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Literary Elements
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Plot | Chain of related events that take place in a story. |
Conflict | Struggle between opposing forces |
External | Conflict in which a struggle is pitted against an outside force. Man Vs. Man Man Vs. Nature Man Vs. Society |
Internal | conflict in which a struggle occurs within a character. Man VS. Self |
Exposition | introduces the characters, the setting, and the basic situation |
Inciting Incident | moment at which the conflict is introduced |
Rising Action | complications of the plot and building of suspense |
Climax | turning point of the action when intensity reaches its peak |
Falling Action | events that occur after the climax and as the intensity subsides |
Resolution | conflict is resolved or comes to an end |
Characters | people involved in the action of the story |
Setting | the time and place of the events in the story |
Irony | a difference between appearance and reality, or expectation and result |
Verbal Irony | what is said is different from what is meant |
Situational Irony | an event occurs that contradicts the expectations of the reader or audience |
Dramatic Irony | a difference between what a character thinks and what reader or audience knows |
Mood | the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or oassage |
Point of View | vantage point from which a story is told |
Theme | the general idea about life that the author wants to communicate |
Protagonist | the main character or most important character in the story |
Antagonist | character who opposes the main character |
Round Character | shows many different traits-faults as well as virtues |
Flat Character | shows only one trait |
Dynamic Character | develops and grows during the course of the story |
Static Character | does not change |
first person point of view | the narrator is involved in the action |
third person limited | narrator is not involved in the story and reveals the thoughts of a single character |
third person omniscient | the narrator, who is not involved in the story, can see into the minds of all the characters |