Literary Terms/Short Story Elements
Name: _________________________________________
Genre - _______________________________________________________________________
includes: __________________, ______________________, ____________________
Setting - ______________________________________________________________________
includes: ___________________, ________________________________
Characters - ___________________________________________________________________
Narrator - _____________________________________________________________________
Plot – ________________________________________________________________________
Includes five basic parts or elements:
Conflict – _____________________________________________________________________
Includes three basic types:
Man vs. _____________________________________________________________________
Man vs. _____________________________________________________________________
Man vs. _____________________________________________________________________
Theme - ______________________________________________________________________
Mood - _______________________________________________________________________
Foreshadowing - ________________________________________________________________
Irony - ________________________________________________________________________
Symbolism ___________________________________________________________________
Foreshadow - _________________________________________________________________
Metaphor - ___________________________________________________________________
Simile – ______________________________________________________________________
Hyperbole – __________________________________________________________________
Onomatopoeia – _______________________________________________________________
Flashback - ___________________________________________________________________
Literary Terms/Short Story Elements
Name: _________________________________________ Block/Date: ___________________
Literary Terms/Short Story Elements
Title - name given to a written piece
Author - person who wrote the piece
Genre - a French word used as a synonym for form or type of literature
includes: novel essay poem
Setting - includes: time place
Characters - people in a story or poem
protagonist antagonist
Narrator - person telling the story
Plot - the action in a story usually includes a series of related incidents which include the
following 5 basic parts or elements:
exposition
rising action
climax
falling action
resolution
Conflict - the problem in a story which triggers the action include 5 basic types:
Man vs. man (one character has problem with another character)
Man vs. nature (a snowstorm, tornado, etc.)
Man vs. himself (trouble deciding what to do)
Man vs. society (school, the law)
Man vs. fate (an uncontrollable problem)
Theme - the author's message or statement about life not always clearly spelled out.
Mood - a feeling a piece of literature arouses in the reader: happy, sad, peaceful, inspired, etc.
Foreshadowing - a suggestion of what is to come later in the work by giving hints and clues.
Irony - a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or normal meaning .
Ex:. The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska
was $80,000. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were released
back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later they were both eaten
by a killer whale. http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/irony.html
Symbolism -The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities – ex. Flag
Foreshadow - Be a warning or indication of (a future event).
Metaphor - A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to
which it is not literally applicable. Ex: He is a pig. Thou art sunshine.
Simile – comparison using like or as ex: she is as light as a feather.
Hyperbole – extreme exaggeration
Onomatopoeia – words imitate sound – the bat cracked when he hit a homerun.
Flashback - A sudden and vivid memory of an event in the past