LITERARY TERMSEnglish I

I. A short story is

a brief work of fiction .

II. The plot is the sequence of events or happenings in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem.

The plot is often referred to as the framework of the story.

A. Conflict refers to the struggle between opposing forces.

1. External conflict deals with a clash between characters versus other:

a. charactersb. naturec. society

2.Internal conflict deals with a struggle within the mind of the character.

B. Four types of common conflict occur in short stories:1. man vs. man (external)

2. man vs. nature (external)

3. man vs. society (external)

4. man vs. self (internal)

III. Plot ActionA. Exposition, otherwise known

as the basic situation. Includes information that serves two purposes: 

1. It is essential to the understanding of the story.

2. It introduces the action of the story.

B. Complication occurs when the central character meets some opposition. (Conflict)

C. Rising Action occurs after the initial complication and includes all of the events that lead to the climax of the story.

D. Climax (or sometimes called the crisis or turning point) marks the high point or the most emotionally exciting part of the story. This part of the story has the most:

1. intensity2. interest or3. suspense

E. Falling Action involves the information that follows the climax, leading to the final part of the plot framework.

F. Resolution includes the outcome of the conflict. The word “denouement” is a French word that also refers to the resolution of the story. Denouement literally means the “unknotting.”

G. A subplot involves any secondary action that is interwoven with the main action of the story.

Once again, list the six elements of the plot framework:1. exposition2. complication3. rising action4. climax5. falling action6. resolution/denouement

Label the plot elements on the plot framework diagram:

Exposition

climax

Complication

Rising Action Falling Action

Resolution

Think of your favorite movie. List from that movie what the exposition, complication, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution would be.

IV. Plot Elements

A. Suspense involves the quality of a literary work that makes the reader or audience uncertain or tense about the outcome of events.

Example:

B. Foreshadowing is the use of hints or clues in a story that suggests what action is to come.

Example:

Flashback refers to a scene in a short story, novel, play, movie, or poem that interrupts the action to show an event that happened at an EARLIER TIME.

Example:

D. Irony refers to a contrast or incongruity between what is said and what is really meant….or….between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen.

 

1. Verbal irony is when a writer or speaker says one thing, but they really mean the opposite.

Example:

2. Dramatic irony is when the reader or audience is aware of something that is happening in the story, but the character does not know yet.

Example:

3. Situational irony involves an event that occurs and directly contradicts the expectations of the characters, reader, or audience.

Example:

IV. Character

A. Types of Characters1. The protagonist is the main

character in a literary work.

Example:

2. The antagonist is the character or force in conflict with the main character.

Example:

B. Characterization

1. Characterization is the way in which a character is revealed.

2. There are TWO methods of revealing a character within a story:

A. Indirect = The writer allows YOU the reader to draw your own conclusions.

B. Direct = The writer tells you what a character is like.

3. There are FOUR types of characterization:

a. flat = This is a character who has only one or two sides, representing one or two traits.

b. round = This is a character who is complex and has many sides or personality traits with unpredictable behavior and a full, developed personality.

c. dynamic = This is a character who experiences an essential change in personality or attitude.

d. static = This is a character who DOES NOT change or develop beyond the way in which he or she is first presented.

Do you remember???

What two ways can an author, playwright, or poet reveal a character:

indirect direct

Do you remember???

What are the four types of characterization?

Flat Round Static Dynamic

VI. Point of view establishes the vantage point from which the story is told. In other words, WHO is telling the story???

A. In a story told in the first person, the narrator is a CHARACTER IN the story and tells the story in his/her own words, from the “I” vantage point. Because of this, the reader knows only what the narrator knows and observes.

Example:

B. For a story told in the third person limited, the narrator who is NOT a character in the story focuses on the thoughts and experiences of only ONE character. The reader knows only what the one character knows. The narrator tells the story from the “he” or “she” vantage point.

Example:

C. When the point of view is third person omniscient, the narrator, who is NOT a character in the story, describes ALL the characters and actions, as well as commenting on thoughts and feelings.

(Most stories are told in the third person omniscient. The word “omniscient” literally means “all-knowing”.) This is told in the “he” or “she” vantage point.

Example:

VII. Setting - includes the time and place of the action of the story.

Example:

VIII. Theme - the main idea or the basic MEANING of a literary work.

Two kinds of theme exist:

A. Direct theme which is a theme that is directly stated in the story. In other words, the author comes out and tells the reader/audience exactly what he/she is supposed to learn from the story. In fairy tales, the writer might directly say at the end, “The moral of the story is……”

Implicit theme requires the reader to think about all of the elements of the story and use them to make an inference (educated guess) about the actual MEANING of the story. This can also be called an “inferred” theme.

  **Most stories have an implicit

theme! This way, the reader/audience can discover their own theme from the story.**

IX. Tone - reveals the attitude a writer takes toward his subject, characters, or reader.

Example:

Mood/Atmosphere - the feeling created IN THE READER by a literary work often suggested by descriptive details.

Example: In what ways does a writer/director use descriptive details in a horror film? An action film?

 

XI. Symbol - any object, person, place, or action that also stands for something larger than itself, such as a quality, attitude, belief, or a value.

Example:

XII. Allusion - a reference in one work of literature to another person, place, or event in another work of literature. A writer may also allude to a person, place, or event in history.

Example:

Anachronism - an event or detail existing out of its proper time period in history.

Example: The clock that strikes in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” is an anachronism because there were no striking clocks in ancient Rome.

Example: In the new version of the “Romeo and Juliet” movie, they use pistols instead of swords. Pistols were definitely not around in the 1500s.

Imagery The use of language to create a

picture or image in the reader’s mind; language that appeals to the five senses

Example: The ice cold coke made my hand shiver. As I twisted off the top, little caffeinated bubbles fizzled from the lid.

Simile

Comparison of two unlike things using like or as

Example: The girl’s eyes were as blue as the Mediterranean Sea.

Metaphor

Comparison of two unlike things not using like or as

Examples: My brother is a monster. Flowers are the bows that Mother Earth

puts in her hair to feel beautiful in spring.

Personification

Giving human qualities to nonhuman objects

Example: The tree shivered under a blanket of

snow. As it opened its sleepy eyes, the sun

rose and began to smile upon the horizon.

Review Questions

1. What is the use of hints or clues to suggest future action? ___________________

Foreshadowing

Review Questions

2. A situation that directly contradicts the expectations of a reader, character, or audience would be _____________________.

Situational Irony

Review Questions

3. An inferred theme is also called __________________.

 Implicit Theme

Review Qestions

4. What reveals an author’s attitude toward his audience? _____________

Tone

Review Questions

5. Who is the principal character of a literary work? ____________________

Protagonist

Review Questions

6. A character who experiences an essential change in personality is _______________.

Dynamic

Review Questions

7. An “all-knowing” narrator tells the story from the ____________________ point of view.

Third Person Omniscient