Short Story and Literary Terms

Question 1

define setting

Answer 1

time, place, location, atmosphere, and situation of a story

Question 2

define character

Answer 2

a person in a novel, play, or movie

Question 3

define plot

Answer 3

the fuel or main events of a story

Question 4

define style

Answer 4

the way in which a writer writes

Question 5

define theme

Answer 5

the message of a story, what the author is saying, rarely stated by author

Question 6

what is the exposition of a plot

Answer 6

gets the action rolling

Question 7

what happens in the inciting incident

Answer 7

balance is upset

Question 8

what happens in the rising action

Answer 8

conflicts and obstacles

Question 9

what happens in the climax

Answer 9

heightened action, suspense, most interesting part

Question 10

what happens in the falling action

Answer 10

things return to normal

Question 11

what happens in the denouement/resolution

Answer 11

loose ends tied up

Question 12

define mood

Answer 12

general feeling or atmosphere that a piece of writing creates within the reader

Question 13

define conflict

Answer 13

force that moves the plot along, struggles involving the characters, creates tension and suspense

Question 14

what is character vs society

Answer 14

a conflict when the protagonist in placed in opposition with society, the government, or a societal norm

Question 15

what is character vs nature

Answer 15

when a character faces resistance from a natural force (weather, wilderness)

Question 16

what is character vs self

Answer 16

conflict that takes place within a characters mind

Question 17

what is character vs machine

Answer 17

conflict that includes a character vs a machine, robot, or piece of technology

Question 18

define point of view

Answer 18

the position from which something or someone is observed

Question 19

what is 3rd person limited

Answer 19

a narrator who only had access to one character’s perspective/feelings

Question 20

what is 3rd person omniscient

Answer 20

narrator is outside of the story but know the thoughts of many characters

Question 21

define allusion

Answer 21

an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly

Question 22

define foreshadowing

Answer 22

the author giving hints/clues about what will later in the story to create suspense

Question 23

define imagery

Answer 23

use of language appealing to the 5 senses specifically sight

Question 24

define oxymoron

Answer 24

when two opposite or contradictory elements are placed side each other for effect

Question 25

define irony

Answer 25

an event that seems deliberately contrary (opposite) to what the reader expects

Question 26

define dramatic irony

Answer 26

when the reader knows something the character does not

Question 27

define pun

Answer 27

a joke that’s made when one word is given 2 different meanings in the same sentence

Question 28

define antagonist

Answer 28

actively opposes or is hostile to others in the story, works against main character

Question 29

define pathetic fallacy

Answer 29

-nature mimics emotions of characters
-usually referencing the weather and someone’s mood

Question 30

define personification

Answer 30

the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non human

Question 31

define character foil

Answer 31

a character who compares and contrasts with another character to highlight important aspects of that character’s personality

Question 32

define suspense

Answer 32

the excitement/ curiosity that makes the reader keep reading

Question 33

define protagonist

Answer 33

leading character, drives the action, focus of the story

Question 34

what is a sonnet

Answer 34

a 14 line poem that follows a specific metre or rhyme

Question 35

what is a soliloquy

Answer 35

a long speech delivered by a main character talking to themself or the audience, reveals their innermost thoughts

Question 36

what is an aside

Answer 36

a short passage delivered in an undertone (under their breath) to themself or another character

Question 37

what is a monologue

Answer 37

a long speech delivered by an important character to other characters
expresses feelings the speaker wants other people to know

Question 38

what is a dialogue

Answer 38

when two or more characters speak to each other (conversation)

Question 39

iambic pentameter

Answer 39

a poem that uses 10 syllables in every line