| A | B |
|---|
| setting | where the story takes place |
| exposition | the part of the story, usually in the beginning, in which the characters are introduced, the background is explained, and the setting is described |
| rising action | the central part of the story during which various problems arise after a conflict is introduced |
| conflict | a problem |
| internal conflict | conflict with inner-self |
| external conflict | conflict with another character |
| climax | the high point in the action of a story |
| falling action | the action and dialogue following the climax that lead the reader into the story's end |
| resolution/denouement | the part of the story in which the problems are solved and the action comes to a satisfying end |
| mood | how the reader feels |
| tone | the author's feelings |
| motif | something that occurs over and over again |
| theme | the message about "life" or "human nature" that is the focus in the story |
| didactic | intended to teach a moral lessen |
| protagonist | the main character |
| antagonist | character who is against the main character |
| characterization | how the characters are described |
| round character | characters that have a lot of emotional and physical qualities |
| flat character | characters who don't have emotional or physical qualities |
| static character | characters who stay the same |
| dynamic character | characters who change frequently |
| foil (dramatic foil) | 2 characters that are direct opposites |
| juxtaposition | the act of putting 2 characters side by side for comparison |
| tragic flaw | a quality that makes a character fail |
| narrator v. speaker | narrator is point of view which the story is told; speaker is from a poem |
| unreliable narrator | narrator who is crazy; cannot trust |
| point of view (POV) | angle which the story is told |
| 1st person POV | a story told by a character in the story |
| 3rd person POV | a story told by someone not in the story |
| omniscient | Godlike characters that know everything |
| limited omniscient | third person who sees into the heart of some characters |
| allusion | when a reference is made to music, art, or history in another work |
| irony | unexpected twise |
| flashback | looking back in the past |
| hyperbole | extreme exaggeration for effect |
| oxymoron | two words or phrases that are put together that should not be together |
| denotation | dictionary definition of a word; exact meaning |
| connotation | definition not in dictionary; word association |
| figurative language | language that has meaning beyond the literal meaning |
| simile | a comparison using "like" or "as" |
| metaphor | a comparison that does not use "like" or "as" |
| personification | give an animal or object human qualities |
| symbolism | when one thing stands for something else |
| imagery | create a picture with words |
| rhyme | when words sound alike at the end of a line |
| slant rhyme | words don't actually rhyme |
| alliteration | the repetition of initial consonant sounds |
| onomatopoeia | the use of words that imitate sounds |
