Literary terms

Literary Terms and Definitions

  • Plot- the events of a story
    • Exposition- Introduces the setting, main character(s), and main conflict of the story
    • Rising Action- the conflict gets complicated, minor conflicts arise, new characters are introduced
    • Climax- the main conflict comes to a point where it is resolved; the most exciting part of the story
    • Falling Action/Resolution- we find out what happens because the main conflict is resolved
  • Theme- the author's message; the lesson learned; needs to apply to the REAL WORLD, not just the story
  • Setting- where and when the story takes place
  • Narrator- the person telling the story
  • Point of View
    • 1st person- the narrator is a character in the story
      • Positive: we get the thoughts and feelings of the character
      • Negative: we have to trust that the narrator is telling the truth
      • Uses words like I, WE, OUR, MY
    • 2nd person- used very little, the reader is a character in the story
      • Uses words like YOU, YOUR
    • 3rd person- the narrator is outside of the story, does not take part in the action
      • Positive: we are getting the truth
      • Negative: we don't know what the characters are feeling or thinking
      • Uses words like HE, SHE, THEY, THEIR
  • Conflict- a problem
    • internal conflict- man vs. self; the problem is occuring insdie the character's head (ex. making a choice, overcoming anger)
    • external conflict- man vs. man, nature, society; the problem is occuring between the character and someone/something else (two boys arguing, man stuck in the middle of the woods, girl trying to join the football team)
  • Types of characters
    • static- character stays the same, does not change from the beginning to the end of the story
    • dynamic- character learns something and changes during the story
  • Figurative Language- things an author can use to help the reader get a clear idea of what he/she is reading
    • simile- uses like or as to compare two things
    • metaphor- compares two things without using like or as
    • personification- gives human qualities to non-human things
    • symbol- an object that represents something that cannot be seen, it will be an object that pops up often in the story, any object that is important to the main characters
    • onomatopoeia- sound words
    • imagery- gives the reader a feeling of the scenery and what it means
    • alliteration- a series of words that start with the same consonant sound
    • allusion- a reference to a famous person or place