Literary Terminology (1)

Question 1

Plot

Answer 1

It’s the story: What the characters do and what happens to them

Either comic (happy) or tragic (sorrowful)
Derives from conflict among characters

Question 2

What are the parts of a plot?

Answer 2

Rising Action (Complication) - Conflict between main characters is building
Climax (Turning Point) - Point where the main character has reached his apex of good fortune in the story
Denouement (Falling Action) - Things begin to go downhill for the main character. Painful or shocking discoveries are often part of this section.
Resolution - By the end there should be some closure, either positive or negative for the main character.

Question 3

What is setting?

Answer 3

The place and time where the events of the drama can take place
Sometimes setting can function as a character or establish the emotional atmosphere, or mood.
Also includes the historical and cultural moment in which the story takes place, or its social context. Setting serves as the background for the plot.

Question 4

What are the types of characters?

Answer 4

• The Protagonist
• The Antagonist
• Round Characters
• Flat Characters
• Stock Characters
• Dynamic Characters
• Static Character

Question 5

What is point of view?

Answer 5

First Person - Uses “I” and “We.” Bust the reader in the mind of one of the characters. Everything that happens is viewed from the characters perspectives.
Second Person - Use of the pronoun “you.”
Third Person - Use the pronouns “she,” “he,” “it,” and “they.”
Two types:
Omniscient (narrators who can see inside minds of all characters)
Limited Omniscient (narrators who can get inside only a few of the characters’ minds, but not all)

Question 6

What is symbolism and figurative language?

Answer 6

Symbolism: The use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense.
Figurative Language: Using figures of speech to be more effective, persuasive and impactful

Question 7

What is theme?

Answer 7

The point or argument the writer is trying to make
The broad based philosophical issues explored by the characters’ story.
Theme is complex understanding of an issue or idea as present by the subject of the story
There can be sub themes too.

Question 8

What is mood?

Answer 8

Refers to the atmosphere of a literary work
Feeling Created for the reader
Usually expresses some type of emotion, such as fear or dread.

Question 9

What is tone?

Answer 9

Refers to the Author’s attitude towards his subject
Can include: Sarcastic, Light Hearted, Dramatic, Passionate, or Ironic
Tone can shape reader’s reaction to events in the story, including plot, characters, and setting.

Question 10

Protagonist

Answer 10

The hero or the person the audience is meant to identify with.

Question 11

Antagonist

Answer 11

The primary source of opposition or conflict with the protagonist, who is often but not always a villain

Question 12

Round Characters (Both protagonist and antagonist)

Answer 12

Fully developed and identifiable personalities, attitudes, desire, and motivations, traits, and flaws

Question 13

Flat Characters

Answer 13

Characters in the story whose personalities are probed in considerably less depth

Question 14

Stock Characters

Answer 14

Typically Stereotypical Characters
(Important, as we can relate to them)

Question 15

Dynamic Characters

Answer 15

One who changes drastically in the corse of the story
(Ex: Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol)

Question 16

Static Character

Answer 16

One whose attitudes and behaviors remain fairly consistent throughout the story.