Long Way Down Literary Terms

Exposition

where the setting, character, and basic situations are revealed

Direct Characterization

the author tells you explicitly what a character is like

Indirect Characterization

the author shows you what a character is like through thoughts, feelings, choices, words, and actions

Protagonist

The main character in a story

Antagonist

The person (or force) in conflict with the protagonist of a story

Simile

A comparison between two unlike things that uses "like" or "as"

Metaphor

a comparison of two unlike things not using like or as

Idiom

A group of words whose meaning is quite different from their individual, literal meaning

Alliteration

the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words

Onomatopoeia

words whose sounds suggest their meaning

Stanza

a grouped set of lines within a poem