Midterm/Literary Terms Vocab Flashcards
annotation
a notation made by the reader in the margin of the page
allusion
an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference
antagonist
the person/thing that keeps the protagonist from succeeding
archetype
the typical representation of a type of person or character or thing
atmosohere
surroundings and attitude in the setting
characterization
the portrayal of a character or of a trait in said character
chronological
in the order of or in relation to time
climax
the major turning point for the protagonist in the story
complication
something that gets in the way of the protagonist’s success
conflict
the main hinderance to the success of the protagonist; there can be internal and external conflict
juxtaposition
a literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts
dialogue
words spoken between two characters
dynamic character
a character who changes attitudes and ideas often in a story
static character
a character who stays in the same realm of personality and ideas during a story, who is consistent
external conflict
conflict which is outside of the protagonist’s self; can include Man V Society, Man V Man, Man V Nature, and Man V Supernatural
falling action
after the climax, is meant to bring the story to an end
foil
a character used to show the better sides of the protagonist
foreshadowing
predicting what is to come based on an event prior to the climax
heros journey archetypes
hero, herald, mentor, trickster, threshold guardians, shape-shifter, shadow
internal conflict
conflict within the protagonist, whether it be a fear, a psychological issue, a fault, etc
plot
the story line
protagonist
main character of the story, has a story worthy goal that he must reach
resolution/denouement
the solution to the goal, usually the end of the story
unreliable narrator
a narrator who is opinionated, and therefore unreliable to tell the story from a biased perspective
