Glossary Structural Devices Flashcards
Story arc
Has a beginning, a middle, and an end, usually with a crisis point that is resolved in the end
Exposition
Setting the scene
Rising action
Plot/Characters start to develop
Climax
The main event of the story
Falling action
All loose ends are tied
Resolution
The end
In Media Res
A narrative work beginning in media res opens in the midst of the plot
Anaphora
A rhetorical device that features e repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive statements,phrases, or clauses
Motif
A dominant or recurring idea in an artistic work
Flash-Back
The main narrative takes place in one time, but there are episodes from the past
Flash-Forward
Flash forward to a scene that temporarily takes the narrative in time from the current point
Foreshadowing
Warning or indication of (a future event)
Repetition
Action of repeating something that has already been said or written
Juxtaposition/Antithesis/Contrast
Fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect
Narrative perspective
Narrative POV is the perspective of the narrator. First person and third person narrative point of view. First, narrator tells story; third narrator is separate but sticks close to main character’s experience and actions
Time
Narrative time is a phrase that is sometimes used to describe the relationship between Story Time and Discourse Time
Pace
Pace, or pacing is the speed at which a story is told - not necessarily the speed at which the story takes place. Determined by length of scenes, how fast action moves, and bow quickly the reader is provided with information.
Narrative focus
The focal point of the paragraph
Zooming in/Zooming out
Transition between “close-up” (cinematography) or “zoomed-in” writing with a. Cinematic “long shot” or “distance shot”
Dual narrative
Gives two sides of a story alternating between viewpoints
Tri-colon
Trickling is a rhetorical term for series of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses
Simple sentence (effect)
Used to create dramatic effect such as tension. Might suggest fear and fast-paced action or thoughts
Long complex sentences (effect
Can be used to add lots of descriptive detail; or for a character it can be like a stream of thoughts in which they reveal their thoughts
Short paragraphs
Impact and to draw attention away from reader
Semantic field
A group of words in an text that share the same meaning
Listing
Where the writer has ordered a group of things in a long list
