Literary Terms
A list of a Literary Terms.
Terms
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- Irony
- a general dicrepancy between what is said and what is meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually happens
- First Person
- narrator tells the story from his/her point of view and uses "I"
- Third Person Limited Omniscient
- narrator knows EVERYTHING about only one character.
- Static Character
- a character who may have one outstanding characteristic, but who, for the most part, stays the same throughout the plot
- Verbal Irony
- the opposite of what we mean
- Irony of Circumstance
- a discrepancy of what seems to be and what really is.
- Point of View
- the general frame of reference from which narrator tells story.
- Climax
- the turning point of the action in the plot of the story. usually the moment of greatest suspense/tension.
- Second Person
- narrator uses "you"
- Third Person Omniscient
- narrator knows EVERYTHING about ALL characters in the story.
- Protagonist
- main character of a story
- Dynamic Character
- a character who changes throughout the plot
- Denotation
- the dictionary definition of a word.
- External Conflict
- character clashes with an outside force.
- Symbol
- an action or object, which represents something abstract
- Third Person Objective
- narrator can ONLY see and hear what is happening- he/she acts as a camcorder and is unable to reveal feelings and thoughts of characters.
- Foreshadowing
- a hint of what is to happen later in the story
- Foil
- a character or thing that emphasizes another character's attributes and/or personality by contrasts.
- Tone
- the attitude a writer takes towards the subject he/she is writing about.
- Conflict
- a general clash between character and something/someone else.
- Characterization
- charcter's actions, charcter's words, character's physical description, and what other characters say about the character.
- Falling Action
- action resulting from climax, resulting in the denouement
- Denouement
- the conclusion or the resolution.
- Antagonist
- something/someone who challenges the protagonist
- Theme
- the implied message an author is trying to convey
- Internal Conflict
- character clashes with him/herself.
- Dramatic Irony
- a discrepancy between what characters know and what the reader and/or other characters know.
- Connotation
- the feeling of a word.
- Third Person
- narrator uses "he" or "she"
- Rising Action
- the action leading up to the climax
- Stock Character
- a stereotypical character (ex: a dumb blonde)
- Plot
- the step-by-step account, in order, of what actually happens in a story
- Motif
- repetition of a theme, word, phrase, or word pattern
- Setting
- the time and place of a story