Elements of Fiction Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering literary terms and elements of fiction from the study materials.

Setting

The physical location and time of a story.

Mood

The feeling created in the reader by a text.

Atmosphere

The feeling created in a text through the setting.

Protagonist

The central person and main character in a story who is faced with a conflict that must be resolved.

Antagonist

The character(s) or situation that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend.

Round Character

A character who is complex or presented in detail.

Dynamic Character

A character who changes over time, usually as a result of resolving a central conflict or facing a major crisis.

Flat Character

A character characterized by one or two traits.

Static Character

A character who does not change over time and whose personality does not transform or evolve.

Character Revelation

Finding out background information about a character or getting more information about them.

Characterization

Techniques the writer uses to develop character, including physical description, speech, actions, and direct comments from the narrator.

Point of View (POV)

The perspective through which a story is told, determined by who stands between the reader and the events inside the writing.

First-person narrator

A character from the story who tells it using the personal pronoun "I," allowing the reader to see and know only as much as that narrator.

Third-person narrator

Someone outside the story telling it using words like "he," "she," and "they."

Omniscient Narrator

A third-person narrator who knows all of what is done, said, felt, and thought by all characters.

Limited Omniscient Narrator

A third-person narrator who limits observations of thoughts and feelings to only one character.

Objective Narrator

A third-person narrator who acts like a movie camera by recording events without offering comments or revealing character thoughts and feelings.

Simile

Making a comparison between two things using the words "like" or "as."

Metaphor

Making a connection between two different things by talking about one thing as if it was something else.

Foreshadowing

Getting a hint of events that will happen next.

Theme

The main idea, unifying concept, or universal truth about human challenges that the writer wants the reader to understand and remember.

Motivation

The cause of or reason for actions.

Behaviour

The actions of the character.

Consequences

The results of actions.

Responsibility

Moral, legal, or mental accountability.

Expectations

What the reader expects.

Conflict

A problem between two characters or forces.

Character vs. Character

A conflict where two characters have a problem or fight.

Character vs. Self

A conflict where the character experiences an internal struggle.

Character vs. Society

A conflict where the character struggles against a group of people or a commonly accepted idea.

Character vs. Nature

A conflict where the character fights against forces of nature, such as weather, environment, or natural forces like birth and death.

Irony

The contrast or discrepancy between one thing and another, or when the literal meaning and underlying meaning are not the same.

Verbal Irony

Irony where words convey a meaning opposite to the literal meaning, or when a person says one thing and means another.

Situational Irony

Irony where one event is expected to occur but the opposite happens.

Dramatic Irony

The contrast between what a character thinks to be true and what the reader knows to be true.