| A | B |
|---|
| Plot | actions presented in a dramatic or narrative work |
| Exposition | background information |
| Rising Action | conflicts that arise |
| Complicating incident | first conflict |
| Climax | high point of the story |
| Turning point | fate of main character is sealed |
| Falling action | after climax; moves toward resolution |
| Denouement | conclusion; working out of final details |
| Internal conflict | character must make a decision |
| External conflict | character battles another human, nature, society, or fate |
| Direct characterization | author tells the reader about the character |
| Indirect characterization | learn about the character through their speech, actions, appearance, and thoughts |
| Protagonist | main character; trying to achieve a goal |
| Antagonist | opponent of main character; hinders achievement of goal |
| Flat character | single quality or detail |
| Round character | complex, fully developed |
| Dynamic | undergoes change for the better |
| Static | stays the same throughout the story |
| Stock/Stereotype | fixed ideas or bias; recurs repeatedly in literature |
| Foil | character whos traits are the oppositie of another character |
| Setting | locale, time, atmosphere, creates suspense |
| Theme | central idea; moral or revelation |
| Style | choices in diction, tone, and syntax that the writer makes |
| Diction | word choice |
| Tone | attitude of the author |
| Syntax | sentence structure |
| Dialect | language particular to a region/area |
| Mood | feeling conveyed to the reader |
| Point of View | perspective from which a story is told |
| First person | character in the story is the narrator |
| Third person objective | reporter's viewpoint; narrator is not in the story |
| Third person omniscient | narrator is not in the story and is ALL KNOWING |
| Third person limited | narrator is outside the story and reveals thoughts and motives of a limited number (usually one) character |
| Foreshadowing | hints of what is to come later |
| Flashback | author interrupts story to present events that happened before |
| Symbol | thing, event, or person that represents or stands for some idea or event. |
| Irony | a contrast; a surprise |
| Situational irony | situation turns out differently than expected |
| Verbal irony | a character says one thing and means another |
| Dramatic irony | audience or reader knows more about situation than a character in the story |
| Inference | when something is implied, not actually stated; a guess based on evidence |
| Connotation | associations suggested by a word; implied meaning |
| Denotation | actual, dictionary definition of the word |
| Simile | comparison of two things using "like" or "as" |
| Metaphor | direct comparison of two things |
| Personification | inanimate objects are given human traits |
| Allusion | indirect reference to something (usually a literary text) with which the reader is supposed to be familiar |
| Alliteration | repetiton of initial consonant sound |
| Hyperbole | conscious exaggeration used to heighten effect |
| Onomatopoeia | use of a word whose pronunciation suggests its meaning |
| Imagery | language that appeals to any of the senses |
| Anachronism | assignment of something to a time when it was not in existence |
| Tragic flaw | tragic error in judgment which changes the fortune of the hero |
| Motif | frequently recurring character, incident, or concept in literature |
| Paradox | seemingly contradictory statement which is actually true |
| Epithet | an adjective used to point out a characteristic of a person or thing |
| Epiphany | moment of realization or awareness; a revelation about life |
