Unit One Literary Terms

PLOT Plot: The sequence of events in a story is called the plot. A plot focuses on a central conflict or problem faced by the main character(s). The actions that the characters take to resolve the conflict build toward a climax. Plot typically resolves in 5 stages: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution.

CONFLICT Conflict: A struggle between opposing forces. Almost every story has a main conflict. An external conflict involves a character pitted against an outside force: man v. nature, man v. man, man v. society, or a literal obstacle. The conflict may also be internal: man v. himself.

SEQUENCING The order in which the events of a story take place. Sometimes, it is not in chronological order.

FORESHADOWING a warning or indication of (a future event).

CHARACTERIZATION How we learn about a character: What they say What they think What they do Interactions with others What other characters say or think about that character

POINT OF VIEW First-person point of view PRONOUNS: I, ME, MY USES: WE KNOW THE CHARACTER INSIDE AND OUT, WE SEE THE STORY THROUGH HIS/HER EYES Third-person point of view PRONOUNS: HE, SHE, THEY, THEM This point of view can have 3 Different Types of Narrators: Omniscient: Literally means “all- knowing.” This narrator knows what all of the characters are thinking. Limited: This narrator knows only what one character thinks in the story.

SETTING Setting: Setting is the time and place of a short story, drama, novel, narrative poem, or narrative nonfiction work. Sometimes setting includes the larger historical or cultural contexts of a narrative. Setting often plays an important role in what happens and why.

MOOD Mood: The feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader.

IMAGERY The mental pictures a reader gets as they read an author’s work. Usually, the author uses metaphors and similes which draw on the five senses.