English Capen, Fall Exam: Term --> Definition

Allegory

The events of a book point towards a sequence of symbolic ideas. It has two levels of meaning: surface and a symbolic level.

Allusion

A brief reference in text to a person or thing, real or fictional.

Antagonist

The most significant character that opposes the protagonist; they conflict with the protagonist.

Antihero

A protagonist that lacks one or more of the normal qualities of a hero, such as bravery, idealism, or dignity.

Characterization

Techniques the author uses to reveal, create, or develop characters.

Climax

The moment of greatest intensity in a story, usually between protagonist and antagonist.

Closed Denouement

An ending where the author ties everything up and little is left unresolved.

Open Denouement

An ending where the author leaves unresolved matters and loose ends.

Complication

A significant development of the drama or central conflict; may be apparent or hidden.

Conclusion

The logical end or outcome of a plot, normally following the climax.

Conflict

The central struggle between two or more forces in a story.

Connotation

An association or meaning that a word, image, or phrase may carry beyond its literal definition.

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word.

Deus ex machina

An improbable or unrealistic solution to a problem, originally from Greek plays where gods resolve human conflicts.

Diction

Word choice or vocabulary that the author chooses to fit the story or tone.

Didactic fiction

A story meant to teach a moral lesson or provide an example of proper behavior.

Dramatic point of view

A narrative perspective where the narrator only reports dialogue and action, giving little interpretation.

Dynamic character

A character who grows or changes in a significant way over the course of the story.

Editorial omniscience

When an omniscient narrator goes beyond reporting dialogue to offer judgment or commentary.

Epigraph

A brief quotation before a story suggesting a theme, subject, or atmosphere.

Epiphany

A moment of insight, discovery, or revelation that greatly alters a character's life.

Falling action

The events that follow the climax and lead to the story's resolution or denouement.

First-person narrator

A story told by a character within the action, using "I" perspective.

Flashback

A scene relived in a character's memory, either summarized or experienced by the character.

Flat character

A character with only one outstanding trait.

Foreshadowing

Arranging events or information so that later events are anticipated or "shadowed."

Hero

The central character in a narrative, usually embodying admirable qualities.

Impartial omniscience

An omniscient narrator who reports events without judgment or commentary.

Innocent (or naïve) narrator

A narrator who fails to understand the implications of the story being told.

Interior monologue

An extended presentation of a character's thoughts as if speaking aloud to themselves.

Ironic point of view

A narrator or character whose perspective is rich in ironic contradictions.

Irony

A literary device in which meaning is masked beneath the surface of the language.

Verbal irony

A statement where the speaker says the opposite of what they mean.

Situational irony

When a character expects one outcome, but the opposite occurs.

Cosmic irony (or irony of fate)

When fate or the universe intervenes against a character's aspirations.

Dramatic irony

When the audience knows something that a character does not.

Socratic irony

Pretending to be ignorant to expose flaws in another's argument.

Limited omniscience (or third-person limited pov)

A narrator who sees into the minds of some, but not all, characters.

Magical realism

A narrative blending the magical and the normal as a natural part of the story.

Monologue

An extended speech by a single character.

Moral

A paraphrasable message or lesson implied or stated in a work.

Motivation

What a character in a story or drama wants or desires.

Nonparticipant narrator

A narrator who does not appear in the story but can reveal the thoughts of characters.

Omniscient narrator (or all-knowing narrator)

A narrator who can move freely through the consciousness of any character and all events.

Paradox

A contradiction that reveals a deeper meaning.

Persona

A fictitious character created by the author to act as the narrator.

Plot

The arrangement of actions, events, and situations in a narrative.

Point of view

The perspective from which a story is told.

Protagonist

The central character in a literary work.

Resolution

The final part of a narrative, usually following the climax.

Rising action

Events in a story that build toward the climax.

Round character

A complex character presented in depth and detail.

Sarcasm

A bitter form of irony intended to hurt or mock its target.

Satiric comedy

A genre using humor to ridicule human weakness or attack political injustice.

Selective omniscience

A narrator who sees events through the eyes of a single character, usually nonparticipants.

Static character (flat character)

A character who does not change significantly over the story.

Stream of consciousness

A narrative technique replicating the associative, subjective flow of thoughts.

Style

The distinctive way in which an author, genre, or historical period uses language.

Symbol

A person, place, or thing in a narrative suggesting meaning beyond its literal sense.

Theme

A general recurring subject or idea in a literary work.

Third-person narrator

A narrator who is not a participant in the story, using "he," "she," or "they."

Tone

The attitude toward a subject conveyed in a literary work.

Total omniscience

A narrator who knows everything about all characters and events.

Understatement

An ironic figure of speech that describes something as less than it actually is.

Unreliable narrator

A narrator who relates events subjectively or distortedly, intentionally or unintentionally.