Literary Elements Flashcards
plot
The chain of events in a story
Conflict
A struggle between two or more forces
Setting
Time, place, and circumstances
Characterization
The way the author develops the personalities of his/her characters
Theme
The message the author is trying to get across
Point of view
The narrative perspective used to tell the story
Flat character
A character who is not well developed; the reader knows only one or two of their traits; this type of character can be summed up in one or two sentences
Round character
A character who is well developed and has many traits; he/she may be complicated and seem real (like a real person)
Static character
A character who doesn’t grow or change throughout the story
Dynamic character
A character who grows and changes in a significant way throughout the story
Protagonist
The main character
Antagonist
A character who works against the main character
Exposition
The beginning of the story where you learn about the background information (basic information about the main character and the setting)
Rising action
The part of the story that is leading up to the climax; this is where most of the conflict, suspense, etc. occurs
Climax
The highest point of action in the story; also known as the turning point
Falling action
The events after the climax when the story starts to wrap up
Resolution
How the story ends; usually, but not always, the conflict is resolved
First person narrator
A character tells the story; they can only tell what they see and hear; they say “I”
Third person narrator
An outside narrator tells the story; the narrator is not a character; two types include limited and omniscient
Second person narrator
The reader is treated as the character; the narrator says “you”; this is very rarely used
