Literary Terms

Plot• The series of related events that make up a story.

Exposition• The beginning of the

story that tells us who the characters are and usually what their conflict is.

Conflict• A struggle between

opposing characters or opposing forces.

Climax•The point in a story that creates

the most suspense or interest.

Resolution• The final part of the

story in which the conflict is resolved and the story is brought to a close.

Parallel Episodes• Repeated elements in

the plot

Subplot• A minor plot that relates

in some way to the main story

Setting• The time and place of a story, poem, or a play.

Internal Conflict• A struggle or problem within

a character’s mind.

Examples• Jason was so nervous about the Constitution test

in U.S. History that he could barely sleep.

• The boy Miranda has liked for two years finally asked her to Homecoming! But, another boy already asked her. Now Miranda has two dates for Homecoming and she doesn’t know what to do.

External Conflict• A struggle between a person

and an outside force

Examples• Mark and his sister huddled together in a

closet as the burglar ransacked their house.

• The tornado swept through town leaving utter destruction in its wake.

Direct Characterization• The writer makes direct

statements about a character's personality and tells what the character is like.

Example• Nona was mean-spirited and

spiteful.

• “He was tougher than the rest of us-- tougher, colder, meaner.”--Ponyboy describing Dally (from The Outsiders)

Indirect Characterization• The writer reveals information about a

character and his personality through the

1) character's thoughts2) words3) actions 4) looks and clothing5) what other characters think and say

about him.

Example• Nona always made fun of the unpopular or

younger kids in school. The sixth graders on her bus were so afraid of her they would change seats to avoid being the subject of her scathing remarks.

• “One time, in a dime store, a guy told him to move over at the candy counter. Dally had turned around and belted him so hard it knocked a tooth loose.”

--Ponyboy describing Dally (from The Outsiders)

Protagonist• The leading character, hero,

or heroine in a story

Examples• Katniss in The Hunger Games

• Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz

• Harry Potter

Antagonist• A person who struggles or

competes against the main character; the hero’s adversary.

Examples• The Wicked Witch of the West in

The Wizard of Oz is the antagonist.

• Voldemort is the antagonist in the Harry Potter series.

Static Character• A literary or dramatic

character who undergoes little or no inner change over the course of the story or novel.

Examples• Cinderella’s evil stepmother. (She’s mean in

the beginning and mean at the end.)• Bart Simpson (He’s done the same things for

almost 30 years! He never seems to learn from his mistakes.)

• Phineas and Ferb

Dynamic Character• a literary or dramatic

character who encounters conflict and is changed by it. This is an important inner change, as a change in personality or attitude

Example• Ebenezer Scrooge from

A Christmas Carol is a dynamic character.

• Jonas in The Giver is a dynamic character.

Round Character• A character in fiction whose

personality, background, motives, and other features are described in great detail by the author. The main character in a story is almost always round.

Example• Katniss in The Hunger Games is an

example of a round character.

• Jonas in The Giver is an example of a round character.

Flat Character• A character that is not

described well and the reader is not given much information about. A flat character often lacks a complex and realistic personality.

Examples• Mike and Jessica in Twilight are both

flat characters.

• The parents of Jonas in The Giver are flat characters.

Character Trait• A person’s essential

quality or personality

Example• The following words are examples of

character traits:BraveCalmLonelyStubbornWitty

Motivation• The reasons a character

behaves a certain way

Example• In The Hunger Games, Katniss’s

motivation for not letting Primrose take tessarae was that she did not want her to be chosen at the reaping.

Theme• A truth about life revealed

in a work of literature

Symbol• A person, a place, a thing, or

an event that has its own meaning and stands for something beyond itself as well.

Example• Red roses mean love

• Cross is a religious symbol

• Skull and cross bones means danger

Foreshadow• The use of clues or hints

to suggest events that will occur later in the plot.

Example• In the movie Signs, a quick

glimpse of an alien hidden among the corn fields is shown to build suspense and give the viewer clues as to what occur later in the movie.

Irony• A contrast between what is expected and what really happens.

Examples• A shoe maker wears shoes with holes

in them.

• An elephant is scared of a mouse.

• Someone living in a desert keeps a boat in their yard.

• The child of a police officer robs a bank.

Verbal Irony• A contrast between what is said

or written and what is really meant

Example• While the teacher is giving instructions, two students

are carrying on their own conversation. The teacher stops talking to the class and says to the students, “Oh, please continue. I didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation.”

Dramatic Irony• This occurs when the

audience or reader knows something a character does not know.

Example• The Diary of Anne Frank is filled with dramatic irony.

Anne often talks about all the things she will do when the war is over. However, the reader knows that she will not survive the war and will not live to do any of those things

• In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo finds Juliet in a drugged sleep and assumes she is dead so he kills himself. The audience knows the truth.

Imagery• Language that appeals

to the senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.

ExampleIn a Poem“The Storm”in fury and terrorthe tempest broke,it tore up the pineand shattered the oak,yet the hummingbird hoveredwithin the hoursipping clear rainfrom the trumpet flower.-Elizabeth Coatsworth

In a Single Sentence• The F-16 swooped down like an eagle after its prey.• The word spread like leaves in a storm.• The lake was left shivering by the touch of morning wind.

Novel• A long fictional story

that is usually more than one hundred pages in length

Example• The Hunger Games

• Touching Spirit Bear

• The Giver

• Walk Two Moons

Allusion• A reference to a statement,

a person, a place, or an event from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports or science.

Example• The movie Shrek is full of allusions.

When Donkey is sprinkled with fairy dust he begins to fly and the other characters say “He can fly, he can fly, he can fly!” referring to, or making an allusion to the movie Peter Pan.

• Shrek 2- Far Far Away Idol

Dialect• A way of speaking that

is characteristic of a particular region or group of people.

Example• Different parts of the United

States speak various dialects. In the south, people say “y’all.” In California, people often say the word “like” after speaking.

Dialogue•Conversation between two or more characters.

Example “Where are we going?” she asked with fear.

“That is for me to know, and you to find out,” he responded.

Flashback• A scene that breaks the

normal time order of the plot to show a past event.

Example• In chapter two of The Hunger

Games, Katniss recalls how Peeta risked punishment by giving her the loaves of bread.

Mood• The overall emotion created by a work of literature

Example• The mood can be many different things.

Some examples include:• A feeling of love.• A feeling of doom.• A feeling of fear.• A feeling of pride.• An atmosphere of chaos.• An atmosphere of peace.

Example Continued– “When I wake up, the other side of the bed

is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother.”

Katniss from The Hunger Games

This first paragraph creates an intense mood of fear and doom.

Point of view• The vantage point from which a story is told

Example• First person POV is when the main

character is telling the story: I, me, my, we, etc. (The Hunger Games)

• Third person-limited POV is when someone else is telling the story from a limited perspective: they, he, she, them, etc. (The Giver, Touching Spirit Bear)

• Omniscient POV is when the story-teller knows all of what each character experiences.

Autobiography• The story of a person’s

life, written or told by that person.

Example

Biography• The story of a real

person’s life, written or told by a different person.

Example• VH1’s “Behind the Music” has a

biography of the band Sublime.

• E! “True Hollywood Story” has a biography on Snooki.

AnecdoteA brief story used to illustrate a point.

Connotations•The feelings and association that have come to be attached to a word.

Example• Inexpensive vs. Cheap

They have the same meaning, but a companywouldn’t advertise a product as being cheap because it has the connotation of being poorly made

• Thin vs. ScrawnyBoth mean small in size, but scrawny has the understanding of something/someone beingmalnourished

Alliteration• The repetition of the same

or very similar consonant sounds in words that are close together.

Example• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled

peppers.

• Sally Sells Seashells by the sea shore.

• “Through three cheese trees three free fleas flew. “ --- Dr. Suess

Metaphor• A comparison between

two unlike things in which one thing becomes another

Example• Her eyes are the ocean.• His smile is heaven.• “The woods became our

savior, and each day I went a bit farther into its arms.” (The Hunger Games p. 51)

Simile• A comparison between two unlike things using a word such as like, as, than, or resembles.

Example• “Prim’s face is as fresh as a

raindrop…” (The Hunger Games p. 3)

• “The camera crews, perched like buzzards on rooftops, only add to the effect.” (The Hunger Games p. 16)

Onomatopoeia• The use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning

Example• Pow

• Gurgle

• Meow

• Bang

• Swoosh

• Tick-tock

• A figure of speech in which a non-living or nonhuman thing is given human qualities .

Personification

Example• The clock looked down upon me

menacingly as if to say “Hurry, Hurry.”

• My alarm clock screamed at me too early this morning.

• The beautiful fall leaves danced in the autumn breeze.

• Personification in Music

Hyperbole• a way of describing

something by saying it is much bigger, smaller, worse etc than it actually is

(an exaggeration)

Example• I’ve told you a million times.

• It was so cold, I saw polar bears wearing jackets.

• I am so hungry I could eat a horse.

• I have a million things to do.

• I had a ton of homework.

• If I can’t buy that new game, I will die.

Idiom• a group of words that has

a special meaning that is different from the ordinary, or literal, meaning of each separate word.

Example• Under the weather= ill

• Hold your tongue= Don’t Speak

• Bury your head in the sand= Ignore a difficult situation