Literary Flashcards
Setting
refers to time periods, geographic locations, cultural contexts, immediate surroundings,
‘weather,’ times of day,’or times’of’year’ employed’in’the’story
can be used to create a mood,
as an integral part of the plot (creating a conflict,’ etc.),
to bring out certain aspects of the characters, and can also be used figuratively or symbolically to hint at the story’s theme or reflect an interior state of the characters
TONE
refers to the attitude the work takes toward the
audience and subject.’
can be playful, serious, upbeat, detached, ironic, intimate, haughty, objective and any other number of great adjectives
used to describe an attitude toward something
EXPOSITION
the background plot information.
can be deliberately’withIheld’and/or’
dumped early in the story.
can occur through dialogue, narration, and/or interchapters.
often tells us something about author’s project in a book and how we, as an audience, are invited into the world of the book
Narrative;
perspective;
point of view
refers to the point of view from which the story is narrated.
The story can be from the first person pointI
of view (“I’saw…”)
or the third person point of view (“he’saw”).
Notably,’there’are’some’important’
variations on both of these major points of view
First-person protagonist
the person telling the story is also the main character
First-person observer
the person telling the story is
a secondary character in the story
Third person limited
the narrative follows around
one character primarily and has access to his/her thoughts.
This narrative perspective also describes
things happening around him/her
Third person omniscient
has access to multiple character’s thoughts and actions
Third person OBJECTIVE
describes only the actions of the characters. We see the actions of the book almost
as if on a stage with no access or limited access to the character’s thoughts
MOTIF
refers to a series of reoccurring details that have symbolic importance in the story.
(e.g. the fire motif or the motif of masks and marks in Lord of the Flies
IMAGE
refers to a description of something to be seen, hear, smelled, or touched
CHARACTERIZATION
refers to how the author describes his/her’
characters
PROTAGONIST
The MAIN CHARACTER in a story. He/she is often a hero but sometimes is not.’ He/she can also be the story’s narrator
ANTAGONIST
A character who STANDS IN A WAY of the protagonist’s movement in the story.
Oftentimes, this is a VILLAIN
but it does not have to be
DYNAMIC CHARACTERIZATION
If the character changes
a lot over the course of the story,
STATIC CHARACTERIZATION
If the character stays pretty
much the same
ROUND CHARACTERIZATION
If the character is very complex in his/her motivations and/or actions
FLAT CHARACTERIZATION
If the character is
straightforward in his/her motivations and/or actions
FOIL
intended as a thematic opposite of
the main character, revealing his/her salient qualities
FRAME STORY
refers to a literary technique whereby the author tells a story at the beginning of a work that sets the stage for the main story to come
THEME
refers to a broad idea or moral in a story
shouldn’t be something broad and also cannot be something so specific
specific but could be applied to other works
Resolution’/’’
Denouement
refers to a story’s final’“untying” or resolution.
is always at the end, after the climax.
REMEMBER: Some of the short’ stories we have read have denouements that purposefully don’t resolve the plot’s central conflict
CONFLICT
refers to the central problems of a text
5 PRIMARILY TYPES OF CONFLICT
Man’vs.’man’
Man’vs.’himself’
Man’vs.’society’
Man’vs.’technology’
Man’vs.’mythical/paranormal’force’
INTERNAL CONFLICTS
someone struggling with two
different feelings inside of themselves
EXTERNAL CONFLICTS
someone struggling against a
person or situatioN
FORESHADOWING
refers to when an author hints at what is to come in the narrative through a particular description or
image
SYMBOLISM
refers to when a word or object stands in for
something of bigger significance
are often complex, encoding more
than one thing in the same object
METAPHOR
word or phrase that compares two unlike
things
SIMILE
Word or phrase that compares two
unlike things using “as”’or’“like”’
HYPERBOLE
dramatic exaggeration
SYNECHDOCHE
a part standing IN from the whole
FLASHBACK
refers to a technique in which an author interrupts present events with a look at past events
Often it is up to the reader to infer why a flashback is being employed in the text and how it adds to or complicates the present narrative
