Literary Terms PIB English 9 & Honors 10

Plot: a series of related events, each connected to the next  Basic Situation—opening, introduction  Complication—rising action, events leading to the climax  Climax—key scene, turning point in the action  Falling Action—loose ends being tied up  Resolution—”lived happily ever after”

Conflict: struggle  Internal—man v. self  External—man v. man, man v. nature, man v. society, man v. machine, man v. supernatural

Setting: the background against which the action takes place  Geographical location, including topography, scenery, and such physical arrangements as location of windows and doors in a room  Occupations and daily manners of living of the characters  The time period in which the action takes place; ex., epoch in history or time of year  The general environment of the characters, such as religions, mental, moral, social, and emotional conditions

Flashback: a device by which a work presents material that occurred prior to the opening scene of the work  Recollections, narration, dream sequences, reveries

Foreshadowing: preparation of material in a work in such a way that later events are prepared for  A character says something to make us believe something is going to happen; cryptic  In movies and TV, a popular method is using music: the warm fuzzy moment, the ax murderer in the kitchen, the kissy scene

Author puts it in... Tone: the attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work

…reader gets it out Mood: the emotional and intellectual attitude of the author toward the subject

Characterization: the creation of imaginary persons so that they seem lifelike Direct: the writer tells readers outright what the character is like Indirect: readers make inferences and draw conclusions based on textual evidence  Speech  Appearance  Thoughts  Others’ feelings  Actions

Protagonist: the chief character in a work; contestant of the antagonist

Antagonist: the character directly opposed to the protagonist; rival, opponent, or enemy of the protagonist

Round Character: a character sufficiently complex to be able to surprise the reader without losing credibility Flat Character: a character constructed around a single idea or quality; usually represented by a single statement

Static Character: a character who changes little if at all. Things happen to them without modifying their interior selves Dynamic Character: a character who develops or changes as a result of the actions of the plot

Point of View: the vantage point from which a writer tells a story Omniscient—all knowing  Can see everything  Provides details that are intimate to the character  The storyteller is outside of the story’s action

First Person—”I” or persona  The “I” tells the story  Direct participant in the action  Represents only what “I” sees, hears, knows, things, and feels  Bias: credibility is in question

Third Person Limited—”Zooming in”  Story is told by an outside observer who may or may not be involved in the action  Uses he, she, they pronouns  Plot events are limited to those observed

Narrator: anyone who tells a story

Satire: a work or manner that blends a censorious attitude with humor and wit for improving human institutions or humanity; the satirist attempts through laughter not so much to tear down as to inspire remodeling

Diction: word choice

Theme: a central idea, the subject of the piece  Theme must be expressed in a complete sentence! Theme ≠ Topic Topic: Racism Theme: Racism eats away at the fibers of society and weakens the structure of humanity. Theme = Topic + Opinion

Irony: the reality of a situation is different from its appearance  Verbal—saying something other than what is meant; not as harsh as sarcasm  Dramatic—the audience knows something the characters do not  Situational—a situation that is expected to happen, or that is intended to happen, is not what actually does happen

Ambiguity: the state of having more than one meaning, with resulting uncertainty as to the intended significance of the statement  Teachers strike idle kids  War dims hope for peace  Enraged cow injures farmer with ax  Miners refuse to work after death  Include your children when baking cookies

Symbolism: the use of one object to represent or suggest another

Allegory: a form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself