Literary Terms Mrs. Stinebaugh

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fiction

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a narrative drawn from the imagination

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nonfiction

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prose writing based on fact

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major character

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a character that is absolutely critical in order for the plot to continue

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minor character

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not critical to the story, used to enhance main character

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direct

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being told directly by narrator about the character

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indirect

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how people react to the character, how he/she acts (infer)

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round

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complex character, mult-facet

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flat

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one dimensional character (all-bad, all-good)

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dynamic

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a character who is modified by actions, experiences, and one objective of the work in which the character appears to reveal the consequences of those actions

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static

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a character who changes little, if at all. Things happen to such a character without things happen within

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antagonist

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the character or the face that is trying to keep the protagonist from acheiving his goal

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protagonist

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a character (main character) or face who is trying to acheive a goal

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exposition

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the introductory material that creates tone, gives the setting, introduces the characters, and supplies other facts necessary to understanding

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complication

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the point of the plot where problem occurs

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climax

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the highest point of tension; resolution of conflict

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denouement

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tying up all the loose ends

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conflict

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a struggle between 2 opposing forces in a piece of literature;
-internal: man vs. himself
external: man, nature society, machine, supernatural

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flashback

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a device by which a work presents material that occurred prior to the opening scene of the work. Various methods may be used, among them recollections of characters, narration by characters, dream sequences, and reveries.

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foreshadowing

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events that hint at the future

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point of view

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the perspective from which the author presents a story

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omniscient

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3rd person narration in which the narrator is capable of knowing, seeing, and telling all

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limited omniscient

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3rd person narration in which the narrator knows usually only 1 character

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first person

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told by character in story

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major

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protagonist is telling the story

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minor

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narrator is 1st person, but not a main character but is close companion of main character

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objective

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3rd person we the reader are unaware of the thoughts and feelings of characters in the work

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symbolism

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the use of 1 object to represent or suggest another.
Or in literature: the extensive use of symbols

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theme

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in poetry, fiction, or drama it is the abstract concept that is made concrete through representation in person, action, and image. No proper theme is simply a subject or an activity

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irony

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reality different from appearence

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situational irony

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event that contradicts thhe expectations of characters, reader, or audience

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dramatic irony

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words or acts of a character that may carry a meaning unperceived by the character but understood by the audience

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verbal irony

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in which the actual intent is expressed in words that carry the opposite meaning

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foil

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a character who is presented as a contrast to a 2nd character so as to point or to show advantage some sort of aspect of the 2nd character

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allusion

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an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, thing, or text

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motif

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recurring thematic element, especially dominent or central

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paradox

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an apparently self-contradictory statement where the underlying meaning of which is revealed only through careful scrutiny. It provokes free though, arrests attention. EX) all animals are created equal, some animals are more equal than others

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antithesis

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rhetorical device in which irreconcilable opposites are placed in sharp juxaposition and sustained tension EX) they promised freedom and provided slavery EX) fair is foul, foul is fair

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epiphany

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a realization, manifestation of the meaning of something

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epigraph

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quotation set at the beginning of work or division of work to suggest its theme

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oxymoron

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two words juxaposed with opposite meaning EX) jumbo shrimp

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figurative language

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a form of expression used to convey meaning, or heightened effect. This is done by comparing or identifying one thing to another. Reader knows one of the other things

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hyperbole

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exaggeration for the sake of emphasis

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litotes

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a form of understatement in which a thing is affirmed by stating the negative of its opposite