Eng. 12 Short Story Vocab

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Allegory

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A story or visual image with a second distinct meaning partially hidden. It involves a continuous parallel between two or more levels of meaning so that its persons and events correspond to their equivalents in a system of ideas or chain of events external to the story. Often, characters, actions, or setting represent abstract ideas or moral qualities. As an example, characters may be named Christian, Hope, or Despair

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Anachronism

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A person, place, event or thing that appears out of order, or in the wrong time sequence. Anachronisms are often things that belong to an earlier time and appear out of place. A flashback is an example of an anachronism.

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Anecdote

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A brief story of an interesting incident.

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Antagonist

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A force or person opposing the protagonist. An antagonist may also be a rival.

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Antecedent Action

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Action that takes place before the story line opens

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Anticlimax

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A disappointing conclusion, often ironic because of the difference between what is expected and what happens.

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Archaic Language

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A word, phrase, or style of language that is no longer in everyday use but is sometimes used to impart an old-fashioned flavour.

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Caricature

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A caricature involve the use of exaggeration or distortion to make a person or public figure appear comic or ridiculous

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Character

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The qualities distinctive to an individual; the distinctive nature of something.

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Characterization

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The means by which a write reveals the qualities of a character:
-through actions
-through speech and thoughts
-through physical description
-through the opinions that others have about -the character
-through a direct statement made by the writer

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Character Foil

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A person or thing that contrasts strongly with another, and in doing so, makes the qualities of the other person or thing more obvious.

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Climax

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The point of greatest intensity or suspense in a narrative. It is the point at which it is revealed whether the protagonist triumphs or fails.

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Colloquial Language

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The use of familiar or conversational language

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Comedy

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In general, a literary wok that is light and often humorous or satirical in tone and tends to resolve the conflict happily. It is distinct from tragedy, which is generally concerned with unhappy or disastrous endings.

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Comic Relief

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Humorous content in a dramatic or literary work intended to offset more serious episodes or events.

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Conflict

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A strugglebetween two opposing forces or characters in a work of literature. Conflict can be internal or external and it can take on of these forms:
(1) person vs. person
(2) person vs. society
(3) person vs. nature
(4) two elements within a person struggling for control

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Connotation

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The feelings suggested by a word or phrase. It is the opposite of denotation,which is the literal meaning of a word or phrase. A connotation of a maple leaf might be the symbolic identity of Canada; in terms of denotation, it would literally be a leaf from a maple leaf.

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Denotation

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The explicit or direct meanig or set of meanigns of a word or expression. There are the meaning listed in dictionaries.

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Dialect

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A form of language that is particular o a specific region or social group.

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Dialogue

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The words in a conversation

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Diction

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A writer's choice of words, particularly in terms of clarity and precision.

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Dilemma

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A difficult situation in which a choice has to be made between two or more undesirable alternatives.

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Direct Presentation

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In direct presentation, the reader is told exactly what a character is like. For example, "She is a very caring person."

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Dynamic Character

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A character that undergoes a change or development during the course of a narrative, be it from good to bad, from bad to good, from bad to worse, etc.

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Epiphany

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A moment of significant illumination or insight.

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Exposition

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A comprehensive explanation of an idea or theory in a piece of writing.

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External Conflict

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The conflict a character undergoes in relation to other characters, nature, fate, or any other force outside of the character's own personality and emotions.

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Falling Action

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The action in a narrative that occurs after the climax

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Fantasy

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A literary genre. As a rule, fantasy contains events, characters, or setting that would not be possible or that would not be found in real life.

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Farce

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A type of comedy based on ridiculous situations, often with stereotyped characters.

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Flashback

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A scene in a narrative that interrupts the action to show an event that happened earlier.

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Flat Character

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A flat character is present only in outline without much individualizing detail and so can readily be described in a single phrase or sentence.

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Foil

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A person or thing that contrasts strongly with another, and therefore makes the qualities of that other more salient and obvious.

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Foreshadowing

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A technique whereby an event or incident beforehand when the write includes hints or clues about the main events of the story.

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Genre

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A style or category within a literary form. For example, haiku constitute a genre of poetry, while science-fiction is a genre of a drama, prose, or novels.

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Graphic Text

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Text and text inserts that use visual art or specialized lettering.

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Hero

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A person who is admired for his or her courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

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Historical Reference

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A reference or mention of an event or person from the past.

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Intermediate Ending

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An intermediate ending s an uncertain, ambiguous, or unresolved conclusion to a plot or sequence of events.

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Indirect Presentation

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When a write uses indirect presentation, he or she depicts a character or event, and the reader or listener must interpret meaning. This is a contrast to direct presentation, wherein the write explicitly states meaning and significance.

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Internal Monologue

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Conversation-like thoughts of a character.

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Internal Conflict

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The conflict a character experience within him or herself.

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Irony

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The key element of irony is discrepancy. There is always a noble difference between appearance and reality, between expectation and fulfillment, or between what is intended and what results. Writers use irony for both serious and humorous effects. Irony can also be a technique for indicating, through character or plot development, the writer's own attitude toward some element of the story.

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Juxtaposition

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The deliberate contrast of characters, setting, or situations for effect. The effect may results in a demonstration of character or heightening the mood.

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Legend

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A traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical, but not authenticated.

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Limited Omniscient

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A narrative told from a third person point of view but restricted to the thoughts and experiences of a single character. In limited omniscient narratives, the narrator can comment on the thoughts, feelings, and actions of any or all of the characters.

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Literal Language

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Use of words in their most basic sense without any additional meanings, reference, or subtext. Literal language does not employ any metaphor, irony, exaggeration, or allusions.

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Metamorphosis

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An alteration in appearance or character. Generally used to refer to physical change, but can also refer to character development and emotional growth, particularly if the character changes very significantly.

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Mood

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In a story, the atmosphere,. When a writer orders the setting, action, and characters of a story so as to suggest a dominant emotion or patterns of emotions, you cant sat that this emotional pattern is the mood of the story.

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Motif

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A recurring theme, situation, incident, idea, image, or character type that is found in literature.

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Mystery

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A profound secret; something wholly unknown or something kept cautiously concealed, therefore exciting curiosity or wonder; something that has not be or cannot be explained.

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Narration

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The act of giving a spoken or written account of a story.

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Narrative

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A piece of literature that tells a stor.

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Narrator

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One who narrates or tells a story. The word narrator can also refer to a character in a drama who guides the audience through the plat, often commenting on the action.

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Objective Point Of View

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The writer tells a story in third person but avoids including any thoughts or feelings and focuses only on what the characters say or do.

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Omniscient Point Of View

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The narrative is written in the third person point of view, and the thoughts and feelings of more than one character are revealed through the narrator's perception.

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Parable

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A short, often simple story that teaches or explains a lesson, often a moral or religious lesson.

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Pathos

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The quality in a work of art that arouses the reader or listener's feeling of pity, sorrow, or compassion for a character.

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Plot

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The sequence of events in a narrative.

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Point Of View

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The vantage point from which a narrative is told. Most writing uses two basic point of view first person and third person (omniscient).

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Protagonist

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The central caracter of a drama, short story, or narrative poem.

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Purpose

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The reason for which something is done or created. The purpose is the writer's intention within a piece of literature.

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Resolution

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Resolution is the part of the story's plot line in which the problem of the story is resolved or worked out. This occurs after the falling action and is typically where the story ends.

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Rising Action

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The events of a dramatic or narrative plot that precede the climax.

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Round Character

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A round character is a complex and fully realized individual and is therefore difficult to describe in one or two sentences.

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Sarcasm

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The use of irony to mock or convey contempt

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Setting

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The time and place in which the events in a short story, novel, play or narrative poem occur.

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Slang

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Words or phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than in writing and are typical restricted to a particular context or group of people.

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Speaker

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Separate from the writer, it is the person whose voice or identity dictates the poem or story.

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Static Character

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A static character does not change or develop over the course of a narrative. That character's responses and characteristics do not vary at any point, in contrast with a dynamic character, which can move from one attitude or way of behaving to another.

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Stereotype

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A commonplace type or character that appears so often in literature that his or her nature is immediately familiar to the reader.

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Stock/Stereotypical Character

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Stereotypes, also called stock characters, always look and behave in the same way and reveal the same traits of character.

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Stream Of Consciousness

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A style of writing that attempts to imitate the natural flow of a character's thought, feelings, reflections, memories, and mental images. Often, a stream of consciousness method of narration will ignore conventions of grammar and punctuation in order to similar a flow of thoughts.

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Style

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A writer's characteristic way of writing, determined by the choice of words, the arrangement of words in sentences, and the relationship of the sentence to one author.

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Stylistic Technique

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The techniques or methods a writer uses, particular insofar as they define his or her style.

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Subjective (language, tone, etc.)

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Language based on emotion, feeling, or opinion. The opposite of language, which is not influence by emotion and feeling.

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Surprise Ending

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An unexpected or unforeseen ending.

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Suspense

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The quality of a story or drama that makes the reader uncertain or tense about the outcome of an event or series of events. Suspense makes a reader or member of the audience anxious about what will happen next.

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Symbol

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Anything that stands for or represents something other than itself. In literature, a symbol is a word or phrase referring to an object, scene, or action that also has some further significance associate with it. For example, a rose is common symbol of love. Many symbols, such as flags, are universally recognized. Other symbols are not so universally defined. They do not acquire a meaning until they are defined by how they are used in a story. They may even suggest more than one meaning. For example, snow might be used to symbolize goodness because of its cleanness or cruelty because of its coldness. Symbols are often contained in story titles; in character and place names; in classical, literary, and historical allusions and references; in images or figures that appear at important points in a story; and in images that either receiver special emphasis or are repeated.

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Symbolism

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The use of symbols to represent ideas of qualities.

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Theme

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The general idea or insight about life that a write wished to express in a literary work.

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Tone

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A particular way of speaking or writing. Tone many also describe the general feeling of a piece of work. It can demonstrate the writer's attitude toward characters, setting, conflicts, and so fourth. The many kinds of tone include thoughtful, chatty, formal, tragic, or silly, tone can also be a complex mixture of attitudes. Different tones can cause readers to experience such varying emotions as pit, feat, horror, or humor.

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Tragedy

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In general, a literary work in which the protagonist meets an unhappy or disastrous end.

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Understatement

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The presentation of something as being smaller, less good, or less important than it really is.

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Voice

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The tone, syntax, and characteristics of the speaker within a ork of literature.

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Wit

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The capacity for inventive thought an quick, keen understanding - often with the intent of producing humorous responses. Cleverness.

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1st Person Point Of View

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In first person point of view, the story is told by one of the character involved in the events in his or her own words, using the pronoun I.

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2nd Person Point Of View

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Use of the imperative mood and the pronouns you, your, and yours to address a reader or listener directly.