1. LITERARY ELEMENTS

2. GENRE CATEGORIES OR TYPES OF LITERATURE Fiction Non-fiction Fantasy Sci-fi Drama Poetry

3. PLOT The series of events that happen in a story.

4. EXPOSITION: THE PART IN A STORY OR WORK OF DRAMA IN WHICH THE CHARACTERS ARE INTRODUCED AS WELL AS THE SETTING AND BASIC SITUATION.

5. RISING ACTION (CONFLICT) THE PART OF THE PLOT WHEN THE CENTRAL CONFLICT IS INTRODUCED… TENSION IS BUILDING

6. CLIMAX THE TURNING POINT IN THE PLOT. THE MOMENT OF GREATEST INTENSITY OR WHEN THE MAIN ACTION HAPPENS

7. FALLING ACTION FOLLOWS THE CLIMAX- WHEN THE INTENSITY BEGINS TO LIGHTEN AND THE CONFLICT IS ON ITS WAY TO A RESOLUTION

8. RESOLUTION THE PART OF THE PLOT IN WHICH THE CONFLICT HAS BEEN RESOLVED AND THE STORY COMES TO AN END.

9. SETTING When and where the story takes place. (Past, present, future, or specific year, season, time of day) (Region, country, town, or social, economic, or cultural environment)

10. THEME The central idea of a work. What the reader takes away from a work (the message or moral of a story).

11. TONE The author’s attitude toward his or her subject. For example, a tone could be pessimistic, optimistic, or angry.

12. MOOD THE FEELING CREATED IN THE READER BY A LITERARY WORK OR PASSAGE

13. FORESHADOWING A HINT AT WHAT WILL COME LATER IN THE STORY

14. FLASH BACK A LITERARY DEVICE IN WHICH AN EARLIER ACTION “FLASHES BACK” OUT OF CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

15. IN MEDIAS RES “In the midst of things” BEGINNING A STORY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PLOT

16. PROTAGONIST Pro-Action: keeps the story moving. THE MAIN CHARACTER- MUST APPEAR REAL TO THE READER. (Usually has some kind of flaw or imperfection)

17. ANTAGONIST THE CHARACTER WHO OPPOSES THE PROTAGONIST

18. TYPES OF CHARACTERS: (ROUND, FLAT, DYNAMIC, STATIC, AND FOIL) ROUND/THREE DIMENSIONAL- Possesses many different character traits, appears realistic to the reader.

19. FLAT Has only one basic trait. The author doesn’t give much detail or specification to this character.

20. STOCK CHARACTER Is one found again and again in literary works. For example, a damsel in distress, the wicked stepmother, or the wicked queen in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

21. FOIL FOIL: A character intended to stand in contrast of another character

22. STATIC: A character who stays the same regardless of what he experiences DYNAMIC: A character who experiences some major change by the end of the story

23. INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION- Showing a character’s personality through his/her actions, thoughts, feelings, words, appearance, or through another character’s observations. DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION- The narrator directly tells a character’s traits.

24. CONFLICT The elements that create a plot. (m v. m, m v. s, m v. n)

25. EXTERNAL CONFLICT- THE MAIN CHARACTER STRUGGLES AGAINST AN OUTSIDE FORCE (man vs. man, man vs. nature/(supernatural force)

26. INTERNAL CONFLICT INVOLVES A CHARACTER IN CONFLICT WITH HIM/HERSELF

27. DIALOGUE CONVERSATION BETWEEN CHARACTERS. OFTEN IT REVEALS IMPORTANT HINTS INTO A CHARACTER’S PERSONALITY What type of characterization is this?

28. POINT OF VIEW THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE NARRATIVE

29. TYPES OF P.O.V. 1 ST PERSON- “I,” “me,” “my,” “we,” “our,” and “us” Narrator is a character in the action. 2 nd PERSON- “you” Normally used for: giving directions, writing persuasive essays, and sometimes used in mysteries. 3 rd PERSON OMNISCIENT- “All-knowing” narrator. Knows the thoughts and feelings of TWO OR MORE of the characters. 3 RD PERSON LIMITED- Narrator who only knows the thoughts and feelings of ONE character.

30. CHARACTERIZATION The means by which an author establishes character. (direct, indirect)

31. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Language that does not mean exactly what it says. (simile, metaphor, hyperbole, idiom, irony, onomatopoeia, pun, etc.)

32. SUSPENSE UNCERTAINTY OF WHAT WILL COME. AUTHOR DOES THIS BY WITHOLDING DETAILS OR HINTING AT WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN.

33. SYMBOLISM The use of one thing to represent another.

34. ALLUSION A REFERENCE TO A WELL-KNOWN PERSON, PLACE, EVENT, LITERARY WORK, OR WORK OF ART “By the Waters of Babylon” (biblical allusion) “The Sound and the Fury” (literary allusion)

35. IRONY GENERAL TERM FOR LITERARY TECHNIQUES THAT PORTRAY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN APPEARANCE AND REALITY, EXPECTATION AND RESULT, OR MEANING AND INTENTION

36. SITUATIONAL IRONY AN EVENT OCCURS THAT DIRECTLY CONTRADICTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE CHARACTERS, THE READERS, OR THE AUDIENCE. “Contents of a Dead Man’s Pockets”

37. DRAMATIC IRONY WHEN THE AUDIENCE KNOWS MORE THAN THE CHARACTERS DO

38. VERBAL IRONY WHEN SOMEONE SAYS ONE THING, BUT MEANS ANOTHER (Ex. Sarcasm, puns)

39. IMAGERY DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE USED IN STORIES TO RE- CREATE SENSORY EXPERIENCES.

40. HYPERBOLE An extreme exaggeration

41. METAPHOR A direct comparison between two unlike things without using the words “like” or “as.”

42. ONOMATOPOEIA The use of words that sound like what they mean.

43. PARADOX A seeming contradiction.

44. PERSONIFICATION Giving inanimate object human characteristics.

45. PROSE Writing organized into sentences and paragraphs. In other words, normal writing—not poetry or a play

46. SIMILE An indirect comparison that uses “like” or “as.”