Figurative Language

First-person

A character tells the story directly to the reader in the first person

Second-person

story is told as if YOU are controlling the actions. You are the protagonist or one of the characters who interacts closely with the protagonist or other characters

Symbolism

Something that stands for or represents the qualities of something else.

Objective narrative

• narrator has no special knowledge

• story presented in an unemotional manner

Point of View

perspective from which a story is told

Satire

• irony to ridicule an idea, a person, or a thing,

• aim to provoking change

Setting

time and place of a story

Purpose (intent)

main effect the author hopes to achieve

Omniscient narrative

narrator tells the story with knowledge of the thoughts and feelings of characters

Protagonist

main character

Third person (limited omniscient)

• story is told from the external point of view

• perspective of one character

Climax

• highest point of intensity in a story

• turning point for the protagonist

Simile

• similarity between two objects

• like or as

Flashback

events that occurred before the present

Epiphany

significant realization

Polyptoton

repetition of the same root word with different grammatical inflections

Realism

create a realistic impression for the reader

Denouement

resolution of the plot or conflict

Innocent Eye

story is told through the eyes of a child

Exposition

• background information provided by the author

• development of plot, conflict, setting, and characterization

End-stopped

line of verse pauses at its end

Pun

• A play on words

• words with multiple meanings or sound the same

Theme

central idea of the story

Couplet

pair of rhyming lines that creates a complete thought or idea

Conflict

struggle between opposing characters or forces

Repetition

repetition of words, phrases, lines or stanzas

Dialogue

Conversation between two or more characters

Rising action

incidents that come before the climax

Cliché

phrase or opinion that is overused and lacks original thought

Consonance

repetition of consonant sounds in nearby words

Synecdoche

substitution of a whole concept with a part of that whole

Connotation

words/idea suggests beyond its literal meaning

Diction

choice of words

Dilemma

situation where character makes a choice between two unfavourable alternatives

Characterization

author reveals a characters moral, dispositional, and behavioural qualities

Euphemism

indirect expression that is used to de-emphasize an unpleasant topic

Falling action

following the climax

Enjambment

line of verse pushes ahead to the next

Epizeuxis

multiple repetitions of a word

Dialect

manner of speaking or variation on a language

Verbal irony

character says contrasts with what the character actually means

Irony

• contrast between two elements

• meanings tend to become unconcealed or contradictory

Litotes

understatement where something is expressed by stating the opposite

Initial Incident

incident begins the action in the story

Situational irony

different from what was expected

Antonomasia

substitution of a proper name for a particular quality associated with it

Imagery

• Descriptive language that evokes sensory experience

• create picture in your head

Allusion

indirect reference to a thing from media that is intended to show an idea being expressed

Foreshadowing

literary device that hints or warns of events

Metonymy

bject or concept to stand for another to which it is closely related

Alliteration

repetition of an initial sound in two or more closely related words

Juxtaposition

Two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect

Allegory

story where characters, events, settings symbolize deeper meaning

Narrator

storyteller

Flat

Minor character with few notable qualities

Dramatic irony

character says or believes contrasts with what the reader or other characters know to be true

Moral

stated or implied lesson of a story

Antagonist

major character or force that opposes the protagonist

round

complex character

Local Colour

detail in a story that is specific to a geographic region or environment

Oxymoron

paradox where two words, opposite in meaning, are placed side by side

Character

(non) fictional people in a story and their qualities

Plot

organization of events or episodes within a story

Assonance

repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds

Metaphor

assertion that two things in some way are identical

Motif

• recurrent phrase or image that appears in numerous texts

• have a tradition of evoking a specific theme

Antecedent action

significant action that takes place before the story begins

Personification

assigned human characteristics to inanimate objects

Antihero

• protagonist who has none of the qualities normally associated with a hero

• evokes sympathies

Onomatopoeia

use of a word to indicate a sound

Apostrophe

speaker turns from the audience to address an absent person or abstract idea

Anaphora

repetition of a word or phrase at the initial position of several lines of verse

Atmosphere (mood)

• prevailing feeling created by a story

• sets up expectations for the outcome

Dynamic

Character undergoes lasting change throughout the story

Static

Character does not change throughout the story