Literature Terms Final

Point of View

the perspective from which a story is told

Antagonist

The person (or force) in conflict with the protagonist

Exposition

Where the setting, the characters, and the inciting incident are revealed

Suspense

the anxiety a reader feels about what's going to happen in the story

Resolution

The end of the story where the loose ends (conflict) is resolved

Flashback

when the author interrupts the plot of the story and tells an event that took place earlier in time

Folktale

A story that has been past down form generation to generation

Memoir

An autobiography story that focuses on one or few events on the author's life

Fable

A short story that teaches a moral or a lesson

Simile

comparing two things uses the words "like" or "as

Metaphor

A comparison without using the words "like" or "as

Hyperbole

An exaggeration that is not true

Alliteration

That repetition of the same initial consonant sound among words

Assonance

Alliteration in which there repetition of a vowel sound among words

Consonance

An alliteration in which there is a repetition os consonant sounds among words

Personification

Giving human qualities to non human things

Onomatopoeia

words whose sounds suggest their meaning

Legend

A folktale that usually has some connection to a real historical person or event with exaggerations nor meant to be humorous

Theme

That truth about life that is revealed in a story

Fantasy

A genre of fiction that contains magical elements

Plot

That chain of events that make up a story

Myth

A folktale that explains something about the world such as frightening or mysterious natural forcesa

Tone

That attitude of the writer

Idiom

A group of words whose meaning is quite different from its literal meaning

Climax

The most exciting or intense part of the story for the protagonist

Setting

The time and place of a story

Mood

The atmosphere or feeling created by the story

dynamic character

A character who undergoes a deep change from within the story

historical fiction

A genre that is set in the past and may include real people, places, or significant events

character traits

Adjectives that describe a character on the inside (personality)

third person omniscient

A point of view where the narrator knows it all

Indirect characterization

The author shows you what a character is like through thoughts, feelings, choices, words, and actions

third person limited

The narrator is not in the story but focuses on one character's point of view

static character (flat character)

A character that remains the same throughout the story

Fairytale

A folktale that takes place in a magical land

Realistic fiction

A genre that is set in modern present with human characters

Protagonist

That main character in the story

Falling action

events that follow the climax and lead to the resolution

science fiction

A genre that is set in the future and based on the impact of real, potential, imagined technology

First person

A point of view in which the narrator is a person in the story (narrated using pronouns like "I" "me".....)

Foreshadowing

Hints or clues that suggest what may happen later in the story

Tall tale

A folktale with unbelievable exaggerations

rising action

Parts of the story where that complications arise

direct characterization

The author tells you explicitly what the character is like