Literary Terms

Plot

• The plot is the action of the story.• This action is usually made up of a series of

events called the plot line.

Types of Linear PlotsPlots can be told in

Chronological order

Flashback

In media res (in the middle of things) when the story starts in the middle of the action without exposition

Plot Components

Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action starts

Rising Action: the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax

Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment—either mentally or in action

Falling Action: all of the action which follows the climax

Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads

Setting

• The setting is the time and the place of the story.

Time can refer to the……time period. (ex. Civil War Era)…time of year. (ex. Summer)…time of day. (ex. Sunset)

Characters

• Characters are the people in the story.

• Characterization is the author’s special way of explaining the people in her story – telling us about their personalities and their motives.

Conflict Conflict is the problem or the

dramatic struggle between two forces in a story. Without conflict, there is no plot.

Types of Conflict

Person vs Nature

Person vs Society

Human vs Self

Internal Conflict

Person vs Person

Interpersonal Conflict

Person vs Fate

Dialogue

• Dialogue is the talking that goes on between characters in a story.

Theme

• Theme is the “subject” or “message” being written about or discussed.

• Think of the Summer Reading question… “What do you think the author was trying to say…?”

Mood and Tone

• The mood is the feeling the reader gets from the story: happy, sad, peaceful, etc.

• The tone is the author’s attitude or feeling about a piece of writing. The author’s tone may be serious, humorous, satiric (poking fun at), etc.

Point of View

• Point of view is the angle from which the story is told. This depends on who is telling the story.

• First-person: one of the characters, a narrator, is telling the story (I, me, we, us)

• Third-person: someone outside of the story is telling it. (He, she, it, they)