1. Key Literary Terms
ENC 1102
Dr. Brown
1/11/2012

2. Plot What happens in the story May be conventional or unusual
May be told in chronological order or not (think Pulp Fiction)
Some elements of plot
Conflict – drives the plot forward
Climax – highest point of the plot
Resolution – ending of the plot

3. Plot Some plot devices Exposition Flashback Foreshadowing
Tells the reader what s/he needs to know at the beginning of the story
Flashback
Shows something that happened before the story began
Foreshadowing
Gives the reader a clue about something that will happen later

4. Character Protagonist Antagonist Flat character Round character
Main character of the story
Antagonist
Opposed to the protagonist
Flat character
Simple, only has 1 or 2 personality traits
Round character
Complex, many personality traits
Static character
Does not change in the story
Dynamic character
Changes in the story

5. Setting Where the story happens Can suggest mood or atmosphere
Time
Place
Social environment
Can suggest mood or atmosphere
Often used as an antagonist

6. Point of View Who tells the story? Third-person narrator
Speaker not necessarily a character
Looks at multiple characters from a distance
Knows the thoughts of several (limited) or all (unlimited) of the characters
First-person narrator
First-hand account from one of the characters (“I”)
Only knows the thoughts of the narrator
May be an unreliable narrator

7. More Important Terms
Symbol: A person, object, image, word, or event that evokes a range of additional meaning beyond and usually more abstract than its literal significance
Theme: The central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work

8. More Important Terms
Style: The distinctive and unique manner in which a writer arranges words to achieve particular effects
Tone: The authors implicit attitude toward the reader or the people, places and events in a work as revealed by his/her style
Irony: Use of contradictory statements or situations to reveal a reality different from what appears to be true