Literary Terms Review

ENG I LiteraryTerms

What is a Short Story?

• a brief work of fiction, often less than 50 pages

Types of Stories:• Fiction: prose writing that tells about

imaginary characters and events

• Non-Fiction: true stories

Plot

• A series of related events that present and resolve a conflict

Plot Diagram

Modern Plot Diagram

Plot Diagram Terms

• Exposition: the part of the story that introduces the characters, the setting, and the basic situation

• Rising Action: all of the events of a story leading up to the climax

Plot Diagram Terms (cont)

• Climax– The most exciting point

in the story, when the conflict is decided

Plot Diagram Terms (cont)

• Falling Action: the events after the climax

• Resolution: the story is brought to a close, and a general insight or change is conveyed

Conflict

• The Primary struggle between the main character or characters and an adverse character, group or force

• Internal Conflict– A struggle between a

character and him/herself

• External Conflict– A struggle between a

character and an outside force.

Types of Characters

• Character: person or animal that takes part in the action of a literary work– Dynamic: character develops and grows

during the course of the story– Flat: shows only one trait– Round: Shows many different traits, good

and bad– Static: character does not change through the

course of the story

Main characters

• Protagonist– Main character

• Antagonist– Primary adversary of the

protagonist

– Foil: a character who provides contrast to another character

Setting

• The time and place in which the action of a narrative occurs

Theme

• The underlying meaning of a literary work.

• This is not the topic/subject but the author’s statement of opinion about that subject.

• Some literary works have more than one theme.

Author’s message/lesson we can learn about the subject of the story

Point of View

• Narrator/Speaker: the voice speaking in the story or poem; who tells the story

• Narrator is NOT the same as author

• Types of POV:– First Person– Third Person,

• Objective• Omniscient

P.O.V.

• First Person– The narrator offers a

personal account of their own experiences and describes what happens to other characters as the narrator sees it

• Third Person– The narrator stands outside

the action (non-participatory) and presents

• Objective– Describes only what can be

seen

• Omniscient– (all-knowing) point of

view

– Can see the thoughts & emotions of all (or numerous) characters

Storytelling Techniques

• Dialect: the form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group

• Dialogue: a conversation between characters

• Drama: a story written to be performed by actors

Storytelling Techniques (cont)

• Flashback: the interruption in a story that tells about an earlier incident

• Foreshadowing: the use of clues to suggest events or outcomes yet to happen

Storytelling Techniques (cont)

• Imagery: the descriptive or figurative language used to create pictures in the mind

• Mood: feeling created in the reader by a passage

Storytelling Techniques (cont)

• Irony: differences in appearance and reality or expectations and results

•Stereotype: a character that acts to a narrow set of actions associated with a particular group

Storytelling Techniques (cont)

• Personification: a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics

Storytelling Techniques (cont)

Symbol: anything that stands for itself and for something else

Storytelling Techniques (cont)

• Style: the way an author writes

•Tone: the writer’s attitude toward audience and subject

Additional Terms

• Title– The name of a work

• Tragedy– Literary work where the characters meet an

unhappy ending

SHORT STORIES

NOT NEARLY THE END