Lit Terms

Front 1

Introduction (Exposition)

Back 1

When the characters/setting are introduced.

Front 2

Inciting Moment

Back 2

when something exciting happens that sets the action in motion

Front 3

Rising Action

Back 3

events that lead to the climax

Front 4

Climax

Back 4

highest point of action

Front 5

Falling Action

Back 5

events that lead to the resolution

Front 6

Resolution (Denouement)

Back 6

problem in the story is resolved.

Front 7

Internal Conflict

Back 7

man vs. self

Front 8

Man vs. Self

Back 8

trying to decide whether you should or should not do something.

Front 9

External Conflict

Back 9

Man vs. nature, man vs. man, man vs. technolgy, man vs. society.

Front 10

Man vs. Nature

Back 10

self explanatory

Front 11

Man vs. Man

Back 11

also self explanatory

Front 12

Man vs. Society

Back 12

against the “norm”

Front 13

Man vs. Technology

Back 13

self explanatory

Front 14

Direct Characterization

Back 14

when an author str8 up says what the characters about

Front 15

Indirect Characterization

Back 15

lets the reader infer what the character is about

Front 16

Dynamic Character

Back 16

change during the course of a story

Front 17

Flat Character

Back 17

one the reader doesn’t know well

Front 18

Round Character

Back 18

one the reader knows well

Front 19

Static Character

Back 19

stays the same for the course of the story

Front 20

First person

Back 20

I did this I did that

Front 21

Third person omniscient

Back 21

getting viewpoints from all things, jack did

Front 22

Protagonist

Back 22

Hero in the story

Front 23

Antagonist

Back 23

character of force in conflict with the hero

Front 24

Plot

Back 24

Events that take place in a story

Front 25

Setting

Back 25

time, date, and place of a story

Front 26

Dialogue

Back 26

conversations between characters

Front 27

Dialect

Back 27

the use of an accent from a particular area or region

Front 28

Mood

Back 28

atmosphere or overall feeling in a story

Front 29

Suspense

Back 29

a feeling of tension or anxiety in any story

Front 30

Fiction

Back 30

type of story that could happen but did not

Front 31

Science Fiction

Back 31

type of story that is based on scientific principles; it might happen in the future

Front 32

Colloquialism

Back 32

everyday language or slang used in literature

Front 33

Symbol

Back 33

represents something in a figurative way

Front 34

Symbolism

Back 34

is the use of symbols

Front 35

Personification

Back 35

giving inanimate objects human characteristics

Front 36

Onomatopoeia

Back 36

a word that imitates sound

Front 37

Simile

Back 37

comparison using like or as

Front 38

Oxymoron

Back 38

two opposing terms used for description

Front 39

Metaphor

Back 39

a comparison without using like or as

Front 40

Irony

Back 40

an unexpected twist in a story

Front 41

Narrator

Back 41

voice or character thats telling the story

Front 42

Local Color

Back 42

attitudes, dialect and setting of a particular area or region

Front 43

Satire

Back 43

writing that makes fun of something in order to bring about social change

Front 44

Imagery

Back 44

a picture an author creates with descriptive words

Front 45

Genre

Back 45

a type of literary work; short story, novel, poetry.

Front 46

Analogy

Back 46

is a comparison

Front 47

Foreshadowing

Back 47

hints an author gives of events to come

Front 48

Flashback

Back 48

when an author goes back to events that have happened in the past

Front 49

Figurative Language

Back 49

imagery incorporating flowery language

Front 50

Alliteration

Back 50

repetition of the initial consonant sound

Front 51

Connotation

Back 51

associations, images, or impressions carried by a word as opposed to its literal meaning

Front 52

Denotation

Back 52

the precise literal meaning of a word

Front 53

Allusion

Back 53

when an author refers to another piece of literature he or she assumes the reader will recognize

Front 54

Moral

Back 54

the lesson about life that an author conveys