Literary Terms and Plot Elements

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes about literary terms and plot elements.

Mood

The emotional atmosphere or feeling in a literary work.

Conflict

A struggle between opposing forces.

Protagonist

The main character who plays a leading part in the story; the one the story revolves around.

Antagonist

A character in conflict with the main character/protagonist.

Simile

A comparison between two things using 'like' or 'as'.

Imagery

Descriptive or figurative language used to create word pictures for the reader; appeals to the senses.

Direct Characterization

When the author states the character's traits in the text.

Indirect Characterization

Inferring character traits through their Speech, Thoughts, Effect on other characters, Actions, and Looks.

Flat Character

A simple and uncomplicated character with limited information, who doesn't change much and is usually a supporting character.

Round Character

Complex characters with a lot of information, faults, virtues and sides, and usually become better people throughout the novel.

Dynamic Character

A character that changes over the course of the story.

Static Character

A character whose personality does NOT change.

Setting Time

The year, season, month, time of day, etc. of the story.

Rising Action

Events in the plot that make it tense, add complications, or create frustration.

Climax

The event in the plot where the protagonist changes, the plot twists/changes, or where there is wonder still revolving around the conflict.

Falling Action

Events that start to unravel the minor conflicts as well as the major conflict.

Resolution

The protagonist's main conflict is resolved; there is a “winner” and a “loser”.

Theme

The lesson the characters or the readers learn from the story.

Inciting Incident

The conflict that causes the protagonist to react and take action.

Setting Location

Location, city, state, region, etc.

Literary Devices

The style and figurative language used by the author to develop the characters, plot, and/or theme.

Internal Conflict

A struggle to make a decision.

External Conflict

A struggle between a character and an outside force.

Setting

The time and place of a story's action.

Narrator

The speaker or character who tells the story.

Point of View

The vantage point, or perspective, from which a story is told.

First Person Point of View

The narrator is a character in the story who tells the story in his or her own words.

Second Person Point of View

The narrator is outside the story but is talking to the reader by referring to them as “you”.

Third Person Limited

The narrator, who is not a character in the story, focuses on the thoughts and experiences of only one character.

Third Person Omniscient

The narrator, who is not a character in the story, describes and comments on all the characters and actions in the story.

Third Person Observer

The narrator, who is not a character in the story, describes only the actions of the characters in the story.

Tone

The writer’s attitude toward his or her subject, characters, or audience.

Mood

The feeling the reader gets from a story.

Persuade (Author's Purpose)

To convince the reader of a certain point of view.

Inform (Author's Purpose)

To teach or give information to the reader.

Entertain (Author's Purpose)

To hold the attention of the reader through enjoyment.

Dialogue

A conversation between characters.

Symbol

Anything that stands for or represents something else.

Foreshadowing

Use of clues to suggest events that have yet to occur.

Irony

A contrast between what is stated and what is meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually happens.

Verbal Irony

A writer or speaker says one thing and means something entirely different.

Dramatic Irony

A reader or an audience perceives something that a character in the story or play does not know.

Situational Irony

The writer shows a discrepancy between the expected result of some action or situation and its actual result.

Metaphor

A comparison between two things without the verbal signal “like” or “as”.

Simile

Figure of speech which uses the signal words “like” or “as” to compare two things.

Tactile Imagery

Describes what we touch or feel.

Gustatory Imagery

Describes what we taste.

Visual Imagery

Describes what we see.

Olfactory Imagery

Describes what we smell.

Auditory Imagery

Describes what we hear.

Personification

A figure of speech in which human characteristics are given to nonhuman things.

Anthropomorphism

Making things human.

Allusion

A figure of speech that makes a reference to people, places, events, or literary works directly or by implying them.

Alliteration

The repetition of the starting sound of words in a line/sentence/verse.

Juxtaposition

Two contrasting objects, images, or ideas that are placed together or described together, so that the differences between them are emphasized.

Shift

A change or a turn in the pattern or the insight of the writing.

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Onomatopoeia

A word, that when read, is its sound.

Repetition

The use of the same word multiple times.

Anaphora

The repetition of a phrase.

Parallelism

A stylistic arrangement in which similar syntactic patterns repeat.