English 110 Terms Flashcards
Allegory
A narrative in which certain abstractions, such as sin, faith, loyalty and mercy are made concrete; usually by being personified; type of symbolism
Antagonist
The person against whom the protagonist of a story struggles
Atmosphere
The mood that pervades a story, usually established through descriptions of setting
Climax
The point in the plot when the conflict reaches its highest tension; conflict is resolved at the climax
Conflict
The struggle between the protagonist and some opposing person (antagonist) or force
Denouement
The final part of a play, narrative, or movie in which the grandson of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved
Dynamic character
A character who undergoes some fundamental change over the course of a story
Editorializing
A narrator’s intrusion into a story to direct the reader’s interpretation
Enveloping Action
The wider social or historical events surrounding the narrower personal struggles of the character in a story
Epiphany
Sudden manifestation of some truth
First-Person Narrator
A narrator who appears in a story, either as a participant or merely as an observer
In Medias Res
The technique of beginning a story by relating events well beyond the complication; earlier incidents of plot are divulged through flashbacks or by some other method
Limited Omniscience
A third person narrator who knows more than a. First person narrator could know, but whose knowledge is limited, usually to the thoughts of one or a few characters
Literary Symbol
An object carrying symbolic meaning only within the cont ft of a particular work of literature
Motif
Any word, phrase, idea, object or situation that recurs throughout a work or that is common to works within a sub-genre
Narrator
The person telling a story
Omniscient Narrator
A third-person narrator from whom no info is hidden; knows the thoughts of all characters
Plot
Sequence of events in a story; complication, rising action, climax, resolution
Point of View
The perspective from which a story is told
Projection
Technique of narration by which the emotional state of a character colors the description of the setting
Protagonist
The character whom the story is about; usually dynamic character; has an epiphany; different at resolution from the beginning of complication
Resolution
Part of a story after the climax has ended the conflict; state of equilibrium
Reversal
Condition sometimes suffered by a protagonist (IE tragedy) in which climax brings about dramatic change in fortune, usually a change from real/figurative state of prosperity to poverty
Rising Action
Incidents in the plot between the complication and climax; usually raises the reader’s sense of tension
