english terms(midterm review)

Freytag's Pyramid

exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, reslolution

Conflict

A struggle between opposing forces

rising action

Events leading up to the climax

Climax

Most exciting moment of the story; turning point

falling action

Events after the climax, leading to the resolution

Resolution

End of the story where loose ends are tied up

initiation story

A narrative in which the main character, usually a child or adolescent, undergoes an important experience that prepares him or her for adulthood.

Archetypal plot

universal plot that recurs in literature

Protagonist

main character

Antagonist

A character or force in conflict with the main character

flat character

A character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of a story

round character

A character who demonstrates some complexity and who develops or changes in the course of a work

static character

A character that does not change from the beginning of the story to the end

dynamic character

A character who grows, learns, or changes as a result of the story's action

foil character

A character who is used as a contrast to another character; the contrast emphasizes the differences between the two characters, bringing out the distinctive qualities in each.

Flashback

A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events

Exposition

a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory.

in medias res

in or into the middle of a plot; into the middle of things

Narrorator

Person telling the story

first person narrator

a narrator within the story who tells the story from the "I" perspective

third person narrator

a narrator outside of the action who tells the story from the he/she vantage point

omniscient narrator

a narrator who is able to know, see, and tell all, including the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters

Setting

The time and place of a story

Theme

Central idea of a work of literature

Allegory

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

figurative language

Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling.

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

Simile

A comparison of two unlike things using like or as

Symbol

A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.

Foreshadowing

A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader.

Sophocles

Greek writer of tragedies; author of Oedipus Rex

the chorus

A group of characters in Greek tragedy (and in later forms of drama), who comment on the action of a play without participation in it.

Choragos

leader of the chorus

situational irony

An outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected

dramatic irony

when a reader is aware of something that a character isn't

Skene

building used as dressing room

Proscenium

stage forward of curtain

Parados

entrance of the chorus

deus ex machina

In literature, the use of an artificial device or gimmick to solve a problem.

Thespis

first actor

Dionysus

God of wine

tragic hero

A literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy

tragic flaw

A weakness or limitation of character, resulting in the fall of the tragic hero.

Hubris

excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance

Hamartia

a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine

joy before catastrophe

happiness before tragedy

verisimilitude

the appearance of being true or real

Peripeteia

a sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances, especially in reference to fictional narrative.

mutability

changeability

Chatharsis

the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.

moment of recognition

when the hero realizes the consequences of his actions