| A | B |
|---|
| alliteration | The use of a repeated consonant sound, usually at the beginning of a series of words |
| allusion | A reference to something or someone, usually literary |
| analogy | A comparison of two like things, usually used to introduce or explain something unfamiliar. |
| antagonist | The major character opposing the main character and is usually the villain |
| assonance | Repetition of vowel sounds |
| characterization | The method used by a writer to reveal the personality of a character |
| climax | The decisive turning point of the story and in the protagonist’s (main character) fortunes |
| conflict | The person or force that opposes the protagonist in a short story and many works of fiction; may be internal or external |
| denouement | The moment in which the conflict ends and the outcome of the action is clear; resolution |
| diction | Choice of words |
| exposition | The beginning of the story that sets the tone, establishes setting, introduces the characters, and gives important background information |
| falling action | In a plot structure, this usually shows the reversal of fortune for the protagonist following the climax |
| figurative language | Devices such as metaphor, simile, repetition, personification, etc., used by authors to convey emotion, mood, theme and more |
| flashback | A scene in a work that interrupts the action to show an event that happened earlier (out of chronological order) |
| foreshadowing | The use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest what action is to come |
| genre | A literary type or form |
| hyperbole | An exageration |
| imagery | A word or group of words in a literary work that appeal to one or more of the senses |
| inciting incident | The first action in a story |
| irony | An expression of meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning |
| metaphor | A comparison made by calling one item another item (e.g. the aristocrat of Black Stamps) |
| onomatopoeia | A word intended to simulate the actual sound of the thing or action it describes |
| oxymoron | A phrase in which the words are contradictory |
| mood | The atmosphere or feeling created by a literary work |
| narrative | A literary representation of an event of a story-the text itself |
| pathos | Something that evokes a feeling of pity or sympathy |
| personification | Assigning human attributes to something nonhuman |
| plot | The main events that structure the story |
| point of view | The perspective from which a story is presented to a reader |
| protagonist | The main character, usually the hero |
| rising action | Begins after the inciting incident and is developed through any form of conflict that faces the main character |
| satire | Ridicule of a subject |
| setting | The time and place in which the events in a story occur. |
| simile | A comparison using “like” or “as” in which two unlike things are compared |
| style | The author’s unique manner of expression, the author’s voice |
| symbol | A character, action, setting, or object representing something else in a story |
| theme | The overarching belief in a short story based on a topic or view of human nature. It is not the action of the story. |
| tone | Style or manner of expression |
