Literary terms

setting The time and location of a story—which can change throughout the course of the plot.

plot The course of events during a story; this includes the elements of a plot– exposition, rising action, foreshadowing, climax, turning point, and resolution.

Theme/central idea In fiction, the theme is a message about life—either explicitly stated or left for the reader to decide. In nonfiction texts this is the central idea.

Universal theme A universal theme is one that can be found across all cultures and time periods. Universal themes touch on human ideas that are common to all people, such as: LOVE DETERMINATION FAMILY RELIGION TRAGEDY

Protagonist vs. antagonist The protagonist is usually the main character whose experiences are at the heart of the story… The antagonist typically opposes the protagonist, and is involved in the development of the main character…

characterization There are two types— Indirect: When we can infer something about a character based on their actions or thoughts, we call it indirect characterization. Direct: When the narrator specifies something about the character directly—such as “She was a frail girl with light- colored hair and eyes like the sea.”

Point of view This refers to the narrative style of the author—whether it’s fiction or nonfiction. 1st—autobiography, short story, persuasive essay 2nd-- Functional text—instructions, commands, suggestions, or engaging the reader as a unique narrative style. 3rd—Research report, expository writing that involves explanations and facts

3rd person narration 3rd Person limited– the author/narrator focuses on the perspective of one character’s thoughts and feelings, usually the main character. 3rd Person omniscient—the author/narrator knows everything about every character, including all back stories, as well as what will happen next. In essence, the omniscient narrator is all-powerful.

conflict External: This type of conflict acts as an obstacle for a character—something tangible---such as a natural disaster, war, an argument, a fight, or any other challenge outside of the character. Internal: This type of conflict—which is inside someone--- acts as an EMOTIONAL OBSTACLE for a character. Overcoming fears, struggling with guilt, sadness, pain, etc. If a character is their own worst enemy, they are going through an internal conflict.

Types of literary conflicts Human vs. Human (external, usually involving war, prejudice) Human vs. Nature (external, involving disasters, animals, or any other natural phenomena) Human vs. Themselves (internal—involving an inner struggle)

Genre—A type of literature

Tone/connotation Tone/connotation refers to the emotional (or lack of) nature of the text, which is directly connected to the purpose of writing. For example: Objective: Our country has been encouraging immigration for over 250 years. (informative text) Negative connotation: Our country has been encouraging too much immigration for over 250 years. (persuasive text)

Symbols/symbolism Symbolism is the process by which physical objects in a story take on metaphoric or larger meanings. For example, a key might represent the answer to a pereplexing question

Historical context In realistic fiction, authors include elements of the time period—which helps identify the setting. This is slightly different than historical fiction.

Cultural context Sometimes authors include specific elements of a particular culture—this can be an item, a different language, or a proper noun that can be connected to a culture.