Key Fiction Terms
Theme: Central or dominant idea
Cliches: trite or overused expressions
Morals: lessons dramatized by the work
Myth: A story that embodies the beliefs of the people and the society that they live in. It can be considered, in this context, a type of introspection to a people’s origins and religious ideals
Allegory: A message or moral principle that is communicated through a story in which the characters personify the concepts and qualities in the literal and figurative meaning
Symbol: A symbol can be a person, object, action, place, or event that has a more complex and subtle meaning than what is being presented on the surface
Universal/Archetypal symbols: A perception/expectation everyone can impose on an individual or thing
Conventional Symbols: Objects that people in a similar culture think represent a certain idea or ideal
Tone: The attitude of the narrator or author of a work toward the subject matter, characters, or audience. Attitude of the speaker or author of a work toward the subject itself or the audience as determined by the word choice and arrangement of the piece.
Style: The way a writer uses Language selecting and arrating words to say what he or she wants to say. Style encompasses elements such as word choice; syntax; sentence length and structure; and the presence, frequency and prominance of imagery and figure of speech.
Stream of-Consciousness: is a narrative style that tries to capture a characters thought process in a realistic way (a style that mimics thought) When random ideas and feeling put out onto the page without an structured order
Alliteration: Repetition of consonant sounds (usually the initial sounds) in a series of words May be reinforced by repeated sounds within and at the end of words.
Near Rhyme: Rhyming in which the words sound the same but do not rhyme perfectly. Examples include “worm” and”swarm,” and “bait” and “paid.”
Parallelism: A parallel construction in which similar or repeated words, phrases, clauses, or sentences structure appear. Example- “She likes to run in the morning, swim in the afternoon, and hike in the evening.”
Formal diction: The usage of a sophisticated language, without slang or colloquialism. Such as talking with your boss or teacher.
Informal diction: The relaxed conversational language that we use every day. Such as talking with friends or family.
Imagery: Words and phrases that describe the concrete experience of the five senses
Figures of speech: Expressions such as hyperbole, metaphor, metonymy, personification, simile, synecdoche, and understatement- that use words to achieve effects beyond ordinary language
Metaphors: Concise form of comparison equating two things that may at first seem completely dissimilar, often an abstraction and a concrete image
Similes: Comparison of two seemingly unlike things using the words like or as
Personification: A figure of speech that endows inanimate objects or abstract ideas with a life or human characteristics.
Hyperbole: Figurative language that depends on intentional overstatement or extreme exaggeration
Understatement: Intentional downplaying of a situation's significance often for ironic or humorous effect.
Allusions: Reference often to literature history, mythology, or the Bible, that is unacknowledged in the text but that the the author expects a reader to recognize
Dramatic irony occurs when a narrator perceives less than the readers do
Situational irony occurs when what happens is in conflict with what the readers expect
Verbal irony occurs when the narrator says one thing but means another
Persona: the term used for first-person narrators whose personalities and opinions differ from the author’s own; the actual word persona means mask
Unreliable Narrators are narrators that due to confusion, naivety, instability, or even insanity, misinterpret events and misdirect readers
Third-Person Omniscient Narrators are all knowing, moving freely from one character’s mind to another
Third-Person Limited-Omniscient Narrators are narrators that focus only on what one character experiences
Objective Narrators without directly telling the reader the characters' inner thoughts or feelings.
Historical Setting: A particular historical period, and the events and customs associated with it; knowledge of the period in which a story is set may be useful/essential
Geographical Setting: Where story takes place; can help explain any language or cultural difference that occur to the readers
Physical Setting: can influence the mood of a story along with its development
Dynamic Characters: characters who change based on their experiences throughout the story and develop even further by the conclusion. They may even become a separate character altogether compared to their first appearance or introduction.
Static Characters: characters who rarely show major development throughout the story and experiences. They stay relatively the same from start to finish.
Flat Characters: characters who are not very developed or fleshed out, these are the cardboard cut outs and can often times be stereotypical characters.
Round Characters: characters who are well developed with multiple layers to them
Foils: a character who contrasts with another character
Protagonist: The leading main character of a story and the major character who drives the action in a drama. Not confined to being a hero.
Antagonist: A person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary.Not confined to being a villain.
Exposition: Basic information presented to readers at the beginning of a story so they can understand follow-up events
Crisis: Peak of the story’s action or moment of highest tension.
Climax: The highest and most intense point of a story. (Crisis usually occurs here)
Resolution/Denouement: Draws action to a close and accounts for all remaining loose ends.
Flashback: A past event or situation that takes the narrative back in time to a situation where the story action takes place.
Foreshadowing: Introducing elements of a story early, often trivial, only for them to be revealed as significant.
Media Res: Starting in the middle of something