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Literary Terms
Study for final
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Character vs. Character | This type of conflict finds the main character in conflict with another character, human or not human. |
Character vs. Nature | This type of conflict finds the main character in conflict with the forces of nature, which serve as the antagonist.q |
Character vs. Society | This type of conflict has the main character in conflict with a larger group: a community, society, culture, school, etc. |
Person vs. Self | In this type of conflict, the main character experiences some kind of inner conflict like a making a difficult decision or dealing with a personal problem. |
Setting | Where and when the story takes place (including the time, place, weather, culture, customs and traditions). |
Antagonist | The central character’s opponent (creates the conflict). |
Protagonist | The central character usually involved in a conflict against the antagonist. May also be known as the hero. |
Climax | The point of tension, emotion, or heightened suspense (the turning point). Determines the resolution. |
Author’s Purpose | The reason why the author writes: Entertain, Inform, Explain, and Persuade. |
Mood | The feelings the reader gets from reading the author’s words. |
Tone | The attitudes and feelings of an author/speaker toward a subject. |
Plot | The sequence of events in a story--beginning, middle and end. |
Exposition | The beginning of the story where the main characters and initial conflicts are introduced. The setting of the story (time, place, weather, culture etc.). |
Rising Action | Events that lead up to the climax. They help create tension and suspense and may have more conflicts. |
Climax | The turning point of the story; the moment of tension, emotion, or suspense that determines the resolution. The main conflict is addressed. |
Falling Action | Eases the tension and shows how the main character resolves the conflict. |
Resolution/Denouement | The end of the story where typically the main conflict is resolved. |
Idiom | A phrase or expression that says one thing, but means something else. |
Allusion | A reference to something outside of what you are reading- a place, person, or event. |
Hyperbole | An extreme exaggeration. |
Simile | A comparison of two different things using the words “like” or “as”. |
Metaphor | A direct comparison of two different things without using “like” or “as”; it describes something by calling it something else. |
Personification | Describing nonhuman animals, objects, or ideas as though they possess human qualities or emotions. |
Conflict | A problem, fight, or struggle between characters, society, nature, or internally within. |
Foreshadowing | Hints or clues about future events. |
Point of View | First person, second person, third person (omniscient) The perspective in which a story is being told. |
Theme | The central idea or message about life that is expressed in the story. |
Characterization | The means through which an author reveals a character’s personality. Characterization may be direct or indirect. |
Direct Characterization | The author tells the reader what the character is like. |
Indirect Characterization | The author shows the reader what the character is like through how a character looks, what the character does, what the character says, what the character thinks, or how the character affects the other characters. |
Dynamic Character | A character who undergoes a significant internal change over the course of the story. This may be a change in understanding, values, insight etc. |
Round Character | A major player in a work of fiction — the star of the story —who encounters conflict and is changed by it. Round characters tend to be more fully developed and described than flat, or static, characters. |
Static Character | A character who does not undergo a significant change over the course of a story. |
Flat Character | A type of character in fiction that does not change too much from the start of the narrative to its end. Flat characters are often said not to have any emotional depths. |
Major Character | A main important character; a character who plays a large role in a story. Major characters usually face some sort of obstacle, and they will be present throughout most of the story. A story can have one major character or several. |
Minor Character | A character who does not play a large role in the story. Minor characters usually do not face significant obstacles during the course of the story, and they usually do not change during the course of the story. |