Literary Terms

1. Literary Terms You will need to know these in order to learn about and critically analyze the literature we read this year and that you read in the future.

2. Fiction A literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact. There are many different genres (types) of fiction including but not limited to: Short Story Poetry Historical Fiction Mystery Horror Science Fiction Fantasy Myths/Legends/Fairy Tales

3. The Elements of Fiction Plot Character Setting Theme Style

4. Plot The plot or the storyline is the rendering and order of the events and actions in a story. According to Aristotle, the plot is the �arrangement of the incident�

5. Typical Plot Structure Initial situation Conflict or problem Complication or rising action Climax Suspense or falling action Denouement or resolution Conclusion

6. Plot

7. Plot Components Exposition: The mood and conditions existing at the beginning of the story. The setting is identified. The main characters with their positions, circumstances and relationships to one another are established. The exciting force or initial conflict is introduced. Sometimes called the �Narrative HOOK� this begins the conflict that continues throughout the story. Rising Action: The series of events, conflicts, and crises in the story that lead up to the climax, providing the progressive intensity, and complicate the conflict. Climax: The turning point of the story. A crucial event takes place and from this point forward, the protagonist moves toward his inevitable end. The event may be either an action or a mental decision that the protagonist makes. Falling Action: The events occurring from the time of the climax to the end of the story. The main character may encounter more conflicts in this part of the story, but the end is inevitable. Resolution/Denouement: The tying up of loose ends and all of the threads in the story. The conclusion. The hero character either emerges triumphant or is defeated at this point.Exposition: The mood and conditions existing at the beginning of the story. The setting is identified. The main characters with their positions, circumstances and relationships to one another are established. The exciting force or initial conflict is introduced. Sometimes called the �Narrative HOOK� this begins the conflict that continues throughout the story. Rising Action: The series of events, conflicts, and crises in the story that lead up to the climax, providing the progressive intensity, and complicate the conflict. Climax: The turning point of the story. A crucial event takes place and from this point forward, the protagonist moves toward his inevitable end. The event may be either an action or a mental decision that the protagonist makes. Falling Action: The events occurring from the time of the climax to the end of the story. The main character may encounter more conflicts in this part of the story, but the end is inevitable. Resolution/Denouement: The tying up of loose ends and all of the threads in the story. The conclusion. The hero character either emerges triumphant or is defeated at this point.

8. Conflict or Problem This is the beginning of a literary work It is the first incident that makes the story �move�

9. Plot: Conflict Conflict is the dramatic struggle between two forces in a story. Without conflict, there is no plot.

10. Plot: Types of Conflict

11. Plot: Character vs. Character Conflict

12. Plot: Character vs. Nature Conflict

13. Plot: Character vs. Society Conflict

14. Plot: Character vs. Self Conflict

15. Complication or Rising Action Obstacles which the main character has to overcome This occurs leading up to the climax Its purpose is usually to build suspense It is not the middle of the story, but the action right before the climax

16. Climax This is the highest point in the story It is a moment of great intensity This moment generally brings events to a head and leads to the conclusion

17. Conclusion This is what happens to the character after overcoming all obstacles or failing to achieve the desired result. These events occur after the climax

18. Character The characters are the humans, animals, or fantasized beings who are created by the author to act within a story for the author's purposes. In some instances, such as in historical fiction, there may be real human beings who lived during the time period of the story.

19. Characterization Characterization refers to the methods used by the author to create or reveal the characters in a story. The most common methods of revealing the characters are By what the character says or thinks By what the character does By what other characters say about the character.

20. Irony There is a gap or incongruity between what a speaker or a writer says and what is generally understood (either at the time, or in the later context of history). There is a sharp discordance between the real and the ideal

21. Setting Setting is the times and places in which the events of the story occur. Most stories have multiple settings which have been created by the author to tell the story. To understand setting, you must consider how the nature of the events changes with the settings.

22. Theme Theme is the central unifying element of the story which ties together all of the other elements of fiction used by the author to tell the story. It indicates the pivotal ideas around which the author was writing. In order to identify a theme of a story, one must know the whole story.

23. Theme vs. Topic Theme is often confused with topic. The topic of a story often may be identified in a word or phrase. Topic may also be identified by saying that the book is about child abuse, or homelessness, or survival. to identify the theme, one must look at the other elements of fiction (plot, characters, setting, conflict, etc.) to explain how the author has tied all of these together.

24. Point of View The perspective of the narrative voice The related experience of the narrator, not the author Types of POV: 1st person: the narrator is a character in the story. (I) 2nd person: the narrative is aimed at the reader. (YOU) 3rd person: the storyteller is recounting a series of events to an audience (HE, SHE, IT, etc�)

25. Suspense The feeling of uncertainty and interest about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. It consists of having some real danger looming and a ray of hope.

26. Mood Atmosphere, state of mind Mood is the feeling that a work of literature evokes. to indicate in a literary work the prevailing feeling or frame of mind, especially at the start of a play, poem or novel, creating a sense of expectation about what is to follow.