Unit 5 Flashcards
recurring types or categories of literature
Genre
A force or character who struggles against the protagonist
Antagonist
The main character of a story
Protagonist
Character types, plot patterns, or mages that recur throughout world literature
Archetype
A changing or developing character
Dynamic Character
A character with little individuality or whose mindsets the reader knows little about
Flat Character
A character used to emphasize another character’s opposing traits within a work
Foil
A character who is complex and often undergoes changes in his actions and thoughts
Round Character
A character who remains essentially the same throughout a story
Static Character
Short tale, usually anonymous, passed along by word-of-mouth.
Folktale
Brief, focused, fanciful stories that present a moral of practical wisdom to teach character and life wisdom through practical examples. ( embodies a common problem in action)
Fable
An element of the fantastical or magical, an indefinite setting (time and place), and a broad picture of good and evil.
Fairy tale
A myth is a story that explains a specific aspect of life or the natural world, usually in terms of supernatural forces or beings
Myth
Explanation of how the world came to be as it is.
Mythology
Long, stylized narrative poems celebrating the deeds of a national or ethnic hero of legend. There are two main categories of epics: traditional and literary
Epic
A type of simile common in traditional epics in which the vehicle of the caparison is described at considerable length
Epic Simile
Four major convention of content:
The setting is large — everything is larger than life and full of significance
The hero is unusual both in his gifts and his national or historical importance
The supernatural is actively involved.
The story concerns supernatural actions, usually in battle or on a difficult journey that must be made.
Four major conventions of form:
The poet states the main topic and invokes the help of guiding spirit to address his subject.
The poem begins in media res (in the middle) at some important point in the action
It includes descriptive catalogues (lists) often of characters the audience recognizes
It employs some of the verbal formula of oral poetry, including epic similes and Homeric epithets
The ant and the grasshopper moral:
The moral is that you should prepare for future events.
Beast fable:
A fable whose main characters are animals.
