1. Short Story Literary Terms English

2. Essential Question What literary devices are used for analyzing short stories?

3. setting the time and place of the action of a story

4. theme the central message or insight into life revealed in a literary work

5. conflict a struggle between two opposing forces –Four Types of Conflict Man vs. Man – External Man vs. Nature – External Man vs. Society – External Man vs. Self – Internal

6. point of view the vantage point from which the story is told –First person narration: story told from person involved with story “I, me, my” –Second person point of view: direction towards reader “you” –Third person point of view limited: person outside story tells story –Third person omniscient point of view: person inside story tells it

7. protagonist the main character of a story or literary work

8. antagonist the character who causes conflict for the main character

9. plot sequence sequence of events that occur in a story –plot sequence contains: exposition rising Action climax falling Action resolution

10. exposition the part of a literary work where the setting, characters and basic situation are introduced

11. rising action the events in the story leading up to the climax

12. climax highest point of action in a literary work

13. falling action occurs after the climax, point where the outcome of the story is known

14. resolution the point of the story where all of the action is known and loose ends are tied up

15. mood the feeling the reader experiences while reading a literary work

16. suspense reader’s feeling of curiosity, uncertainty, or anxiety about the outcome of events in a literary work

17. character characterization the people or animals who participate in the action of a story the author’s development of characters –two types of characterization: direct characterization indirect characterization

18. direct characterization the author directly states the character’s traits (i.e.-“She was tall with blonde hair.”)

19. indirect characterization the author tells what a character looks like, does, and says as well as how other characters react to him or her

20. figurative language language that is not intended to be taken literally

21. irony when something occurs that is different from what would expect to occur

22. dramatic irony hints at what is to come in a literary work

23. verbal irony when something is said, but the opposite is meant

24. situational irony when something happens that is opposite from what one would expect to happen

25. dialogue conversation between characters

26. imagery the use of sensory language to create visual images in a reader’s mind

27. style the way in which an author writes

28. symbol and symbolism an ordinary, everyday object used to represent something other than itself

29. tone the author’s attitude toward his or her audience and subject

30. foreshadow hints at what is to come in a literary work

31. flashback glimpses back to previous events

32. narrator the speaker, or character, who tells the story