Literary devices & plot structure

CHARACTERS A person in a story, novel, or play Can also be an animal or object if author uses personification Progression of the plot is tied to the characters Conflict and action in the story also tied to characters

CONFLICT Man vs Self – internal conflict within a character Man vs Man – conflict between two or more characters in the story Man vs Nature – conflict between character(s) and an element of nature Ex: weather (hurricane, tornado, earthquake, etc.), water (river, ocean, etc.), jungle/forest, desert Man vs Society – character(s) struggle against an element of society Ex: law or lawmakers, society’s expectations

SETTING Includes the historical moment in time and geographic location in which a story takes place Helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story Elements of setting may include culture, historical period, geography, and hour Considered one of the fundamental components of fiction

PLOT STRUCTURE

1. EXPOSITION introduces the characters, especially the main character, also known as the protagonist shows how the characters relate to one another, their goals and motivations, their moral character protagonist learns their main goal and what is at stake

2. INCITING INCIDENT An event near the beginning of the story that initiates the protagonist on his or her journey This event causes the rest of the story to happen Represents the main conflict of the story

3. RISING ACTION Events stemming from the conflict introduced as the inciting incident Involves the buildup of events until the climax The protagonist understands his or her goal and begins to work toward it

4. CLIMAX The turning point or highest point of the story Protagonist makes the single big decision that defines not only the outcome of the story

5. FALLING ACTION Consists of events that lead to the ending Character's actions resolve the problem The antagonist often has the upper hand at the beginning of this phase

6. RESOLUTION The protagonist and antagonist have solved their problems Either the protagonist or antagonist wins the conflict The conflict officially ends May show what happens to the characters after the conflict ends and/or what happens to the characters in the future

PERSONIFICATION Giving human qualities of thought, action or life to an animal, inanimate object or abstract concept. “The rain kissed my cheeks as it fell.”

IMAGERY Representation in words of sense experiences; words which appeal to one or more of the senses; a visual image may be called a mental picture. “The trees are in their autumn beauty, The woodland paths are dry, Under the October twilight the water Mirrors a still sky;”

ALLUSION A reference to a person, place, thing or event or to another literary work or passage. “He's a real Einstein.” “He thinks of himself as a modern-day Romeo.”

SIMILE A comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as” “The snow was as thick as a blanket"

SUSPENSE The intense feeling that an audience goes through while waiting for the outcome of certain events Leaves the reader holding their breath and wanting more information Without suspense, a reader would lose interest quickly in any story

HYPERBOLE Exaggeration used to achieve emphasis “I could sleep for a year.” “This book weighs a ton.”