action is ended |
Setting | the time and place in which the action occurs. |
Point of View | the angle of narration used to tell the story. The different points of view include: 1st Person, 3rd Person, and 3rd Person Omniscient |
Mood | the feeling that the reader gets from reading something-like sad, depressed, happy, regretful. |
Theme | the major idea or big message in a work of literature |
1st Person Point of View (POV) | narration told from the point of view of the main character, using pronouns such as I, we, and our. They are inside the story. |
3rd Person Point of View | a story told by a narrator outside the action and was not a character in the story- |
Tone | the author's attitude toward the subject |
Symbol/Symbolism | is anything that stands for or represents something else. |
Figurative Language | writing or speaking in a way that is not to be taken literally. Simile, Metaphor, Personification, Hyperbole |
Foreshadowing | clues about events yet to cone in the story |
Flashback | a scene that presents an event that occurred before the time of the story. |