1. FICTION
In this PowerPoint, you will find the terms that you will need to know for tests, discussions, and essays.

2. THE EPIC
Thus, the earliest forms of fiction were in fact poetry. Eventually written down, these extended narratives developed into epics, which were long narrative poems about heroic figures whose actions determine the fate of a nation or entire race. What other stories or films do you know of that follow this common theme?
Stories and songs emerged as an oral means of communication and preserving the past: tales of heroic battles or struggles, myths, or religious beliefs. In a time before mass communication, the oral tradition enabled people to pass down stories, most often in the form of rhyming poems.

3. NARRATIVE VS. FICTION
A work of FICTION is a narrative that, for the most part, originates in the imagination of the author rather than in history or fact. The word “fiction” comes from the Latin “fictio”, which means “a shaping, a counterfeiting”
A NARRATIVE tells a story by presenting events in some logical or orderly way.

4. IRONY
Verbal Irony: when the character says the opposite of what is really meant. Examples?
Dramatic Irony: when the reader or audience knows something that the character has yet to realize. Examples?
Situational Irony: when something is about to happen to a character or characters who expect the opposite. Examples?

5. ALLUSION
An Allusion is a reference in a text to a person, place, or thing—fictitious or real. These references are often to literature, history, mythology, or the Bible.

6. PROTAGONIST & ANTAGONIST
The Protagonist is the central character in a literary work. This character usually initiates and is in conflict in the narrative.
The Antagonist is the character or force that opposes the protagonist in the narrative. Remember, the antagonist may be another character, society itself, a force of nature, or even—in modern literature—conflicting impulses within the protagonist.

7. Picaresque Novel
This type of novel emerged from Spain in the 17th century.
This type of narrative is often told in episodes, or adventures, and it is very often a satirical work.
This form of narrative, usually a novel, presents the life of a likable scoundrel or rogue who is at odds with respectable society.
The narrator of a picaresque was originally a “picaro”, which is Spanish means “rascal” or “rogue”.

8. Epistolary Novel
A novel in which the story is told by way of letters written by one or more of the characters.

9. REALISM
Realism denotes a period or literary movement of writing wherein writers strove to portray everyday events and people in a realistic fashion. Realism refers to a movement in 19th century European literature that focused on the middle class rather than aristocracy. It rejected idealism, romanticism, and elitism.

10. MAGICAL REALISM
The style, genre, or movement of writing called Magical Realism is marked by it imaginative content, vivid effects, and lingering mystery. It is a type of contemporary narrative that combines the fantastic, magical elements with realistic details. A writer like Garcia Marquez can create a fictional world where the miraculous and the everyday live side by side.
Example: “ The world had been sad since Tuesday”

11. MODERNISM
During the early 20th century, the literary movement known as Modernism was established by writers, such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, who:
Reacted to the increasing complexity of a changing world
M0urned the passing of old ways under the pressures of modernity
World War I, Urbanization, and The Rise of Industrialism contributed to this literary reaction.
World War I Recruiting Poster

12. POSTMODERNISM
After Modernism, hence “post”, a movement called Postmodernism emerged.
Postmodern artists reacted to the confines and limitations placed upon form and meaning by opening ideas of interpretation.
Many postmodernists confronted, with their writing, the changing society, the future, and the impact of technology.

13. NATURALISM
Naturalism, sometimes considered an extreme form of realism, rejected unrealistic plots and sentimentality of melodrama.
Unlike realism, naturalism sought to explore the depths of the human condition.
Influenced by Freud, Darwin, & Marx, naturalism portrays human beings as higher-order animals who are driven by basic instincs—especially hunger, fear, greed, and sexuality.

14. LOCAL COLOR
When a writer is considered a local colorist, this writer has used a specific regional material—unique social customs, dress, habits, and speech patterns.

15. POINTS OF VIEW: NARRATORS

16. PARTICIPANT NARRATOR
The participant narrator in a work of literature is written in the first person.
Such a character may be a protagonist (Huck Finn) or may be an observer, or minor character standing a little to one side, watching a story unfold that mainly involves someone else.
A good example of this is Nick Carraway in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. He is a narrator and minor character who focuses the story on Jay Gatsby.

17. NONPARTICIPANT NARRATORS
Written in THIRD PERSON and can possess different levels of knowledge about characters
Omniscient or All-knowing: sees into any or all of the characters’ minds, souls, feelings, and motivations
Limited Omniscience: sees into one character
Objective: does not see into any characters, but merely reports events from outside