Literary Elements

Literary Elements The Crucible

Dialogue • Conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or movie

Stage Directions • An instruction in the text of a play, esp. one indicating the movement, position, or tone of an actor, or the sound effects and lighting

Dramatic Exposition • Essential background information conferred through dialogue prior to rise of action in a play or film

foreshadowing • A warning or indication of (a future event)

setting • The place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place

allusion • An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference

monologue • A long speech by one actor in a play or movie, or as part of a theatrical or broadcast program

soliloquy • An act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, esp. by a character in a play

aside • A remark or passage by a character in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by the other characters in the play

plot • The main events of a play, novel, movie, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence

Dramatic irony • Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play

Verbal irony • Ironyin which a personsays or writes one thing and means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is theoppositeoftheliteralmeaning

Logical fallacy • A fallacy in logical argumentation

Rising action • The events of a dramatic or narrative plot preceding the climax

climax • The most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or apex

Falling action • The events of a drama after the climax (or crisis) but before the denouement (or resolution)

resolution • The action of solving a problem, dispute, or contentious matter

character • A person in a novel, play, or movie

characterization • Representation of a character or characters on the stage or in writing, especially by imitating or describing actions, gestures, or speeches Indirect- theprocessby which thepersonality of a fictitious character is revealed through the character's speech, actions, appearance,etc. Direct- theprocessby which the personality of a fictitious character is revealed by the use of descriptive adjectives, phrases, orepithets. Flat- aneasilyrecognizedcharactertypeinfictionwhomaynot be fully delineated but is useful in carrying out somenarrativepurposeoftheauthor. Round- acharacter in fiction whosepersonality, background, motives, and other features are fully delineatedbytheauthor. Dynamic- A character who undergoes change in the story Static- A character who goes through little or no chance in the story

foil • Where the author creates a character whose primary purpose is to create a contrast to another character by laying emphasis or drawing attention to the latter’s traits and characteristics through the former’s obviously contradictory ones

conflict • A serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one Internal- A struggle/ conflict within the mind of a character External- A struggle between a character and an outside force like nature or another character

theme • The main subject that is being discussed or described in a piece of writing

Extended metaphor • A comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem

protagonist • The leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text

Antagonist • Aperson who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary

comedy • Professional entertainment consisting of jokes and satirical sketches, intended to make an audience laugh

tragedy • An event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe

mood • Dominant impression or emotional atmosphere evoked by the text

tone • An attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience EX: Pokes fun at the fact that they think they are doing the right thing

Literary Elements