Short Story Terms

Plot

the sequence of events in a story

Exposition

introduces the characters, setting, and sometimes the conflict

Inciting Incident

event that introduces the central conflict

Rising Action

the series of conflicts, tensions, or struggles that build a story toward a climax.

Climax

Most exciting moment of the story; turning point

Falling Action

events after the climax, leading to the resolution

Resolution/ Denouement

End of the story where loose ends are tied up and the conflict is satisfactorily resolved. The knots are "unraveled"

Catharsis

emotional purging or purification that brings relief or renewal

Character

a person in a story

Round character

This character is fully developed - the writer reveals complexity to the character

Flat character

a character who is not very well developed; has only a few identifiable characteristics

Static Character

a character that does not change from the beginning of the story to the end

Dynamic Character

A character who grows, learns, or changes as a result of the story's action

Antagonist

A character or force in conflict with the main character

Protagonist

the main character who "drives the action" of the story

Archetype

an original model or type after which something is patterned; a prototype (includes "wise old man," "hero," "outcast," etc.)

Foil

A character who is in most ways opposite to the main character (protagonist) or one who is nearly the same as the protagonist. The purpose of the foil character is to emphasize the traits of the main character by contrast

Narrator

the person telling the story

Point of View

the perspective from which a story is told

First Person Narration

a narrative in which the narrator tells the story from his/her own point of view and refers to him/herself as "I"; active participant in novel or observer

Third Person Limited Narration

the narrator who plays no part in the story zooms in on the thoughts and feeling of one character

Third Person Omniscient Narration

This is when the narrator of the story is not a character, and knows all of the characters thoughts.

Symbol

an object that is used to represent something else (usually a larger, philosophical and more important idea)

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.

Simile

comparison using like or as

Connotation

refers to the implied or suggested meanings (or feelings or emotions) associated with a word beyond its dictionary definition

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word

Theme

A unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work; this is expressed more fully than a subject or topic, which is often only a word or phrase ("love," or "obstacles of love")

Tone

the writer's or speaker's attitude toward the subject of a story, toward a character, or toward the audience (the readers).

Imagery

Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)

Personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

Flashback

a scene or event from the past that appears in a narrative out of chronological order, to fill in information or explain something in the present

Mood

the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage

Suspense

Uncertainty or anxiety the reader feels about what is going to happen next in a story

Conflict

an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals)

External Conflict

a character struggles against some outside force: another character, society as a whole, or some natural force

Person vs. Person conflict

A problem between characters

Person vs. Society conflict

a character has a problem with some element of society: the school, law, the accepted way of doing things, and so on.

Person vs. Nature

the type of struggle between an individual and some natural force or animal

Internal Conflict

a struggle between opposing needs, desires, or emotions within a single character

Setting

The time and place of a story

Hubris

excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy

Diction

a writer's or speaker's choice of words

Irony

incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs

Verbal Irony

The contrast between what is said and what is actually meant (sarcasm)

Situational Irony

occurs when the outcome of a work is unexpected, or events turn out to be the opposite from what one had expected

Dramatic Irony

In this type of irony, facts or events are unknown to a character in a play or a piece of fiction but known to the reader, audience, or other characters in the work

Foreshadowing

the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot

Satire

a literary work that ridicules or criticizes society, a group, a social institution, etc. in order to reveal a weakness (usually through humor wit)

Dialogue

the lines spoken by characters in drama or fiction

Allusion

a reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize

Direct Characterization

the author explains directly what the character is like (kind, evil, etc.)

Indirect Characterization

The author shows what the character is like by presenting the character's: speech, appearance, Inner thoughts and feelings, what others think or say about the character, actions