Question | Answer |
Protagonist | The main or central character of a story. Often the “hero”, but not necessarily sympathetic or likable. |
Antagonist | The character that opposes the main character or keeps him/her from reaching goals. |
Exposition | The opening portion of a narrative where the scene is set and the main character is introduced. |
Conflict | The central struggle between two forces in a story. |
Climax | The highest point of intensity in a story. |
Conclusion | The part of the story following the climax where the plot is resolved. |
Limited Omniscience | Point of view where the narrator know everything about some of the characters but not all. |
Foreshadowing | An indication of event to come in the narrative. |
Total Omniscience | Point of view where the narrator knows everything about the characters and events in the story. |
Objective Point of View | Point of view where the narrator merely reports action but does not offer judgment or opinions about the events or characters. |
Participant/First Person Narrator | Point of view where the narrator is also a character in the story. Often uses the “I” personal pronoun. |
Observer | A first person narrator who is relatively detached from the action in the story. |
Nonparticipant/Third Person Narrator | Point of view where the narrator is not a character in the story. |
Interior Monologue | An extended presentation of a character’s thoughts. |
Flat Character | A character that has only one outstanding trait. |
Round Character | A character that is complex and presented in depth. |
Stock Character | A character that is stereotypical. |
Setting | The physical description of where the story takes place. |
Locale | The actual geographic location of the story. |
Symbol | A person, place, or thing in a story that suggests a meaning beyond its literal sense. Usually tied to a theme in the story. |
Allegory | A narrative in which the literal events suggest a parallel sequence of symbolic events. Often used offer an opinion about something like religion or history. |
Tone | The attitude that is conveyed toward a subject in a literary work. |
Irony | A literary device in which one thing is said but the opposite is meant. |
Sarcasm | A conspicuously bitter from of irony that is meant to hurt or mock its target. |
Allusion | A brief, sometimes indirect, reference in a text to a person, place, or thing. |
Aside | A brief passage in drama where a character says something to the audience the other characters cannot hear. |
Comedy | A literary work aimed at amusing the audience. |
Dialogue | The direct representation of the conversation between two or more characters. |
Drama | A literary composition designed for performance in a theater. |