| A | B |
|---|
| Protagonist | The main character or hero of the story |
| Antagonist | The person or thing working against the protagonist, or hero, of the work. |
| Narrator | The person telling the story |
| Speaker | In poetry, the person or thing telling the story |
| Flat Character | a two dimensional character that is not thoroughly developed, usually stereotypical. |
| Round Character | Type of character that - possesses many traits, mirrors the psychological complexity of a real person. Fully developed, not stereotypical |
| Static Character | Type of character that does not change as the plot unfolds; stays the same. |
| Dynamic Character | Type of character that changes as the plot unfolds |
| Exposition | lays the groundwork for the plot and provides the reader with essential background information: who, where, and what. |
| Inciting Incident | the action that starts or brings about the main conflict of a story |
| Rising Action | as the story progresses, complications usually arise, causing difficulties for the main characters and making the conflict more difficult to resolve |
| Climax | The moment when interest and intensity reach their peak. The climax usually involves an important event, decision, or discovery that affects the final outcome |
| Falling Action | - the action of a story that works out the decision arrived at during the climax |
| Resolution | the problem/conflict is resolved and brought to a satisfactory end |
| Conflict | the main problem the protagonist is a working to resolve |
| Denotation | : the explicit or direct meaning or set of meanings of a word or expression |
| Connotation | the associated or secondary meaning of a word or expression in addition to its explicit or primary meaning |
| Figurative Language | language expanded beyond its usual literal meanings |
| Simile | a comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as(He is as hungry as a cow.) |
| Metaphor | : a comparison of two unlike things, stating that one is the other (He is a pig.) |
| Hyperbole | a gross or absurd exaggeration |
| Alliteration | is the repetition of sounds at the beginning of words--Larry likes lollipops and lemonade |
| Imagery | language that appeals to the senses, especially sight |
| Symbolism | images that represent something more than themselves, like an idea or feeling |
| Motif | repeated structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes |
| Tone | refers to the author’s attitude toward the subject, characters, and reader |
| Mood | refers to the atmosphere of the work: mysterious, depressing, joyful, hopeful, scary, etc |
| Dramatic Irony | the situation in which the audience or reader of a play knows more about a character’s situation than the character does. |
| Paradox | a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth |
| Diction | : the author’s choice of words |
| Allusion | a reference to something with which the reader is likely to be familiar, such as a person, place, or event from history or literature or some aspect of culture. |
| Point of View | the perspective from which the story is told |
| Theme | the statement about life a particular work is trying to get across to the reader2 |
| Personification | attributing human characteristics to non-human things |
| Point of View | the perspective from which the story is told. |
| First person point of view | Is told from the narrator's perspective and he or she is included in the action. Uses pronouns I, we, us. |
| Second person point of view | Is told as though talking to another person and uses the pronouns you, your, yours. |
| Third person | Is told as though the narrator is talking about a person or group. Uses the 3rd person pronouns such as he, she, they, them, etc. |
| Repetition | literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer |
