Short Story Terms (ENGLISH FINAL REVIEW 1)

Plot

The sequence of events in a literary work

Point of View

the perspective from which a story is told

Characterization

The process when an author shows the personality of a character. Usually achieved through description, thoughts, words, actions, and reactions of characters

Setting

The time, place, and environment in which a story takes place

Theme

the central idea or moral or lesson of the story; what the reader discovers by the story's end, which provides him/her with deeper insights about life, people and him/herself

Inference

logical interpretation based on prior knowledge, experience, and observation

Foreshadow

to indicate or suggest beforehand; to give a warning of

Irony

a contrast between what is expected and what actually exists or happens

Flashback

a scene or event from the past that appears in a narrative out of chronological order, to fill in information or explain something in the present

Suspense

quality of a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem that makes the reader or audience uncertain or tense about the outcome of events

Climax

most exciting moment of the story; turning point

Stereotype

generalized belief about a group of people

Exaggeration

To make an overstatement or to stretch the truth.

Conflict

a struggle between two opposing forces

Symbol

an object that is used to represent something else (usually a larger, philosophical and more important idea)