Literary Terms

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Literary Terms

• English I

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Literary Terms

• Antagonist- The character of force that blocks
  the protagonist.
• Character- Person in the story, poem, or play.
• Flat Character- Has only one or two traits, and
  these can be described in a few words.
• Round Character- Like a real person, a round
  character has many different traits.

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Literary Terms

• Static Character- One who does not change much in
  the course of a story.
• Dynamic Character- Changes as a result of the
  storys events.
• Characterization- The process of revealing the
  personality of a character in a story.
• Direct Characterization- We are told directly
  what a character is like.

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Literary Terms

• Indirect Characterization- We have to use our own
  judgment to decide what a character is like based
  on evidence the writer gives us.
• Climax- Moment of great emotional intensity or
  suspense in a plot.
• Description- Type of writing intended to create a
  mood or emotion or to re-create a person, place,
  thing or event.

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Literary Terms

• Dialogue- The conversation between characters in
  a story or play.
• Exposition- Type of writing that explains, gives
  information, defines, or clarifies an idea.
• Falling action- Presents events that result from
  the action taken at the turning point.
• Fiction- A branch of literature that deals with
  events that are not true.

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Literary Terms

• Foil- Character who is used as a contrast to
  another character.
• Foreshadowing- The use of clues to hint at events
  that will occur later in the plot.
• Frame story- A secondary story that is embedded
  in a main story.
• Imagery- Language that appeals to the senses.

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Literary Terms

• Irony- Contrast between expectation and reality
  between what is said and what is really meant
  between what is expected to happen and what
  happens.
• Situational Irony- Occurs when there is a
  contrast between what would seem appropriate and
  what really happens.
• Dramatic Irony- Occurs when the audience ore
  reader knows something important that character
  does not know. Ex, Romeo not knowing that Juliet
  is drugged in the tomb.

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Literary Terms

• Verbal Irony- A writer or speaker says one thing
  but really means something different.
• Mood- A storys atmosphere or the feeling it
  evokes.
• Narrative Hook- A technique used in the beginning
  of a story to hook the readers attention.
• Narrator- The voice telling a story.

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Literary Terms

• Point of View- Vantage point from which a writer
  tells a story.
• First Person POV- One of the characters is
  telling the story, using the pronoun I.
• Limited 3rd Person POV- The narrator who plays no
  part in the story, zooms in on the thoughts and
  feelings of one character.
• Omniscient POV- All knowing, the person telling
  the story knows everything there is to know about
  the characters and their problems.

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Literary Terms

• Protagonist- Main character in fiction or
• drama.
• Resolution- The final part of the story.
• Rising Action- Consists of a series of
• complications.
• Setting- The time and place of a story or a
• play.

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Literary Terms

• Short Story- Short, concentrated, fictional prose
  narrative.
• Symbol- Person, place, thing, or event that
  stands for itself and for something beyond itself
  as well.
• Theme- Central idea of a work of literature.
• Tone- Attitude a writer takes toward a subject, a
  character, or the audience.