Literary & Short Story Terms

Conflict

A struggle between opposing forces that drives the plot.

External Conflict

A character’s struggle with an outside force like nature, society, or another character.

Internal Conflict

A psychological struggle within the mind of a character.

Prediction

An educated guess about what will happen next based on clues in the text.

Flashback

A scene that interrupts the chronological order to show an earlier event.

Character

A person, animal, or entity in a story.

Protagonist

The main character in a story.

Antagonist

A character or force that opposes the protagonist.

Flat Character

A character with one or two traits; not fully developed.

Round Character

A fully developed character with many traits.

Dynamic Character

A character who undergoes important internal change.

Static Character

A character who does not change throughout the story.

Speech

Spoken words of characters; reveals traits or advances plot.

Inference

A logical conclusion based on evidence and reasoning.

Motivation

The reason behind a character’s thoughts or actions.

Point of View

The perspective from which the story is told.

First-Person Narrator

The narrator is a character in the story using "I" or "we".

Third-Person Limited

The narrator reveals thoughts and feelings of one character.

Omniscient Narrator

The narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all characters.

Irony

A contrast between what is expected and what actually happens.

Verbal Irony

Saying the opposite of what one means.

Situational Irony

When the opposite of what is expected actually occurs.

Dramatic Irony

The audience knows something the characters do not.

Tone

The author’s attitude toward the subject or audience.

Theme

The central idea or underlying meaning in a story.

Universal Theme

A theme that is common to all cultures and time periods.

Exposition

Introduces background information like setting, characters, and conflict.

Foreshadowing

Hints or clues about what will happen later in the story.

Characterization

The process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.

Direct Characterization

The author directly describes the character.

Indirect Characterization

Character traits are revealed through actions, thoughts, or dialogue.

Imagery

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses.

Mood/Atmosphere

The feeling or vibe that the writer creates for the reader.

Dialogue

Conversation between characters.

Setting

Where and when the story takes place.

Symbolism

Using something concrete to represent something abstract.

Unreliable Narrator

A narrator whose credibility is compromised.

Denotation

The literal dictionary definition of a word.

Connotation

The emotional or cultural meaning of a word.

Diction

An author’s word choice.

Simile

A comparison using "like" or "as".

Metaphor

A direct comparison without using "like" or "as".

Subordinate Characters

Characters who play supporting roles in the story.

Voice

The distinct personality or style of the author or narrator.

Persona

The narrator or speaker created by the author.

Ambiguity

When something has more than one meaning or interpretation.

Surprise Ending

An unexpected conclusion that changes the story’s meaning.

Context Clues

Hints in the text that help the reader figure out unfamiliar words.

Generalization

A broad statement made from specific examples.

Chronological Order

Events presented in the order in which they occurred.

Flash-Forward

A scene that jumps ahead to a future event.

Stream of Consciousness

A narrative style that presents thoughts as they occur.

Soliloquy

A long speech by a character alone on stage, revealing thoughts.

Dramatic Monologue

A poem or speech where a single character speaks to a silent audience of one or more people.

Subject

The main topic or focus of a work.

Title

The name of a work; often reflects theme or subject.

Complications

Events that build tension and make the conflict more complex.

Climax

The turning point or moment of greatest tension in a story.

Resolution

The outcome or conclusion of the story’s conflict.

Appearance

The way a character looks, which reveals traits.

Actions

What a character does; shows personality and motivation.

Private Thoughts

What a character thinks; reveals internal conflict or personality.

Credible

Believable or trustworthy character or narrator.

Meaning

What the text is truly about; often linked to theme.

Connotation

The emotional or cultural meaning associated with a word beyond its dictionary definition.

Apostrophe

A punctuation mark (") used to indicate either possession or the omission of letters or numbers.

Meter

A rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.

Figurative Language

Language used to create vivid images and express ideas in creative ways (e.g., metaphor, simile).

Satire

A literary work that uses humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize or expose flaws in society or individuals.

Flashback

A scene that interrupts the narrative to depict something that happened earlier.

Denotation

The literal, dictionary definition of a word.

Repetition

The repeated use of words or phrases for emphasis or rhythm.

Rhyme

The repetition of similar sounding words at the ends of lines in poetry.

Metaphor

A direct comparison between two unlike things without using "like" or "as".

Order

The arrangement or structure of elements in a text, often to support meaning.

Euphemism

A polite or mild word or phrase used to replace a harsh or offensive one.

Inversion

A reversal of the normal word order in a sentence.

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds in close proximity, often at the end of words.

Point of View

The perspective from which the story is told (e.g., first-person, third-person).

Omission

The deliberate exclusion of a word or phrase for effect or emphasis.

Pun

A play on words that exploits multiple meanings for humorous or rhetorical effect.

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line in poetry.

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words.

Personification

Giving human characteristics to non-human things.

Sarcasm

A form of verbal irony meant to mock or convey contempt.

Emphasis

Special importance or significance given to something in writing or speech.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech combining contradictory terms (e.g., “bittersweet”).

Caesura

A pause in a line of poetry, often marked by punctuation.

Free Verse

Poetry that does not follow a regular rhyme or meter.

Allusion

A reference to a well-known person, event, text, or work of art.

Hyperbole

An extreme exaggeration used for emphasis or humor.

Sensory Details

Descriptions that appeal to the five senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste).

Loaded Language

Words with strong emotional implications used to influence an audience.

Chiasmus

A rhetorical figure in which words are repeated in reverse order (e.g., “Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You”).

Blank Verse

Unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter.

Symbol

An object, character, or event that represents a deeper meaning or abstract idea.

Understatement

Deliberately downplaying the significance of something for ironic or humorous effect.

Informal

Language that is casual, conversational, and relaxed in tone.

Parallelism

The repetition of grammatical structures for emphasis and rhythm.

Iambic

A metrical foot in poetry with one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.