Major Terms Flashcards
Setting
The time, place, and atmosphere of the novel, short story or drama
Atmosphere
Overall feeling of a work, which encompasses tone and mood
Tone
Author’s attitude toward his/her subject (optimistic, pessimistic, angry etc.)
Mood
General feeling of a given piece of writing as felt by the reader
Plot
The action of the story: the series of events that tell the story
Climax
The point at which the story or play reaches its emotional peak: the turning point
Conflict
A struggle between two opposing forces or characters in the plot. (person vs person) (person vs self) (person vs nature or circumstance) (sometimes vs supernatural)
Suspense
A feeling of anxious uncertainty set up in the reader about the character/situation - element of atmosphere.
Theme
The central idea of a work… what the author wishes to convey to his/her reader. (shouldn’t be just one word).
Characters
The entities or individuals that enact the plot.
Protagonist
Character of the work (not always hero) (can be more than one)
Antagonist
A major character who opposes the protagonist in a story or play.
Dynamic (round) character
A character that is fully fleshed-out as human in the story having multiple traits and who undergoes a significant change during the course of the story.
Stock Character
Normally a minor character that is rather two-dimensional (defined by only a trait or two or by a role in the story) who does not change over the course of the plot
Foil
A character used by the author to compare and contrast to the protagonist in order to highlight characteristics of that protagonist
Point of View
The Narrative perspective from which a story is conveyed to its readers
1st person
Narrator refers to himself or herself as “I”. (reliable-true, unreliable-lying or mentally unstable)
3rd person omniscient
All seeing, all knowing (God-like) perspective for the story
3rd person limited
The story is told from the perspective of a character but that character does not directly tell the story. It is as if the reader is a shadow following the character’s story
3rd person objective
The camera view point. The reader is given nothing but what is observed, nothing but straight facts. How the news should be told.
Verbal Irony
Saying something but meaning the opposite, thus there is an inconsistency between what is said and what is meant
Sarcasm
Verbal irony that is bitter, meant to insult
Dramatic Irony
Occurs when a character demonstrates less knowledge than the audience and says or does something ridiculous or foolish as a result
Situational Irony
In a literary work, the reader expects a certain outcome, but is surprised by a twist in the plot where something like the opposite occurs. Expectations are inconsistent with reality
