| A | B |
|---|
| plot | the order or sequence of events in a story |
| characters | people, animals, or things that act in a story |
| flat character | predictable and one sided |
| round character | many sided and unpredictable |
| dynamic character | shows a change by the end of the story |
| static character | stays the same from beginning to end |
| setting | the time and place in which the events occur |
| point of view | the vantage point from which a story is told |
| first-person point of view | told by a character in his or her own words |
| limited or "I" point of view | other names for first-person point of view |
| third-person point of view | told by a narrator, not a character |
| omniscient narrator | all-knowing narrator |
| theme | the general idea that a writer wishes to express |
| explicit theme | stated directly |
| implicit theme | must be dug out of the story |
| exposition | background information that is necessary for the reader to know so the story makes sense |
| conflict | a struggle of some kind; the most important element of plot |
| external conflict | one the reader can actually see |
| internal conflict | occurs in the mind of a character |
| man vs. man conflict | two humans struggle |
| man vs. society conflict | a person's beliefs conflict with those of society |
| man vs. nature conflict | a struggle against the forces of nature |
| man vs. himself conflict | an internal conflict |
| complication | a problem that occurs when a character least expects it |
| climax | the highest point of interest in a story |
| rising action | events preceding the climax which intensify the conflict |
| falling action | leads to the resolution |
| resolution | the conflict ends |
| plot, characters, setting, point of view, theme | elements of a short story, play, novel, movie, TV show |
| exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution | elements of plot |
| irony | a contrast between what is stated and what is actually meant |
| verbal irony | a writer or speaker says one thing and means something different |
| dramatic irony | a reader or an audience perceives something in a story that a character does not know |
| suspense | the quality of a story that makes the reader or audience uncertain or tense about the outcome |
| subject | a description in one or a few words of what the story is about |
| foreshadowing | the use of hints to suggest what is to come |
| protagonist | the central character of a story and the character with whom the reader sympathizes most |
| flashback | a scene that interrupts the action to show a prior event |
| antagonist | the person or force opposing the protagonist |
| imaginative language | words used to arouse specific emotions in a reader |
| denouement | a synonym for resolution |
