English Language Structural Analysis

prolepsis

prolepsis

flashforward

analepsis

flashback

achronological storytelling

when the order if the events in a story is not the order they happened in real life

perspective shift

first person, second person, third person

structural foreshadowing

when a plot point is hinted at through structure

structural repetition

when any structure is repeated, e.g. long paragraph after long paragraph

frame narrative

telling you the story that happened in the past until their current position, e.g. this is how I ended up here…

circular narrative

the story ends where it began, either exactly, or with the same theme

reveal

surprise information

plot twist

unexpected change in the direction of a story

cliff hanger

not being told how a story ends

juxtaposition

contrast of structure, e.g. alternating between short and long paragraphs

change of pace

noticeable change in the pace of how the information is delivered

in media res

“in the middle of things”- when a story opens in the middle of a story, with a lot of action

change in tense

for example, half in present, half in past

paralleling

two characters living parallel lives, and the story goes back and forth between them, for example