7th Grade Lit Terms

Fiction - prose writing that tells about imaginary characters and events. Short stories and novels are examples of this type of writing on actual events and people, adding invented characters, dialogue, settings, and plots. Other writers rely on imagination alone.

Novel - a long work of fiction - It contains such elements as characters, plot, conflict, and setting. The writer (novelist) develops these elements. In addition to a main plot, it may contain one or more subplots, or independent, related stories. It may also have several themes.

Novella - A work of fiction that is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel

Short Story - a brief work of fiction. Like a novel, it presents a sequence of events, or plot. The plot usually deals with a central conflict faced by a main character, or protagonist. The events usually communicate a message about life or human nature. This message, or central idea, is the story’s theme.

Plot - sequence of events in which each event results from a previous one and causes the next. In most novels, dramas, short stories, and narrative poems, it involves both characters and central conflict.

Exposition - introduces the setting (the time and place of the story), the characters, and the basic situation (conflict is often introduced at the end of this part of the plot)

Rising Action - events that increase the tension.

Climax - the turning point in the story. It is the high point in the action of the plot. It is the moment of greatest tension when the outcome of the plot hangs in the balance.

Falling Action - is the part of the story when the conflict lessens; events that follow the climax.

Resolution - is the story’s conclusion; final outcome is achieved; loose ends are tied up.

Character - a person or an animal that takes part in the action of a literary work. the main, or major, on is the most important on in a story, poem, or play. A minor one is one who takes part in the action but is not the focus of attention.

Setting - the time and place of the action. It includes all the details of a place and time - the year, the time of day, even the weather.

Theme - central message, concern, or purpose in a literary work. It can usually be expressed as a generalization, or a general statement, about human beings or about life. It is not a summary of its plot.

Point of View - the perspective, or vantage point, from which a story is told. It is either a narrator outside the story or a character in the story.

Conflict - A struggle between opposing forces. It is one of the most important elements of stories, novels, and plays because it causes the action. There are two types: external and internal.