Literary Terminology
Part 1 Literary Terms
Part 2 Plot
Part 3 Figures of Speech
Literary Terms
Antagonist
A character or group of characters
who create conflict for the
protagonist aka: The Bad Guy
Not always the villain but simply one who
opposes the main character
EX: The Joker in “Batman”
Protagonist
One who has the conflict.
Usually the main character
Batman
Character
Person, Animal, Creature that takes
part in the action in the story
Round Character: Main Character- One
who plays an important role in the story
Flat: One who does not play an important
role in the story
Character Cont’d
Static: A character who doesn’t
change throughout the story
Dynamic: A character who changes in
the course of the story.
Characterization
The act of creating a character
Direct: the writer states the character’s
traits
Characterization Cont’d
Indirect- character is revealed through
one of the following…
Words, thoughts, or actions
Descriptions of the character's background
or appearance
What other characters say about the
character
The ways in which other characters react to
the character
Conflict
Struggle between two foes
Internal- Struggle the character faces
against himself (Man vs Self)
External- Struggle the character faces
against an outside force (Man vs. Man,
Man vs Nature, Man vs Supernatural)
EX What type of conflicts does Rachel
experience in “Eleven”?
Diction
A writer’s word choice, may be formal
or informal, plain or ornate, common
or technical, abstract or concrete
Foreshadow
Use of clues to suggest events that
have yet to occur
EX: It was a dark and stormy night…
Mood and Tone
Mood: feeling created in the reader
by the literary work or passage, can
be influenced by setting tone and/or
events
Tone: the attitude the author takes
toward the writing
Point of View
The perspective from which a story is
told
1st person: the narrator’s knowledge is
limited to 1 character
EX: I, me, my, mine
Point of View Cont’d
3rd person limited: narrator knows only one
character’s thoughts and feelings
EX: He, She, They, them
3rd Person Omniscient: narrator knows
more than one character’s thoughts and
feelings.
EX: He, She, They, Them
Setting
Where the literary work takes place
EX: The farm was a beautiful location to
have the wedding. “The farm,” is the
setting for the wedding
Theme
The BIG Idea, moral or lesson learned
from a story
EX: “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”
Main Idea
What the story is about.
Example: “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”
Dialect
The way a person talks or sounds due
to their physical address or culture
Example: Ye ate yet? Naw. Ye on’t to?
Aw’ight.
Can you think of how your speech is
different from others around the world?
Dialogue
In its widest sense, dialogue is simply
conversation between people in a
literary work; in its most restricted
sense, it refers specifically to the
speech of characters in a drama.
Syntax
The ordering of words into meaningful verbal patterns such
as phrases, clauses, and sentences.
Example: Emily Dickinson, for instance, writes about
being surprised by a snake in her poem "A narrow Fellow
in the Grass," and includes this line: "His notice sudden
is." In addition to the alliterative hissing s- sounds here,
Dickinson also effectively manipulates the line’s syntax so
that the verb "is" appears unexpectedly at the end,
making the snake’s hissing presence all the more
"sudden."
Stereotype
To make a judgment about someone
because of their looks, the people
they hang out with, where they work,
etc.
Example: People with tattoos are drug
addicts.
Plot
Exposition
Introduces the characters, setting,
and basic situation
This part usually has the narrative hook
Rising Action
Introduces the conflict
Climax
The point of the highest tension or
drama
Falling Action
Things finally settle down for the
main character(s)
Resolution
The main conflict is resolved
The Basic
Figures of Speech
Hyperbole
Obvious and intentional exaggeration.
Ex: She had to wait an eternity to get
her drink.
Write a sentence using a hyperbole.
Euphemism
A mild word of phrase which substitutes
for another which would be undesirable
because it is too direct, unpleasant, or
offensive.
Example: Saying "passed away" for "dying" or
saying "time-honored" for "old”
What does the Euphemism “between jobs”
refer to?
Idiom
An expression whose meaning is not
predictable.
Example: The old man kicked the bucket.
Write an example of an idiom you have heard.
Metaphor
Comparing two like things not using
like or as.
The girl was a cheetah with tennis shoes.
Compare yourself to something not using
like or as.
Onomatopoeia
Written sounds
Bang! The car smashed into the wall.
Make an appropriate sound, without using
your voice and then try to write it down.
Personification
Giving something non-human, humanlike characteristics.
The tree’s arms waved violently in the
wind.
Think of something in nature and use
personification to describe it.
Simile
Comparing two like things using like or
as.
The boy was as smart as a brick wall.
Use a simile to describe yourself.
Symbol
A thing (could be an object, person,
situation or action) which stands for
something else
EX: American Flag-Red, White, Blue,
Stars
What is something that Symbolizes you?
Irony
An outcome of events contrary to
what was expected
Oxymoron
Two contrary words located side by
side
EX: Sweating like a pig…ummm pigs do
not sweat. She’s pretty ugly. Let’s not
be alone together.
What is an oxymoron you have heard?