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| This is the main character in a story. The leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work. |
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| A person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with the protagonist of a story. The adversary of the hero. |
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| The art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, using beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts. Literary work in metrical form; verse. |
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| The ordinary form of spoken or written language, without metrical structure. |
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| A figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared using “like” or “as,” as in “she is like a rose.” |
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| a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.” It’s like a simile, but does NOT use “Like” or “As.” |
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| The repetition of the initial consonant sounds (slippery, slithering snake slipped silently). Like a tongue-twister. |
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| Repetition of the same vowel sounds in different words (I'm glad the lad was mad and had a bad day). |
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| A figure of speech using the intentional, extreme exaggeration for effect (I'm so hungry I could eat a horse. I’ve told you a zillion times to be quiet in the library.) |
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| The substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt. “He has passed on to another dimension” is a euphemism for “He’s dead.” “Getting a little thin on top” in place of “bald.” |
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| A character is having a conflict/problem with something other than himself in a story. Man vs. Man (main character has a conflict with other character(s) in the story), Man against Society (A character has a problem with the law, school, accepted behavior, culture, etc.), Man against Nature (A character struggles with the elements). Man against Fate (the God's, the Supernatural). |
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| Man against Himself. A character has trouble deciding what action to take. This type of conflict deals with right and wrong. |
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| First person point of view |
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| The author tells the story from the point of view of one of the characters (usually the main character of the story). When the narrator is speaking, personal pronouns are used (I, me, my). |
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| Third person point of view |
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| The author tells the story from the point of view of someone outside the story. The narrator tells us the story as if looking at the action and reporting it to the reader. Expect to see more "He, She, They" types of pronouns. |
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| a device in the narrative of a story by which an event or scene taking place before the present time in the narrative is inserted into the chronological structure of the work. “I answered the phone, and the voice on the other end immediately transported me back to that time 10 years ago when…” |
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| Foreshadowing is a suggestion or hint in a storyto hint at an event to come later in the story. At times this “hint” may be so subtle that it is difficult to recognize until the later “event” has occurred. |
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| a provincial, rural, or socially distinct variety of a language that differs from the standard language. For example, a character in a story from the South saying “Y’all” instead of “You all.” “Fiddy bucks” instead of “Fifty dollars.” “Totes” instead of “Totally.” |
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| an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements, as kick the bucket, or open a can of whoop-ass or drop the hammer. |
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| The use of vivid words to create sensory impressions for the reader |
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| Something in a story which stands for something else. A symbol usually is some real object that stands for an abstract meaning. For example, a red rose = love. A snake = evil. White = purity |
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| The contrast between what is real and what seems to be real. When the opposite of what is expected to happen actually happens. For example, a fire truck catching on fire. |
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| A combination of opposite or incongruous words working together (jumbo shrimp; muffled roar; cruel kindness; deafening silence |
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| This term refers to the exact words of conversation taking place between characters. Dialogue is one of the most common ways an author reveals character. |
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| One person talking; a one way conversation. A monologue is one person talking, at length, to other people – providing information/instruction, or giving a sermon. A soliloquy is one person is saying his/her thoughts out loud so the audience can find out what that character is thinking. |
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| Indirect Characterization |
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| the process by which the personality of a fictitious character is revealed by the character’s speech and actions. The way an author presents a character and reveals character traits by what a character says, what a character thinks, what a character does, and how a character responds to other characters |
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| the process by which the author specifically tells the reader details about the character, such as height, weight, eye/hair color, personality, etc. |
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| The setting is the time and place in which the story occurs. |
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| A character who is well developed by the author and with many characteristics. Round characters seem “real;” like someone you could know |
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| Flat (also known as “stock”) characters |
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| A character who is not very well developed This character is usually in the story to carry out a specific purpose. For example, the butler, the mother-in-law, the police officer, the clerk at the store |
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| A character who changes significantly during the story. The character goes through a metamorphosis, and is a much different person at the end of the story compared to how he/she was at the beginning. For example, the Grinch. |
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| A character that stays basically the same from the beginning until the end of the story – i.e. still acts the same, still has the same outlook on life, still has the same basic personality and attitude. |
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| Human characteristics are given to inanimate or abstract ideas. “In November, a cold, unseen stranger whom the doctors called Pneumonia stalked about the colony, touching one here and there with his icy finger. Over on the east side this ravager strode boldly, smiting his victims by scores, but his feet trod slowly through the maze of the narrow and moss-grown places.” |
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| A non-human entity described or thought of as being like human beings in appearance, behavior, etc. Depicting animals, objects, etc., as having human qualities. Examples: Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Treebeard, the ent, in Lord of the Rings. |
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| Mood is the feeling that an author wants the reader to experience. In “The Monkey's Paw” the narrator says, “The cold white of the winter moon cast a slant of light on the far wall, capturing the shadow of the hunched old woman as she peered expectantly toward the graveyard.” This sentence was intended to create a mood of loneliness, depression, misery, etc. |
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| The attitude the author has toward the subject of the story. Ambrose Bierce's tone(attitude) toward war, in his short story “Chickamauga” is that he hates war and finds wars to be horrid and pointless. |
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| A literary work that is made up; created in someone's mind; not based entirely on truth. It can be realistic and have some true elements, or can be entirely fantasy. |
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| Literary works that are based on true information; not made up. Can include essays, biographies, autobiographies, news articles, resource materials (encyclopedia articles, internet research articles) |
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| A brief generalized meaning of the story stated (ideally) in one sentence. In “The Last Leaf” O. Henry was trying to show that love for another can be stronger than love for self. |
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| The plot is the action of the story. The plot usually proceeds this way: (1) characters/setting introduced; (2) a conflict develops; (3) complications arise from the main character's attempts to find a solution to the conflict; (4) the complications eventually result in a climax; (5) the climax is followed by a resolution to the conflict returning the situation to a state of relative calm |
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| A word that mimics a sound. Zip, bang, meow, etc. |
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