protagonist/hero(ine)—main character
antagonist/villain
Character in conflict with protagonist.
dynamic character
Events can modify him/her; a changing, growing character.
static character
Unchanging character.
flat characters
Usually one trait delineates them. They can happen through lazy writing.
round character
Three-dimensional, multifaceted, interesting.
foil
Character who sets off, by contrast, character traits of the protagonists (may be bumbling
versus brilliant or cowardly versus brave).
confidant
Character who gives protagonist a chance to speak thoughts.
antihero
A protagonist who is unable to take his own life into his hands; just surviving, not
glorious
stereotype
One trait exaggerated—no individuality at all, but some truth to it.
stock character
Traditional, readily available and readily recognizable: “absent-minded
professor.”
existential character Can change his/her usual pattern or habit by an act of free will to change.
caricature
Exaggerated for comic relief, a visual cartoon.
motivation
Sufficient reason for actions.
exposition
Setting up the story (setting, introduction of characters).
rising action Events that intensify or complicate the conflict.
climax
Moment of greatest tension when conflict reaches the turning point—outcome is
decided.
falling action Complications get untangled.
denouement Resolution of the story—tying up loose ends.
internal conflict
Battle within the self (of fears, misconceptions, values).
external conflict
Battle outside the self (human vs. human, human vs. object or machine).
foreshadowing
Clues to plot ending (coming events cast their shadows beforehand).
flashback
Going back in time (device used to fill in what happened earlier).
in medias res Beginning the story in the middle of the action.
complication
A new conflict.
open plot
Conflict is not resolved at the end of the story.
closed plot
Conflict is resolved.
Setting
locale—specific nation, state, city or town, farm or house, school, etc. Several locales may be
important in the text (scaffold and forest in Scarlet Letter)
atmosphere/weather—sunny, cloudy, foreboding, dark scenes, lots of light, heat, etc.
time of year/season—particularly note holidays, or significance of season
4. period of time—how long does the story take? Is it set in years? Days? Hours?
5. Time of day—predawn, breakfast, noontime, midnight, etc.
6. Particular historical moment—specific time period, war, famine, specific historical
importance which influences the characters, the plot, the theme
Point of View—includes focus and voice
focus Chooses what we can see and from what angle; frames an event; creates proportion,
emphasize or de-emphasizing or distorting; focus can be fixed or mobile.
persona
Voice or figure of the author which tells the story and may or may not be like the
real author (often seen in poetry more than fiction).
narrator
One who tells the story.
omniscient narrator Non-participant third person all-knowing narrator who sees through the
minds of all the characters.
limited omniscient narrator Third person narrator who sees through the mind of a single
character.
objective (dramatic narrator) Describes events from the outside (fly on a wall)—no inner
thoughts.
first-person narrator Participant telling story through his/her eyes.
second person narrator
Monologue addressed directly to the reader (one part of a dialogue
with no other characters. You as reader are the second character).
naïve observer A character who fails to understand all the implications of the story (a child,
someone without experience, someone with diminished mental capacity).
stream of consciousness
A procession of thoughts passing through the mind randomly.
interior monologue Presentation of character’s thoughts in an ordered manner.
Theme/message
Insight into how individuals relate to their world within the framework of a story—what the
author intended to say. See the themes in lit handout.
Symbols—something which stands for something else
1. figurative—compares two unlike things (snake as a symbol for evil; names like Faith or
Goodman Brown)
2. simile—explicit comparison stated by using like or as
3. metaphor—implicit comparison between two unlike things: “His heart, that bloody motor”
4. allegory—like a metaphor in that one thing is spoken of as another, but rather than one part
of a story, the entire story works as a symbol/metaphor—Pilgrim’s Progress, with a man named
Christian, who meets other characters named Pliable or Obstinate, etc. Allegory is often about
the journey of life through temptations, redemption, etc.
5. myth—when an entire story is symbolic, it is sometimes called a myth, in this case, meaning
of communal origin & providing an interpretation of man, nature, universe, and the relation
among them
Miscellaneous
1. Tone—author’s choice of details, character, event, and situations, and words that lead us to
infer the author’s attitude (or the persona the author uses, which may not be the author’s personal
attitude): amusement, anger, affection, sorrow, contempt, hate
2. Style—individual traits and characteristics of a piece of writing; a writer’s particular way of
managing words, the language a writer uses, length and complexity of sentences, habitual use of
imagery, patterns of sound, etc.
3. Irony—meaning of words different from speaker’s meaning: a discrepancy between what is
said and what is meant; wry contrast or incongruity in a situation
4. Allusion—historical or biblical or cultural references