
We will be using these literary terms throughout the school year.

You will be using these in your extended response answers and you will see them on the end of the year tests.

Expect to have a test over these terms-
--the term, its definition, and the correct spelling!!!


A person, animal, or sometimes object that takes part in the action of a literary work.

The antagonist is a character or force that is in conflict with the main character, or the protagonist.
The villain in the story.
Example: Darth Vader, the Joker,
President Snow


The main character in a literary work. The hero.
Examples: Harry Potter,
Katniss Everdeen, Iron
Man


A character who grows and changes in a significant way throughout the course of the story.
Examples: Luke Skywalker, Harry
Potter, Stanley Yelnats,


A character who remains the same throughout the story. If a character is selfish and arrogant at the beginning of the story, he/she will be the same at the end of the story.

Examples: Effie Trinket, Cinderella’s step-sisters, Eyeore


Well developed characters—those characters that the reader can clearly identify as the main characters. We get to know these characters.

Example: Ricky Bobby, Peeta, Madea



A character that is barely developed or is stereotypical. It’s hard for the reader to get involved with this character or care about what happens to him/her.
Example: a “drunk”
 a bully’s “friend”
 the guy at the grocery store, etc.


The setting is the time and the place in which the action happens in a story. It often helps to create a particular mood or feeling




Three types of setting:
Geographical
Physical
Historical


Knowing the location helps to explain the behavior of the characters. It provides the reader with clues about the characters.

Examples: city, swamp, rural (country), a desert, outer space, region, nation, etc.


Knowing the physical setting helps to explain why characters act a certain way or why they are motivated to certain actions.

Examples: the weather, the time of day, indoors/outdoors, etc.


This lets the reader know what the social, political, economical, and cultural environment is in the story. This helps to establish character motivations and behaviors.

Examples: World War II, the Great
Depression, during the Civil Rights
Movement, etc.







The struggle or the problem that the protagonist must face and overcome in the story.
Four types of conflict:
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. Self
Man vs. Society


In this type of conflict humans are in a struggle or battle with each other.

Examples: Husband and wife
 Two armies in battle
 Brothers arguing
 Families quarreling


In this type of conflict the main character is struggling or fighting the forces of nature.

Examples: Caught in a storm at sea
 Stuck in a blizzard
 Fighting wolves, sharks, bears, etc.
 Escaping from a flood, tornado, earthquake, etc.


In this type of conflict, a character is in a struggle with him/herself. The character is often torn between different courses of action.

Examples: Whether to go “party” or not
 Choosing between right and wrong
 To tell on someone you love


In this type of conflict, the character faces the decision to go against the government and society’s rules.

Examples: Fighting against slavery
 Breaking a law for a “good” reason
 Rebelling against a “perfect” society











The plot is the sequence of events in a story.
It has eight parts:
Exposition
Narrative Hook
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Conclusion
Resolution
***Denoumont*** (day-new-maw)


The exposition introduces the:




Setting
Main characters
Situation- the problem of the story
Character’s attitude toward the situation


This is the point in the text where the reader commits to the story. The reader wants to see how the problem
(situation) works out.

This is the point of NO RETURN!!


The rising action is made up of the events that lead to the climax. The rising action happens slowly and builds the suspense.


This is the turning point in the story. The direction of the action changes and begins to allow for the problem to be solved. It DOES NOT solve the problem .


These are the few events that lead from the climax to the resolution of the problem. These events happen very quickly.


This is when the problem is solved.


This is the end of the story.
All of the loose ends are tied up and finalized.


In some stories, what happens after the story is over.

Example: One year later…




Point of view is the perspective or vantage point from which the story is told. It is the relationship of the narrator to the story.




Three types of literary point of view:
First person
Third person limited
Third person omniscient



Told by a character in the story who uses the first person pronouns: I, me, my, mine.


This narrator can tell the story from only one person’s perspective. The narrator uses “he” and “she” to refer to characters in the story.


This narrator tells the story from multiple perspectives. The narrator knows what all the characters are feeling and doing .




The theme of a literary work is its lesson or message to the reader.
A theme is usually expressed as a generalization about people or life.
Examples: Love conquers all
 Hope can carry you through
 Good overcomes evil
 Life is what you make of it


The mood of a literary work is the feeling the reader gets while reading.

Examples: Hope, Peace,
Excitement, Sorrow, Fear,
Dread, etc.



Tone is the writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward the subject.
Tone evokes an emotional response from the reader.

Examples: may show anger, respect, sarcasm, lightheartedness, etc.