Mr. McCarthy's Lit Terms List 1

Plot

the sequence of related events that form a story

Basic Situation/Exposition

the opening of a story where the characters, setting, and the conflict are introduced

Conflict/Inciting Events

these move the plot forward, esp. by providing tension and motivation

Resolution/Denouement

end of a literary work when loose ends are tied up and questions are answered

Climax

the most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or apex.

Flashback/Flashforward

an interruption in the present action to show what happened earlier or later

Frame tale

an "outer" story that creates the situation in which the main story can be told

Perspective/Point of View

identifies who is telling the story

Indirect Characterization

the character is revealed through their appearance, speech, actions, private thoughts, and effect on others

Protagonist

main character

Antagonist

a character or force in conflict with the main character

Foil

a character who acts as a contrast to another character

Stock Character

a stereotypical character

Archetype

an original model on which something was patterned or replicated

Setting

the time and place of a story

Verisimilitude

the quality of appearing to be true, real, likely, or probable

Mood/Atmosphere

the feeling created by a literary work or passage

Dramatic irony

when a reader is aware of something that a character isn't

Verbal irony

a figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of (or very different from) what is meant

Situational irony

an outcome that turns out to be the opposite of or very different from what was expected