Literary Terms PIB English 9 & Honors 10. Plot: a series of related events, each connected to the next Basic Situation—opening, introduction Complication—rising.

Literary TermsPIB English 9 & Honors 10

Plot: a series of related events, each connected to the next

Basic Situation—opening, introduction

Complication—rising action, events leading to the climax

Climax—key scene, turning point in the action

Falling Action—loose ends being tied up

Resolution—”lived happily ever after”

Conflict: struggle

Internal—man v. self

External—man v. man, man v. nature, man v. society, man v. machine, man v. supernatural

Setting: the background against which the action takes place

Geographical location, including topography, scenery, and such physical arrangements as location of windows and doors in a room

Occupations and daily manners of living of the characters

The time period in which the action takes place; ex., epoch in history or time of year

The general environment of the characters, such as religions, mental, moral, social, and emotional conditions

Flashback: a device by which a work presents material that occurred prior to the opening scene of the work

Recollections, narration, dream sequences, reveries

Foreshadowing: preparation of material in a work in such a way that later events are prepared for

A character says something to make us believe something is going to happen; cryptic

In movies and TV, a popular method is using music: the warm fuzzy moment, the ax murderer in the kitchen, the kissy scene

Author puts it in . . .

Tone: the attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work

…reader gets it out

Mood: the emotional and intellectual attitude of the author toward the subject

Characterization: the creation of imaginary persons so that they seem lifelike

Direct: the writer tells readers outright what the character is like

Indirect: readers make inferences and draw conclusions based on textual evidence

Speech

Appearance

Thoughts

Others’ feelings

Actions

Protagonist: the chief character in a work; contestant of the antagonist

Antagonist: the character directly opposed to the protagonist; rival, opponent, or enemy of the protagonist

Round Character: a character sufficiently complex to be able to surprise the reader without losing credibility

Flat Character: a character constructed around a single idea or quality; usually represented by a single statement

Static Character: a character who changes little if at all. Things happen to them without modifying their interior selves

Dynamic Character: a character who develops or changes as a result of the actions of the plot

Point of View: the vantage point from which a writer tells a story

Omniscient—all knowing

Can see everything

Provides details that are intimate to the character

The storyteller is outside of the story’s action

First Person—”I” or persona

The “I” tells the story

Direct participant in the action

Represents only what “I” sees, hears, knows, things, and feels

Bias: credibility is in question

Third Person Limited—”Zooming in”

Story is told by an outside observer who may or may not be involved in the action

Uses he, she, they pronouns

Plot events are limited to those observed

Narrator: anyone who tells a story

Satire: a work or manner that blends a censorious attitude with humor and wit for improving human institutions or humanity; the satirist attempts through laughter not so much to tear down as to inspire remodeling

Diction: word choice

Theme: a central idea, the subject of the piece

Theme must be expressed in a complete sentence!

Theme ≠ Topic

Topic: Racism

Theme: Racism eats away at the fibers of society and weakens the structure of humanity.

Theme = Topic + Opinion

Irony: the reality of a situation is different from its appearance

Verbal—saying something other than what is meant; not as harsh as sarcasm

Dramatic—the audience knows something the characters do not

Situational—a situation that is expected to happen, or that is intended to happen, is not what actually does happen

Ambiguity: the state of having more than one meaning, with resulting uncertainty as to the intended significance of the statement

Teachers strike idle kids

War dims hope for peace

Enraged cow injures farmer with ax

Miners refuse to work after death

Include your children when baking cookies

Symbolism: the use of one object to represent or suggest another

Allegory: a form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself