Structural Devices Flashcards
Setting
The time and place in which events occur.
Narrator
The person telling a story.
First person
Narrator uses ‘I’ or ‘me’, so they are a character in their story.
Third person
Narrator uses ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘they’, as if they were an observer of events.
Omniscient narrator
Is all-seeing and all-knowing, able to get into the minds of characters.
Point of view
The perspective taken on events.
Plot
The sequence of events.
Sub-plot
A strand of events that is of less significance to a text’s main themes, or characters but still of interest to readers.
Genre
The style of category of literary text according to recognised codes and conventions.
Foreshadowing
Hints of what’s to come.
Repetition
Recurring sounds, words or ideas, used to emphasise or draw focus.
Exposition
Detailed description or explanation, usually used to introduce a character or idea.
Climax
When events reach a pinnacle, often making a turning point.
Denouement
A conclusion in which issues are resolved.
Flashback
A temporary interruption of the chronological sequence of events to reveal something that happened earlier.
Flashforward
A temporary interruption of the chronological sequence of events to reveal something that will happen later.
Conflict
Forces at odds with one another.
Protagonist
The main character, often the ‘hero’, whom readers are made to root for or empathise with.
Antagonist
Who the protagonist battles against.
Foil
A character who contrasts with another (usually the protagonist) in order to draw attention to particular qualities or characteristics.
Dialogue
Conversation between characters.
Steam of consciousness
A person’s thoughts and feelings delivered as if they are pouring out of their head, unhindered by any other character or event.
Themes
The morals, ideas and deeper meanings contained in a literary text.
Mood
The disposition a literary text evokes in its readers.
Tone
The attitude that a writer conveys through their language and stylistic choices
Imagery
The use of figurative language to create pictures in the reader’s mind and appeal to their physical sense.
Irony
A discrepancy between the expected state and how things really are.
Verbal Irony
A person says or writes one thing but means another.
Situational Irony
The outcome of a situation is different to what was expected.
Dramatic Irony
The audience is given information or knowledge that is denied to a character.
Wordplay
Words are deliberately used for an ambiguity in sound or meaning.
Paragraphs
The chunking of text according to time, topic, person or place.
Punctuation
Structures text at sentence level but can also contribute to meaning and whole text cohesion.
