Fundamentals of Literature Final

Three types of conflict

Man versus man, man versus self, man versus a greater force.

Conflict

The opposition of two or more characters or forces.

Inciting incident

The incident that sets the events of the conflict in motion.

Crisis

The major turning point for the main character; the point where something happens that affects the outcome of the story and determines the future of the main character.

Climax

The point at which the plot reaches the moment of highest emotional intensity.

Resolution

The final outcome of the story and the last element of the plot, in which the major complications are settled or resolved. (Note: It is not always required in modern literature, but traditional plots rely on it).

Plot

A series of events arranged to produce a definite sense of movement toward a specific goal.

Suspense

Reader anxiety resulting from the author's withholding of plot details.

Flashback

A reference to events that occurred before the action of the main story or before the time the narrator is speaking.

Setting

The time, place, and way of life in which the action of the story occurs.

Atmosphere

The mood or emotion that the reader is supposed to share with the characters.

Protagonist

The main character of a story.

Antagonist

The force or character that struggles against the protagonist.

Tragic hero

The protagonist in a tragedy.

Common flaws of tragic heroes

Pride, stubbornness, or lust.

Direct characterization

A type of character description in which straightforward details tell the reader about the character.

Indirect characterization

A type of characterization in which the reader must infer character traits from information shown by the author.

Normative character

The character (sometimes called simply "the norm") who models and articulates the author's ethics.

Sympathetic character

A character with whom the reader identifies favorable feelings.

Static character

A character who remains essentially the same throughout the story.

Round character

A character who is complex and undergoes changes.

Flat character

A character with little individuality of whom the reader knows little.

Dialogue

A conversation between characters.

Dramatic irony

A type of irony in which the reader is aware of plot developments, but the characters are unaware.

Situational irony

A type of irony in which the events violate normal expectations.

Verbal irony

Irony occurring when an author's or character’s meaning differs from their words.

Theme

A recurring or emerging idea in a work of literature.

Universal theme

An idea about life that is found throughout world literature because it can be understood by all people.

Allegory

A type of extended metaphor that forms a story with two levels of meaning.

Symbol

A person, place, thing, or idea that means something in addition to itself.

Frame story

A story that contains another story, or an introductory story from which springs another story.

Omniscient viewpoint

The viewpoint taken by an author who tells the story in the third person and knows all.

Limited omniscient viewpoint

A viewpoint of a narrative in which the author tells the story in the third person and gets inside the mind of only one of the characters (usually the central character).

First-person viewpoint

The point of view in which the author, as one of the characters, refers to himself as “I” throughout the piece.

Persona

The person created by the author to tell the story, affecting the way the story is told.

Anecdote

A short narrative of a single interesting or amusing incident.

Detective fiction

Fiction in which a recurring character investigates and solves crimes.

Genre

A type or category of literature.

Rhymed verse

Verse having end rhyme and regular meter.

End rhyme

Rhyme that occurs at the end of corresponding lines of poetry.

Perfect rhyme

Identical sounds in the last stressed vowel and all sounds following that in two or more words.

Slant rhyme

Rhyme between two words with similar but slightly mismatched sounds.

Eye rhyme

Words that are spelled alike but pronounced differently.

Sonnet

A lyric poem of 14 lines; the most common are Italian and English.

Parallelism

Similarity in structure of two or more phrases, clauses, or sentences.