English Honors Midterm

Literary Devices and Elements of Plot

Exposition

introduction/beginning of a story

Rising Action

event that builds tension, leading to the climax

Climax

big turning point of the story 'main event' main problem

Falling Action

shift after the climax on the way to resolve the problem

Resolution/Denouement

end of the story, all problems are solved

Internal Conflict

problem the character faces psychologically (piper's dad)

External Conflict

problem character faces with outside forces (kronos)

Foreshadowing

author gives hints to something that will happen later in the story/series

Suspense

methods used to build suspense: cliffhangers, dramatic irony, foreshadowing

First Person POV

narrative perspective where the narrator is a character in the story

Second Person POV

narrative perspective that addresses the reader as 'you'

Third Person Limited

limited third person omniscient is restricted to a single character

Third Person Omniscient

full access to the thoughts and feelings of all characters

Reliable Narrator

able to give an accurate account of events

Unreliable Narrator

credibility is put into question once the reader identifies that their account of events may not be true

Symbolism

use of any person, situation, or object to represent an idea

Setting

time, or place an author writes about

Mood

feeling the readers get

Voice

style, or perspective of a work

Personification

where inanimate objects or animals can speak or do things as humans can

Characterization

information provided about the characters in a story

Indirect Characterization

something the author implies about a character based on their actions

Direct Characterization

something the author deliberately tells us about a character

STEAL chart terms

Speech, Thoughts, Effects on others, Actions, Looks

Irony

contrast between reality and expectations

Verbal Irony

using words to show a meaning that is different from their literal meaning

Dramatic Irony

reader or audience knows more than the characters they are following

Situational Irony

audience may be expecting one thing but something else entirely happens

Flashback

scene that goes back in time from the current setting in the story

Dynamic Character

character who goes through internal development throughout the story

Static Character

remains the same throughout the story

Rhetorical Devices

techniques used to persuade or convey meaning

Parallelism

words or phrases in sentences that are the same

Rhetorical Questions

questions that are asked without an answer

Repetition

using the same word or phrase over and over again in a work

Ethos

gets your audience to see you/your argument as trustworthy (shows credibility of a character or speaker)

Logos

means to appeal to the audiences' sense of reason or logic

Pathos

appeal to emotion

Theme

message of a work, often about important topics, life, or society

Imagery

words that trigger the reader to recall images, or mental pictures