Laney > Kim Williams > Literary Terms

Literary Terms

List #1 – Short Stories 
1.Plot - The sequence of events in a selection
2.Exposition - The beginning or introduction to a selection
3.Narrative Hook - The point in a selection in which the author tries to grab 
  the reader's attention
4.Rising Action - When the suspense begins to build in a selection
5.Climax - The point of highest interest or the point of no return in a selection
6.Falling Action - When the suspense in a selection begins to lessen
7.Resolution - The outcome or conclusion to a story
8.Setting - The time, place, location, or era in which a story takes place
9.Fiction - Literature based on creativity or the imagination.
10.Genre - A category or type or literature
11.Theme - A central message or insight into life that is revealed through a literary work.
12.Novel - A long work of fiction
13.Short Story - A short work of fiction
 
  
Literary Terms List #2 – Short Stories
 1. Character – A person in a story
 2.    Dynamic Character – A character that undergoes a personality change in the story
 3.    Static Character – A character that morally remains the same in the story
 4. Mood - A feeling created in the reader by a story
 5. Tone - An author's feelings toward a subject
 6.    Round Character – A fully developed character
 7.    Flat Character – An under-developed character
 8. Protagonist - A "good guy" or hero
 9. Antagonist - A "bad guy" or villain
10. Secondary Character - A minor character
11. Simile - A comparison made between two like objects using like or as
12. Metaphor - A comparison made between two unlike objects without using like or as
 
 
 Literary Terms List 3
 1.    1st Person POV – When one of the characters is telling the story
 
 2.    3rd Person Limited POV – When the narrator is not a character and zooms in on the thoughts 
    of one character
 
 3. Omniscient POV – An all-knowing narrator that knows everything about the characters 
    including their past; not a character
 
 4. Situational Irony - When something happens that the characters don't expect
 
 5. Dramatic Irony - When the audience knows something other than what a character thinks
 
 6. Verbal Irony - When words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant
 
 7. Surprise Ending - When a story ending is not what is expected.
 
 8. Conflict - A problem in a story
 
 9. Internal Conflict - A conflict occurring in the mind
 
10. External Conflict - A problem with an outside force
    A. Man vs. Man - One character against another
    B. Man vs. Nature - A character against the forces of nature
    C. Man vs. Society - A character against the thoughts/actions of a group
    D. Man vs. Supernatural - A character against ghosts/demons
 
Literary Terms List  – Drama
 
1.        Aside – When a character says something that the audience can hear but other characters can’t
2.        Comedy – A drama with a humorous ending
3.        Comic Relief – A humorous incident used to break up a dramatic moment
4.        Drama – A piece of literature that is written specifically to be acted out
5.        Pun – A play on multiple meanings of a word
6.        Soliloquy – When a character is on stage by themselves making a long speech
7.        Monologue – When a character is on stage making a long speech with other characters present
8.        Tragedy – A drama in which the main characters often come to a perilous end
9.        Protagonist – The good guy or hero in a story
      10. Antagonist – The bad guy or villain in a story
 
  
Literary Terms List #4 – The Epic
 
  1. Allusion – A reference to something, usually from the Bible or Greek mythology
  2. Couplet – Two consecutive lines of rhyming poetry
  3. Epic – A long narrative poem in which the main character goes on adventures
  4. Narrative Poem – A poem that tells a story
  5. Epic Hero – A hero that has extraordinary powers whether they be physical or mental
  6. Fable – A story that uses animals to teach a lesson or moral
  7. Myth – A story that is created to explain the unexplainable (something we don’t know the cause of )
  8. Folk Tale – A story with no known author that has been passed down from generation to generation, usually by word of mouth
  9. Foreshadowing – When you know ahead of time that something is going to happen
10. Symbol – Something that stands for or represents something else 
 
  Literary Terms List 5 - Nonfiction
  1. Autobiography – An account of the writer’s own life
  2. Biography – An account of a person’s life, written or told by another person
  3. Connotation – The emotional meaning of a word ie. Positive, negative, neutral
  4. Dialect – Way of speaking that is characteristic of a particular region or group of people
  5. Imagery – The use of the 5 senses in literature.
  6. Essay – A short piece of nonfiction that examines a single topic
  7. Tone – The author’s attitude towards a subject
  8. Nonfiction – Prose writing that deals with real people, things, events, and places
  9. Analogy – A comparison between 2 things.
  10. Novel – A fictional writing that usually has more than 50,000 words
  11. Argument – A form of persuasion that uses reason
  12. Fiction – Literature that is based on the imagination
  13. Figurative Language – Writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally
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