English 11
Literary Terms:
Short Stories
#32. Setting
 Setting is the TIME and PLACE of the
story
 Setting is key to establishing MOOD
or EMOTION in a story
#46. Plot
 Plot is what happens in a story
 See your plot chart notes for details
of how a plot works
26. Point of View
 The point of view of a story refers to who is
telling the story.
 First Person: Narrator uses “I”
 Second Person: Narrator uses “you”
 Third Person/Limited Omniscient: A god-like
narrator who follows the thoughts and
feelings of one character. Uses “he” or “she”
 Omniscient: God-like narrator who knows
the thoughts and feelings of all characters
 Dramatic/Objective: The story is told
through the actions and dialogue of the
characters
12. Irony
 Irony is when what happens is the opposite of
what is expected. There are a few kinds of
irony.
 Dramatic Irony: The audience knows
something that the character does not.
 Verbal Irony: When the opposite of what is
meant is said (basic form: sarcasm)
 Situational Irony: when the opposite of what
was expected happens.
Dramatic Irony: You know what the farmer does not

Situational Irony: You’d expect cheetahs to run, not speed-walk.
 Which kind of
irony is this?
16. Narrator
 The teller of the story
 An unreliable narrator is a story teller
whose story may be biased and
whose views cannot be trusted by the
reader
5. Conflict
 Conflict is the problem of the story
 Two types: External and Internal
External:
Person vs. Person
Person vs. Nature
Person vs. Society
Internal:
Person vs. Self
39. Theme
 Theme is the overarching idea or
message meant to be communicated
to the reader
 When written about in formal writing,
theme should always be
communicated as a statement.
 Eg. One must open one’s heart to
love
38. Symbol
 A symbol is a person, object, or thing
in a piece of writing that represents
an idea, concept or emotion.
 Eg. Lion for courage
 Symbols may take on different
meaning depending upon the context
in which they appear
11. Imagery
 Imagery is the language in a piece of
writing that appeals to the five
senses.
 Sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
3. Character
 A character is the player of the story.
 Round: Many traits are described
 Dynamic: The character grows and
changes in the course of the story
 Flat: Few traits are described
 Static: The character does not grow
or change in the course of the story.
37. Style
 Style can be described as the way
that an author writes and the way
that they express their ideas
 Includes the author’s use of figurative
language, their sentence length and
variation, their diction etc.