Short Story Literary Terms Flashcards
protagonist
important person in a story; main character
antagonist
person who opposes the protagonist; villain
setting
the place in which the story takes place
plot
series of events in a story; what happens
dynamic character
person who undergoes changes throughout the story
static character
person who does not undergo changes throughout the story
external conflict
struggle or outside force against a character
internal conflict
emotional or mental struggle of a character
flashback
a scene that takes place earlier than the setting of the story
foreshadowing
prediction of future events
irony
the opposite of what one expects to happen is what happens
tone
the overall attitude in a story
mood
the feelings of the story
point of view
who is doing the talking
first person
the character is narrating the story, speaking directly about him/herself
third person limited
the narrator know the thoughts and feelings of only ONE character
third person omniscient
the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of ALL characters
suspense
feeling excited about what is going to happen next
symbolism
using objects to represent ideas and feelings
theme
the underlying main idea in a story
moral
a life lesson that can be learned from the story
