| A | B |
|---|
| Cliffhanger | intentionally ending a story without resolution |
| Climax | the turning point in the storyline |
| Dénouement | the resolution of the conflict |
| Deus Ex Machina | divine intervention is used to assist the protagonist |
| Exposition | the beginning of a story when background information, characters, and/or setting is revealed |
| Falling Action | an event that ties up loose ends or leads to the resolution |
| Flashback | a break in the chronological sequence in order reveal an earlier event |
| Foreshadowing | hints of what is to come |
| Frame Story | a story within a story |
| Inciting Moment | the point in the story when the conflict is first revealed |
| O’Henry Ending | a surprise ending |
| Plot | a series of events that move a storyline |
| Rising Action | an event that builds suspense or further complicates the storyline |
| Antagonist | the person, place, or thing that frustrates or works against the main character |
| Caricature | a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others; often relies on stereotypes to create character |
| Catalyst | a character whose actions serve to complicate the story, change the course of a character’s actions, or make possible tragic or happy endings |
| Dynamic Character | a character who changes throughout the story |
| Flat Character | a character that lacks development and is one-dimensional |
| Foil | a character that contrasts with another character in order to highlight specific traits |
| Protagonist | the main character; often times considered to be the “hero” of a work |
| Round Character | a character that is well developed and multi-dimensional |
| Static Character | a character who stays the same |
| Allegory | when a story represents events outside the story |
| Allusion | a reference to an outside source |
| Cosmic Irony | fate is manipulating events to inspire false hope, which is eventually destroyed; usually for the amusement of the divine |
| Dramatic Irony | when the audience is privy to something that a character does not know |
| Mood | the atmosphere of a literary work |
| Motif | a recurring thematic element |
| Setting | when and where a story or event takes place |
| Situational Irony | when events occur that are the opposite of what is expected |
| Symbolism | when a person, place, or thing has a meaning outside the literal |
| Theme | the central idea in a literary work (stated as a sentence) |
| Tone | the attitude of the author, speaker, or a character |
| Verbal Irony | when a character says one thing but means another; similar to sarcasm |
| Alliteration | the repetition of the initial sound in a group of words in close proximity |
| Anaphora | the repetition of a word at the beginning of a series of lines or sentences |
| Assonance | the repetition of the vowel sound |
| Consonance | the repetition of consonant sounds |
| End rhyme | the last word in a series of lines that rhyme |
| Hyperbole | the use of exaggeration |
| Idiom | a phrase that is particular to a specific group of people |
| Internal rhyme | when words within a line of poetry rhyme |
| Metaphor | a comparison between unlike objects |
| Personification | giving human traits to non-humans |
| Pun | a word is used in a manner that suggests multiple meanings |
| Simile | a comparison between unlike objects using like, as, or than |
| Understatement | downplaying a situation |
