Elements of Plot & Literary Devices Flashcards
Plot
what happens in the story
Exposition
The beginning of the story, where the main characters and setting are usually revealed
Inciting Incident
A specific event that starts a conflict > the thing that “lights the fire”
Rising Action
After the conflict is revealed, events may become more complicated and suspense builds.
Climax
- The highest point of interest and the usual turning
point in the story - The main character often gets a new piece of information
and acts on it
Falling Action
The events/conflict begin to resolve and the
reader learns what happened
Conclusion
The final outcome
Place
- location
- the “where”
- the more detailed the more important
Time
- the when
Social Conditions
- daily life or experiences explored
- are unique cultural/historical/generational
- ex: dress/manners/speech
Atmosphere
- the feeling created
- vibe
conflict
a struggle between two opposing forcesaround which the story revolves.
- person vs person
- person vs society
- person vs self
- person vs nature
- person vs fate
characterization
- What the character: says/does/doesn’t do/thinks/feels/wants (actions)
- What other characters: say about or how they describe another character
- How characters: react/engage with each other
-How they are: physically depicted
-How they are: compared to other characters
Protagonist
Is clearly central to the story. All major events have some importance to them. The main character
or hero.
Antagonist
The opposer of the protagonist. Can be one or more forces that stand against, struggle with, or create conflict for the protagonist.
Point of View
First Person: “I/me/we” perspective (in the character’s head)
Second Person: the “you” perspective (narrator addresses the audience directly.)
Third Person: “he/she/it/they” perspective (narrator outside of the story describes what the characters do and what happens to them.)
Third Person Limited: narrator has perspective of one character
Third Person Omniscient = narrator has perspective of all characters (“all knowing” or “god like”)
Theme
central or main idea that is expressed in a story.
Tone
author expresses their attitude towards a topic
MOOD
reader and is the overall atmosphere or feeling
Imagery
- create “mental images” for the reader.
- sensory perceptions (the 5 senses).
Simile
use like and as to make explicit comparisons between unlike things.
Metaphor
- compares two things without the use of like or as - so the comparison is implied not stated directly.
Hyperbole
a deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration
Foreshadowing
hint at what might happen later
Flashback
an earlier episode, conversation, or event is inserted
Symbolism
- stands for something else.
- hint at deeper meanings
Repetition
make a point more clear, more memorable, or to emphasize something.
Personification
attributing human qualities
- Irony
- Situational Irony
- Verbal Irony
- Dramatic Irony
- opposite of the literal meaning or opposite of what one would normally expect.
- – When a situation turns out differently from what one would normally expect: for example, a deep sea diver drowning in a bathtub would be situationally ironic.
- When a character says one thing but means something different: for example, sarcasm is often a form of verbal irony.
- When the reader/audience knows something that a character in the story does not know.
