Narrative Terminology Flashcards
Define Allusion
An indirect, passing reference towards something
Define Allegory
a narrative story that conveys a complex, abstract, or difficult message
Define Analepsis
a description of an event or scene from an earlier time that interrupts a chronological narrative
Define Antagonist
Directly opposes the protagonist in a story
Define Circular Narrative
the last section (or even just the last line) of a piece of writing takes you back to the beginning
Define Climax
turning-point of a story, critical moment
Define Denouement
the end of a story, in which everything is explained, or the end result of a situation
Define Direct Speech
Speech tagged with “ “
Define Exposition
the introduction or beginning of a story that reveals important background information
Define Falling Action
Main conflict starts to resolve
Define First Person POV
first person point of view the narrator is a character in the story telling it from their perspective
Define FOIL
a character whose purpose is to accentuate or draw attention to the qualities of another character, most often the protagonist
Define Frame Narrative
A story within a story, within sometimes yet another story
Define Free Indirect Speech
the literary technique of writing a character’s first-person thoughts in the voice of the third-person narrator
Define Inciting Moment
an event that hooks the viewer into the story and sets everything else that happens into motion
Define Indirect Speech
A Sentence where the main points of what someone has said are reported without actually writing the speech out in full
Define In Medias Res
beginning a story by dropping the reader in the midst of the action.
Define Limited Omniscient Point of View
a narrator who knows everything there is to know about one or some of the characters, but not all of them.
Define Linear Structure
where the story is told in the order it happens
Define Motif
Dominant/reoccurring idea in a story
Define Nonlinear Structure
a storytelling technique in which the chronological order of events is disrupted, meaning the story doesn’t progress in a straight line from beginning to end.
Define Objective Point of View
a narrative style that views the characters and events within your story much as you might view them on a movie screen
Define Omniscient Point Of View
point of view where the narrator knows all the thoughts, actions, and feelings of all characters
Define Prolepsis
a future event and as a flash forward
Define Propp’s stock characters
in a product there are usually stereotypical character roles in order to create a narrative. These include: The hero, damsel in distress/princess, villain, the donor, the helper, the dispatcher, the false hero
Define Protagonist
the central character in a story, usually drives all the action
Define Resolution
the action of solving a problem or contentious matter.
Define Speech Tag
-he said, -she said
Define Stream of consciousness narrative
a narrative style that tries to capture a character’s thought process in a realistic way
Define Third person POV
the narrator exists outside the events of the story
Define Todorov’s Equilibrium Structure
They begin with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally reach a resolution, when equilibrium is restored.
