literary terms [AP LIT]: Narrative Techniques & Narrative Devices

plot

structure of a story; the sequence in which the author arranges events in a story. The structure often includes the exposition, rising action, the climax, the falling action, and the resolution

frame story

literary device in which a story is enclosed in another story, a tale within a tale

allegory

narrative in which characters, objects, and events all have underlying political, religious, moral, or social meanings

character

a person, spirit, object, animal, or natural force in a literary work

protagonist

the main character in a story, play, or novel

antagonist

a character or force in a work of literature that, by opposing the protagonist, produces tension or conflict

foil

a minor character whose situation or actions parallel those of a major character, and thus by contrast sets off or illuminates the major character; most often the contrast is complementary or the major character

setting

the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem take place

atmosphere / mood

the emotional feelings created by the setting

point of view

the perspective of the events as told by the narrator. The author chooses the point of view for its precise effect on the meaning of the story

first person

the participant point of view is also called the ______ point of view because of the first person pronouns (I, me, my, we, us our) are used to tell the story

third person

also called the non-participant because the _______ pronouns (he, him, she, her, they, them) are used to tell the story

omniscient narrator

(type of third person) narrator can enter the minds of all the characters. The omniscient point of view allows great freedom in that the narrator knows all there is to know about the characters, externally and internally. The narrator can tell the past, present, and future.

Limited Third Person Narrator

(type of third person) narrator limits his omniscience to the minds of a few of the characters or to the mind of a single character.

objective narrator

(type of third person) narrator does not enter a single mind, but instead records what can be seen and heard. This type of narrator is like a camera or a fly on the wall that can see all the actions and comment on them, but does not know the inner thoughts or feelings of the characters

unreliable narrator

the point of view of a narrator, who, we perceive, is deceptive, self-deceptive, deluded, or deranged. This may be first or third person.  A reliable narrator can be depended upon to be objection, free from bias, and dependable

irony

situation or statement characterized by a significant difference between what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant

dramatic irony

(type of irony) the audience understands something that the character or characters do not realize. It occurs when a character or speaker says or does something that has different meanings from what he or she thinks it means, though the audience and other characters understand the full implications of the speech or action

situational irony

(type of irony) a situation turns out differently from what one would normally expect, though often the twist is oddly appropriate

verbal irony

(type of irony) a speaker or narrator says one thing while meaning the opposite. Ex: It is easy to stop smoking. I’ve done it many times

motif

the repetition or variations of an image or idea in a work that is used to develop the theme or characters. Ex: Light and dark; summer and winter; day and night; appearance vs. reality; or objects that reappear—birds, colors

symbol

any object, person, place, or action that maintains its own meaning while at the same time standing for something broader than itself. Ex: The U.S. flag stands for democracy

symbolic, youth, passion, cowardice

(type of symbol) Colors often have _______ meanings: green=_____, novice; red=____, blood; yellow=_____

changes, childhood, youth, adulthood, old age

(type of symbol) Seasons show the ______in life: spring=_____; summer=_____; autumn=_____; winter=_____

theme

the central message of a literary work. The main idea or meaning of a work. It is not the same as subject. The _______ is the idea the author wishes to convey about that subject. A literary work can have more than one theme, and most _____ are not directly stated but are implied. AP tests may refer to it as “the meaning of the work as a whole”