Elements of Fiction and Literary Terms

ELEMENTS OF FICTION AND

LITERARY TERMSWrite in note form.

PLOT

The sequence of events that make up a story

PLOT STRUCTURE

Introduction

Rising Action

Climax

Falling Action

Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

SettingMain charactersConflict

SETTINGWhere and when the story takes place (why the author chose that setting, how it adds to the mood)

PROTAGONISTPro means good, so

the protagonist is usually the good guy but the actions always centers around this character

This character is DYNAMIC. In other words, he/she CHANGES or LEARNS something (theme).

ANTAGONIST When you antagonize someone you annoy them, so the antagonist annoys the protagonist or causes conflict

OTHER CHARACTER TYPESFOIL – metal

placed on jewelry to increase its brilliance. In literature, a FOIL is a character who is so different than another (Barney Fife), that he enhances that character’s traits (Andy Griffith).

Ethel is a foil to Lucy

is a foil to

STOCK CHARACTERS Also called

STEROTYPE characters. These characters stereotypically represent TYPES of people.

The typical worrisome mother

Joey on Friends and Sean on Boy Meets World Are the typical “beauty but no brains.”

FLAT CHARACTERS

These characters don’t change and are usually in the story just to move the action along.

For instance, a pizza delivery person. Later the main characters fight over a piece of pizza.

CONFLICT

Man vs. ManMan vs. Self (internal)

Man vs. NatureMan vs. SocietyMan vs. Supernatural

CLIMAX

The climax is the highest point of interest or suspense in the story.

Most important is that it is the turning point. Things change

RESOLUTION/CONCLUSION/DENOUEMENT

The resolution or solution to the conflict occurs at the conclusion of the story.

Loose ends are tied up and the story ends.

THEME Message or insight

into life Truth about life What the

character learns Must be expressed

in a complete sentence For instance, “War” is not a theme; it’s a topic. “War affects everyone” is a theme.

IRONYWhen what is said (verbal irony) or happens (situational irony) is the opposite of what is expected.

“like rain on your wedding day, like a free ride, when you’ve already paid, like good advise that you just didn’t take, and who would have thought, it figures. Isn’t it ironic?”

DRAMATIC IRONY

The reader knows what’s going on, but the characters don’t.

We know that Juliet isn’t dead, but Romeo doesn’t.

POINT OF VIEW – WHO’S TELLING THE STORY?

First Person – story is told

by a character IN the story.

Advantages of First Person Eyewitness account gives immediacy,

realism Author can create dramatic irony Disadvantages of First Person   No direct interpretation by the author Bias or limited knowledge of narrator

Third Person Limited – story is told by an outside narrator who knows the THOUGHTS of ONE or two characters.

In third limited point of view, the narrator stands by the elbow of this character and we experience the story as this person does.

Advantages of Limited OmniscientRealistic, we see world through one personReady-made unifying elementUseful characterization of point-of-view characterDisadvantages of Limited OmniscientLimited field of observationDifficulty having character aware of all important events

Advantages of Omniscient

God-like narrator gives thoughts of character, dimension to story

Most flexible; author can control omniscience

Disadvantages of Omniscient

Author can come between reader and story

Shifting from character to character may destroy unity

Third Person Omniscient - story is told by an outside narrator who knows the THOUGHTS of MANY characters

FEELINGS AND ATTITUDESTONE –the author’s attitude toward his subject (use DIDLS)

DictionImagesDetailsLanguageSyntax (sentence structure)

MOOD – the feeling created in the reader

MORE

Foreshadowing – gives you a hint (fore, before) of things to come later in the story

Flashback – refers to an earlier event, zips back in time

SYMBOLISM

When something small stands for something large, suggests more that its literal meaning

SYNONYMS

Synonyms are words that have the same, or almost the same meaning.

Examples:

rocks mean almost the same as stones

large means almost the same as big

ANTONYMSAntonyms are words with opposite meanings.

Examples: Big is the opposite of small

Rich is the opposite of poor

HOMONYMSA word that is pronounced the same way as another but has a different meaning. (Usually spelled the same)

LIE - to tell something that is not true or to be in a horizontal position. They look and sound the same, but are different verbs as can be seen from their forms:

Lie-lied-lied (to tell something untrue)

Lie-lay-lain (to be in a horizontal position)

MORE

Principle Principal

Founder – when a ship sinks or a person who “starts” something like a company or country

ALLITERATION

Repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words.

Ex: She sells sea shells by the sea shore. (It doesn’t have to be this severe.)

Her hair held up well compared to Myrtie Mae’s.

ASSONANCE

Assonance is the repetition of a vowel sound within words.

Example: free and easy

make the grade

ONOMATOPOEIA

Words that imitate natural sounds.

Examples: buzz or hiss

PERSONIFICATIONGiving human qualities to nonhuman things such as animals or trees.

Example: The picture hung proudly on the wall. The cat yelled at the dog.

SIMILESA simile is a comparison between two different things using words such as “like” or “as.”

Examples: as sly as a fox

red like a rose

METAPHORSA metaphor is an expression used to compare two unlike things WITHOUT using “like” or “as”

Examples:

When Fred laughed, you thought you were in an earthquake.

Rick's honesty is a breath of fresh air.

•Mixed Metaphor -•combination of two or more metaphors that together produce a ridiculous effect•The negotiator played his cards to the hilt. •“to take arms against a sea of troubles."

•Extended Metaphor (Conceit)•The metaphor goes throughout the piece or at least beyond a line or two. In other words, the comparison is used more than once.•In “Mother to Son,” the entire poem compares life and it’s hardships to stairs.•The winds were ocean waves, thrashing against the trees' limbs. The gales remained thereafter, only ceasing when the sun went down. Their waves clashed brilliantly with the water beneath, bringing foam and dying leaves to the shore.'"'

METONONYMYUSING A PART TO TALK ABOUT THE WHOLE

USING AN OBJECT TO SUBSTITUTE FOR SOMETHING CLOSELY RELATED TO IT

REFERRING TO THE GOVERNMENT AS THE “WHITE HOUSE”

SAYING THE “CROWN” WILL BE MEETING WITH PARLIAMENT WHEN YOU MEAN THE QUEEN.

CLICHEA cliché is a phrase that is used excessively and has become a bit meaningless and even irritating.

Examples:

•Live and learn

•What goes around comes around

•Don't worry, be happy!

HYPERBOLEHyperbole is overstatement or exaggeration that distorts facts by making them much bigger than they are if looked at objectively.

EX. An apparently unfair boxing decision was described as the “crime of the century” by one newspaper which seems excessive when compared to murder).

I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.

ANAPHORA

Repetition of a word or words at the beginning of a line. (Usually found in poetry.)“I have a dream.”

STICHOMYTHIA A form of REPARTEE in drama. It’s like a line-for-

line verbal fencing match. Each character speaks one line back and forth. It

goes fast. No, I didn’t. Yes, you did. No, I didn’t. Yes, you did.

OXYMORON

A combination of words that contradict. Oxy means sharp, and moron means dull,

so oxymoron is an oxymoron. Jumbo Shrimp, love/hate relationship,

feather of lead, small crowd, deafening silence, Microsoft Works, soft rock, pretty ugly, Civil War, “Now, then…” Modern history, fish farm, industrial park, rolling stop, act naturally, guest host, almost exactly, old news, same difference, virtual reality

PARADOX

An oxymoron where both sides are true. Deep down, he’s really shallow. They have ears but don’t hear. Less is more. Jumbo shrimp????

JARGON

Words used in a specific group

Baseball jargon – flied out, slider, double header

Computer jargon – hard drive, ram, mother board

IDIOMWords or phrases in our society that do not reflect their literal meaning.

Hit the road, He was sawing logs last night. We’re going to chill. That’s kid’s stuff. I was blown away.

PARALLELISM “beside one another” When sentences or

parts of a sentence have similar structure

Yesterday, I went to see a movie, eating with friends, and take a nap. NOT parallel

Yesterday I went to see a movie, ate with friends, and took a nap.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…”

ALLEGORY

When the character and/or the story elements represent something beyond its literal meaning.

ANIMAL FARM is an allegory for Soviet totalitarianism. Orwell based the book on events up to and during Joseph Stalin's regime.

THE CRUCIBLE is an allegory for the Red Scare.

PARODY

A work that closely imitates the style or content of another work and tries to make fun of it.

A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule

RHETORIC

“Orator” the art of writing effectively, eloquently, and persuasively

A rhetorical question is not meant to be answered. It is meant to make you think.

Exposition – to explain

Argumentation – to prove a point or idea by sound, logical reasoning

Description – to recreate and visually represent with words

Narration – to tell a story

LITOTES

To say something positive by using a negative

NO arrow ever flew so high.

Euphemism Making something negative seem positive It’s not a used car; it’s a certified previously

owned vehicle. It’s not a war; it’s a military action. The tree isn’t short; it’s vertically challenged.

THAT WILL DO IT FOR NOW.