English Fiction Terms Flashcards
Setting
The time and place in which a story takes place
Fiction
Works of imagination or invention; contrast with non-fiction, which is based on facts. Novels, short stories, plays, and poems are fictional
Character
A person (animal, robot, etc) who carries out the action in a piece of literature
Static character
Neither the character nor the readers’ knowledge of that character changes throughout the work
Dynamic character
The character changes because of the actions in the story’s plot
Secondary character
A character who is not essential to the main plot line, but who contains as a foil or supporting person, or who adds to a subsidiary plotline
Protagonist
The main character
Antagonist
The character or force that is in conflict with the main character/protagonist
Conflict
The struggle between two opposing forces
External conflicts
Character vs character Character vs society Character vs nature Character vs higher power Character vs technology
Internal conflict
Character vs him/herself
Plot
Actions and events that occur as a character confronts a conflict in pursuit of his/her goal. (What happens)
Exposition
Introduces the characters, the setting, and the conflict
Rising action
Builds complications of conflict
Climax
The highest point of rising action at which the conflict reaches the highest point of interest and suspense. The turning point for the main character
Falling action
Shows the after effects of the climax
Resolution
Conflict is ended and loose ends of plot are resolved
Foreshadowing
To show something beforehand or to foretell with hints or clues embedded in the text
Flashback
Occurs when the narrative sequence of events is interrupted to relate a conversion, a scene, or an event that happened before
Narrative point of view
The perspective from which a story is told determines what/whose view of events will be presented
First person point of view
Story is told by one of its characters, using first person pronouns
Third person point of view
Story is told by a voice outside the story
Third person objective point of view
Storyteller only reports what characters say and do; the author does not interpret their behavior or tell readers their private thoughts or feelings
Third person limited point of view
Storytellers knowledge is limited to a complete knowledge of one character in the story and tell readers only what the character thinks, feels, sees, or hears
Third person omniscient point of view
Storyteller can tell thoughts, feelings, and perspective of all character
Characterization
The techniques a writes uses to develop the readers understanding if the characterization
How to characterize
Direct physical description, comments, and details provided by the narrator
Characters speech, thoughts, or actions
Speech, thoughts, or actions of other characters
Dialogue
What characters say to one another
Dialect
Informal diction that is reflective of how people of a particular geographic region, economics groups, or social classes speak
Diction
A writers choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language, which combine to create meaning
Imagery
Using language to represent sensory experiences
How things look, feel, taste, sound, or smell
Irony
A literary device that uses contradictory statements or situations to reveal differences between appearance and reality
Situational irony
A surprising, interesting, or amusing contrast between what’s expected and what actually happens
Verbal irony
Occurs when a person says one thing but means the opposite
Dramatic irony
Occurs when there is a discrepancy between what a character believes if says and what the reader or audience knows to be true
Mood
The feeling or atmosphere that the writer creates for the reader via descriptions, connotative words, sensory images, figurative language, etc
Tone
The attitude that a writer takes towards a subject and their audience
Figurative language
Language that employs figures of speech, which aren’t meant to be taken literally, to suggest additional meaning
Personification
Giving human qualities to an object, animal, or idea
Simile
A comparison using like or as, between 2 things that are unlike, but have something in common
Metaphor
A direct comparison between 2 unlike things in which one thing is said to be another
Symbol
A person, place, object, or idea that stands for something beyond itself, the use of symbols is called symbolism
Motif
A recurring image or repeated idea that connects to the theme
Theme
The central idea, concern, or purpose if the story, it’s seldom stated directly, usually speaks to the human condition (message)
Connotation
Emotional meanings
Denotation
Dictionary definition
