Short Stories

Dynamic Character

A character who grows, learns, or changes as a result of the story's action

Static Character

A character that does not change from the beginning of the story to the end

Diction

A writer's or speaker's choice of words

Exposition

A narrative device, often used at the beginning of a work that provides necessary background information about the characters and their circumstances.

Archetype

A detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response

Flashback

A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events

Narrative point of view

The agent who tells the story.The perspective from which a story is told

Theme

Central idea of a work of literature

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (as in drowning in money); broadly : figurative language

Personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

Antagonist

A character or force in conflict with the main character

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word

Mood

Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader

Climax

Most exciting moment of the story; turning point

Resolution

End of the story where loose ends are tied up

Foreshadowing

A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader.

Simile

A comparison using "like" or "as

Tone

A writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed through diction, figurative language, and organization on the sentence and global levels.

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.

Alliteration

Repetition of consonant sounds

Allusion

A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. Allusions can be historical, literary, religious, topical, or mythical. There are many more possibilities, and a work may

Satire

A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.

Protagonist

Main character

Connotation

All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests

Direct Characterization

Author directly describes character

Indirect Characterization

Author subtly reveals the character through actions and interactions.

Conflict

A struggle between opposing forces

Genre

A category or type of literature (or of art, music, etc.) characterized by a particular form, style, or content.

Style

A basic and distinctive mode of expression.

Figures Of Speech

Expressions, such as similes, metaphors, and personifications, that make imaginative, rather than literal, comparisons or associations.

Imagery

Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)

Inference

A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning

Paradox

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.