Set 1 Flashcards
Any significant, recurring, or developed idea, concept, or argument in a work of literature. (Often confused with moral or lesson of a story.)
Theme
The time and place in which the action of a narrative occurs.
Setting
A work that seeks to criticize and correct the behavior of human beings and their institutions by means of humor, wit, and ridicule.
Satire
The teller of the story
Narrator
The kind or level of language used in a work. Different types:
- abstract
- concrete
- informal
- formal
Diction
The character around whom the plot is centered; the hero or heroine in the work of literature. The main character with whom the reader is meant to identify. Not necessarily “good” by any conventional moral standard, but this is the person whose plight the reader is most invested.
Protagonist
Reasons for or forces behind the action of a character.
Motivation
The uncertainty or anxiety built in the story line about what is going to happen next in a story.
Suspense
The sequence of events in a story.
Plot
The main adversary of the hero protagonist or a character with whom the protagonist comes in conflict. Not necessarily a villain.
Antagonist
Plot line(s) which are concurrent to the main plot of a story but are not the primary focus of the events in the story. These often involve secondary characters and add depth and intricacy to longer works of literature.
Subplot
Prose literature, especially short stories and novels, about imaginary events and people.
Fiction
A specific category or type of literature.
Genre
A particular value or lesson the author is trying to get across to the reader. (Not the same as the theme of the story, though the two are often confused. This attempts to teach right from wrong in some way.
Moral
The author’s or speaker’s attitude toward the subject or theme of a work. This is interpreted by the feelings the reader associates with the work. Often, the term is used interchangeably with atmosphere.
Mood
A technique by which an author suggests or predicts an outcome of the plot.
Foreshadowing
A literary device in which chronological and sequential narrative is interrupted by the recollection of an image or a scene from either the recent or distant past.
Flashback
A character who changes within the course of a work.
Dynamic
Where the action comes to its moment of greatest tension (see plot)
Climax
A situation in which the result of circumstances is the opposite of that which might be reasonably expected. There are several different types:
- Dramatic
- Situational
- Cosmic
- Verbal
- Tragic
Irony
A story of uncertain origin and authorship that seeks to explain processes of nature, the creation of the world and the human race, the relationships between man and god(s), or traditional customs and values of a society.
Myth
The events that occur with the body of work.
Action
A struggle between opposing forces which is the driving force of a story. The outcome of any story provides a resolution of the conflict(s); this is what keeps the reader reading.
- Man vs. Man
- Man vs. Nature
- Man vs. Self
- Man vs. Society
- Man vs. Abstract Idea (a.k.a Man vs. Supernatural)
Conflict
An author’s account or story of her or his own life.
Autobiography
A detailed account of a person’s life written by someone other than the subject or person who the work is focused on.
Biography
A play on words that sound the same but have different meanings.
Pun
A reference which is chronologically out of place.
Anachronism
A speech or remark made by a character which is heard only by the audience and not other characters. Often, these are devices used in drama to develop the relationship between the audience and the character and are usually either comedic or dramatic in nature.
Aside
A story that contains another story within it.
Framework Story
A simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson.
Parable
A way of speaking that is characteristic of a particular region or group of a people. Often used by writers to provide more information about a character’s background, education, lifestyle, etc.
Dialect
A humorous imitation of ideas, styles, characters or plots in literature.
Parody
A speech intended to be delivered on the stage by a solitary character, in which the character reveals his or her nature, thoughts, and/or motives. This is. Much longer and more revealing than an aside and it involves the inner-workings of the character’s mind.
Soliloquy
An extended speech or one-way dialogue in which the speaker reveals his or her character. It is not directed to the audience but to the other characters. It generally captures a critical moment.
Monologue, Dramatic
