Elements of Fiction Flashcards
It is the element that shapes how the events are told in a sequence or a pattern.
Plot
A type of plot wherein events are chronologically sequenced (beginning, middle, end)
Classic plot
It is where a plot begins in the middle of the story’s action.
in medias res
A plot device when what is happening in the present is explained by recalling an event in the past.
flashback
A plot device when a hint is provided about what will happen later in the narrative.
foreshadowing
The part of the plot where the initial state of things is being described.
Exposition
It is where the plot disturbs the initial state of things.
conflict
The plot where events increases the intensity of the disturbance
rising action
It is the turning point of the plot, the point of its highest intensity.
climax
It refers to the unraveling of the consequences of the major decision made at the turning point of the plot.
Falling action
A type of plot that doesn’t follow a typical chronological sequence what ordered events in a fragmentary way.
episodic
The time in space or the physical and social context where a story takes place.
setting
The mood or general feeling about by the setting.
atmosphere
A type of narrator that knows reveals everything including what’s in the mind of the characters.
omniscient
A type of narrator that gives his or her comments or opinions, in contrast to an objective narrator who does not.
intrusive
A type of narrator who cannot be trusted for some reason.
unreliable
The feeling hovering over the story is not only created by the setting, but also the narrator’s attitude towards the characters or story that he or she is telling. The narrator’s attitude sets the _____ of the story.
tone
Narrative perspective refers to the “eyepiece” or angle from which readers witness the events as told by the narrator.
Point of view
In many stories a godlike, omniscient narrator shows everything, but in stories with narrators of _______ omniscience, the perspective is restricted to one character, or angled to the way that one character sees it.
limited
A character’s __________ explains his/her actions or decisions.
motivation
It is an object that is literally present and serves a literal purpose in the story but also seems to have a deeper, layered, or figurative meaning.
Symbol
An irony that occurs when the opposite of what is expected to happen is what actually happens.
situational
An irony is created when the intended meaning is the opposite of what is started.
Verbal
An irony that refers to the disjunct between what a character knows, and what you as reader is made to know or understand about the story.
Dramatic
The story’s _____ is its critical point, its unique insight about its chosen subject.
Theme
