Character

a person or an animal that takes part in the action of a literary work.

Anatogist

a character or force in conflict with a main character, or protagonist.

Protagonist

the main character in a literary work

Diction

manner in which we express words; the wording used

denotation

dictionary meaning, independent of other associations that the word may have.

connotation

set of ideas associated with it in addition to its explicit meaning; can be personal, based on individual experiences.

Imagery

words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses.

MOOD

feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage.

Plot

the sequence of events

Exposition

introduction; introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation.

Rising Action

part of plot that begins as the conflict is introduced; adds complications

Climax

point of greatest emotional intensity; the turning point

Falling Action

follows the climax and reveals its results.

Resolution

concludes the falling action; reveals the outcome of the conflict.

Conflict

struggle between opposing forces; two types

External conflict

outside force, such as another character, nature, society, or fate. Man vs. Man Man vs. Nature

Internal conflict

a character who is torn between different courses of action; Man vs. Himself

flashback

literary device which earlier episode, conversation, or event is inserted.

Foreshadowing

author’s use of clues to hint at what might happen later

Suspense

growing interest and excitement readers experience while reading.

Point of View

perspective from which a story is told

First-person

told by a character who uses the first-person pronoun “I”.

Third-person limited

the narrator uses third-person pronouns such as “he” and “she” to refer to the characters

setting

the time and place of the action.

Style

distinctive way an author uses language.

theme

central message, concern, or purpose

Tone

reflection of a writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a subject of a poem, story, or other literary work

figure of speech

specific device or kind of figurative language.

Metaphor

type of speech that compares or equates two or more things that have something in common.

Simile

figure of speech that compares seemingly unlike things. Uses like or as.

Oxymoron

combination of seemingly contradictory words.

Personification

an animal, object, force of nature, or idea is given human qualities or characteristics.

Alliteration

repetition of sounds, most often consonant sounds, at the beginning of words.