Literary Terms Pt.1

Front 1

central message of a literary work, usually reveals insight into human nature, can be more that one in a astory and most arent directly stated but implied

Back 1

Theme

Front 2

the sequence of events or actions in a story

Back 2

plot

Front 3

hints or clues that suggest what is going to happen

Back 3

foreshadowing

Front 4

the presentation of scenes or incidents that occurred prior to the opening of a work

Back 4

flashback

Front 5

the quality of a work of literature that make the reader uncertain or tense about the outcome of events

Back 5

suspense

Front 6

the struggle between opposing forces

Back 6

conflict

Front 7

background information and/or introduction of setting, characters, and basic situation

Back 7

exposition

Front 8

development of the conflict that leads to the climax

Back 8

complication or rising action

Front 9

the point of highest dramatic tenstion, the turning point of the story

Back 9

climax

Front 10

events following the climax

Back 10

falling action

Front 11

the solution, explanation or out come of the story

Back 11

resolution/denouement

Front 12

the time and place or location of the action, provides historical and cultural context for the characters and sometimes symbolizes the emotional state of the characters

Back 12

setting

Front 13

participants in a story created by the autore, serve to help advance the theme

Back 13

characters

Front 14

the man character in a literary work, character who sets the plot in motion

Back 14

protagonist

Front 15

the character or force that opposes the protagonist

Back 15

antagonist

Front 16

a character built around one trait, often a stereotype

Back 16

flat character

Front 17

a character who is fully developed by the author

Back 17

round character

Front 18

a character who never changes or surprises the reader, stays the same

Back 18

staic character

Front 19

character who changes or grows in some important way, who often exhibits contradictory traits and who frequently surprises the reader

Back 19

dynamic character

Front 20

the means by which writers reveal characters

Back 20

characterization

Front 21

circumstances or feelings that prompt a character to act in a certain way

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motivation

Front 22

narrator gives facts an interperative comments

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direct characterization/explicit judgement

Front 23

narrator gives description, reader makes the judgement

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indirect characterzation

Front 24

the person created by the author to tell a story

Back 24

persona

Front 25

a piece of autobiographical writing, usually shorter than a comprehensive autobiography

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memoir

Front 26

the perspective from which the story is told

Back 26

point of view

Front 27

the person telling the story

Back 27

narrator

Front 28

the narrator is a character describing the action as he understands it

Back 28

first person

Front 29

the writer is all-knowing about the thoughts and feelings of all the characters

Back 29

third person omniscient

Front 30

the writer tells the story in the third person but presents events as experiences by only one character

Back 30

third person limited

Front 31

the verbal identity of the writer

Back 31

style

Front 32

word choice intended to convey a certain effect

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diction

Front 33

the order of words in a sentence or a sentence's order of words

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syntax

Front 34

the dictionary definition of a word

Back 34

denotation

Front 35

the implied meaning of a word

Back 35

connotation

Front 36

a play on words based on the similaraty of sounds between two words with different meanings

Back 36

pun

Front 37

a reference to a mythological, literary, historical, or Biblical person, place, thing or event

Back 37

allusion

Front 38

indirect statement substituted for a direct one in order to avoid bluntness

Back 38

euphemism

Front 39

writing characterized by the use of superfluous words and or repetition

Back 39

redundant

Front 40

the attidtude of the writer toward the subject or characters

Back 40

tone

Front 41

the feeling the reader gets from reading a work

Back 41

mood

Front 42

a contrast or descrepancy between expectation an reality

Back 42

irony

Front 43

a speaker says one thing while meaning the opposite

Back 43

verbal irony (sarcasm)

Front 44

a situation turns out differently from what one would expect

Back 44

situational irony

Front 45

a contridiction between what a character thinks and what the reader knows to be true

Back 45

dramatic irony