| A | B |
|---|
| person or animal involved in the action of a literary work | character |
| character that is fully developed and shows many character traits so that the reader feels he/she knows the character | round character |
| character that is one-sided and appears only briefly in a story, usually to serve a single purpose | flat character |
| any character who takes part in the action but is not the focus of attention | minor character |
| the most important character(s) in a story, poem, or play | main character |
| character who changes or grows during the course of a literary work | dynamic character |
| character who does not change or grow during the course of a story | static character |
| the single, most important main character in a literary work | protagonist |
| the character or force in conflict with the single, most important main character in a literary work | antagonist |
| process by which writers create and develop characters | characterization |
| the writer directly states, or tells, the reader what character, or personality, traits a character has | direct characterization |
| the author allows the reader to draw conclusions about a character's personality through what a character says or does, what others say to or about him/her, and how he/she looks | indirect characterization |
| a word picture, or portrait, of a person, place, or object | description |
| a conversation between characters in a literary work | dialogue |
| reason that explains or partially explains why a character thinks, feels, acts, or speaks as he/she does | motivation |
| sequence of important events in a literary work | plot |
| beginning section of a story or drama which introduces the setting, characters, and basic situation | exposition of plot |
| a story's main struggle between a character and an opposing force which must be resolved | conflict (problem) |
| a character's struggle in his/her own mind about his/her decisions, actions, or feelings | internal conflict |
| a character's struggle against an outside force such as another character, nature, society (group), or fate | external conflict |
| a section of the plot that begins after the main conflict is presented, continues until the climax, and focuses on the increasing conflict | rising action |
| point in the plot of the reader's greatest interest and emotional involvement with the story as well as the point after which no new information is presented and the reader is fairly aware of how the conflict will be resolved | climax |
| last part of the plot where the central conflict ends and the problem is solved | resolution (denouement) |
| a section of a literary work that interrupts the sequence of events to relate an event from an earlier time | flashback |
| the use of clues by the writer of a story that hint at events yet to happen | foreshadowing |
