Term
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Definition
| A narrative or description that has a second meaning beneath the surface, often relating each literal term to a fixed, corresponding abstract idea or moral principle; usually, he ulterior meanings belong to a pre-existing system of ideas or principles. (pg. 291-292) |
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Term
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Definition
| Any force in a story or play that in is in conflict with the protagonist. An antagonist may be another person, an aspect of the physical or social environment, or a destructive element in the protagonist's own nature. (pg. 104) |
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Term
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Definition
| That condition of a successful literary work whereby all its elements work together for the achievement of its central purpose. In an artistically unified work nothing is included that is irrelevant to the central purpose, nothing is omitted that is essential to it, and the parts are arranged in the most effective order for the achievement of that purpose. (pg. 109) |
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Term
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Definition
| The occurrence of an event that has no apparent cause in antecedent events or in predisposition of character. (pg. 109-110) |
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Term
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Definition
| A narrative or description that has a second meaning beneath the surface, often relating each literal term to a fixed, corresponding abstract idea or moral principle; usually, he ulterior meanings belong to a pre-existing system of ideas or principles. (pg. 291-292) |
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Term
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Definition
| Any force in a story or play that in is in conflict with the protagonist. An antagonist may be another person, an aspect of the physical or social environment, or a destructive element in the protagonist's own nature. (pg. 104) |
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Term
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Definition
| That condition of a successful literary work whereby all its elements work together for the achievement of its central purpose. In an artistically unified work nothing is included that is irrelevant to the central purpose, nothing is omitted that is essential to it, and the parts are arranged in the most effective order for the achievement of that purpose. (pg. 109) |
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Term
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Definition
| The occurrence of an event that has no apparent cause in antecedent events or in predisposition of character. (pg. 109-110) |
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Term
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Definition
| The various literary means by which characters are presented. (pg. 161-165) |
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Term
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Definition
| The turning point or high point in a plot. (pg. 110) |
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Term
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Definition
| The chance occurrence of two events having a peculiar correspondence between them. (pg. 109-110) |
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Term
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Definition
A clash of actions, desires, ideas, or goals in the plot of a story or drama. Conflict may exist between the
main character and some other person or persons; between the main character and some external force
physical nature, society, or "fate"; or between the main character and some destructive element in his or
her own nature. (pg. 104-105) |
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Term
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Definition
The resolution of a plot by use of a highly improbable chance or coincidence (so named from the practice
of some Greek dramatists of having a god descend from heaven at the last possible minute-in the theater
by means of a stage machine-to rescue the protagonist from an impossible situation). (pg. 109) |
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Term
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Definition
A character who during the course of a work undergoes a permanent change in some distinguishing
moral qualities or personal traits or outlook. (pg. 164-165) |
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Term
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Definition
| A situation in which a character must choose between two courses of action, both undesirable. (pg. 106) |
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Term
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Definition
The method of characterization in which the author, by exposition or analysis, tells us directly what a
character is like, or has someone else in the story do so. (pg. 162-163) |
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Term
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Definition
An incongruity or discrepancy between what a character says or thinks and what the read knows to be
true (or between what a character perceives and what the author intends the reader to perceive).
(pg. 335) |
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Term
| dramatic (or objective) point of view |
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Definition
The author tells the story using the third person, but is limited to reporting what the characters say or do;
the author does not interpret the characters' behavior or tell us their private thoughts or feelings.
(pg. 241-242) |
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Term
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Definition
The presentation of character or of emotion through the speech or action of characters rather than
through exposition, analyses, or description by the author. (pg. 163-164) |
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Term
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Definition
Writing that departs from the narrative or dramatic mode and instructs the reader how to think or feel
about the events of a story or the behavior of a character. (pg. 337) |
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Term
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Definition
A moment or event in which a character achieves a spiritual insight into life or into her or his own
circumstances (pg. 165) |
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Term
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Definition
| That segment of the plot that comes between the climax and the conclusion. (pg. 110) |
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Term
| first-person point of view |
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Definition
| The story is told by one of its characters, using the first person. (pg. 240-241) |
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Term
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Definition
A character whose distinguishing moral qualities or personal traits are summed up in one or two traits.
(pg. 163-164) |
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Term
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Definition
| An ending in which events turn out well for a sympathetic protagonist. (pg. 107-108) |
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Term
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Definition
| An ending in which the central problem or conflict is left unresolved. (pg. 108-109) |
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Term
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Definition
That method of characterization in which the author shows us a character in action, compelling us to
infer what the character is like from what is said or done by the character. (pg. 162-163) |
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Term
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Definition
| A situation or a use of language involving some kind of incongruity or discrepancy. (pg. 334-337) |
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Term
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Definition
A situation in which there is an incongruity between appearance and reality, or between expectation and
fulfillment, or between the actual situation and what would seem appropriate. (pg. 336-337) |
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Term
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Definition
The incentives or goals that, in combination with the inherent natures of characters, cause them to
behave as they do. In commercial fiction actions may be unmotivated, insufficiently motivated, or
implausibly motivated. (pg. 163) |
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Term
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Definition
An unusual set of circumstances for which the reader craves an explanation; used to create suspense.
(pg. 105-106) |
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Term
| objective (or dramatic) point of view |
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Definition
The author tells the story using the third person, but is limited to reporting what the characters say or do;
the author does not interpret the characters' behavior or tell us their private thoughts or feelings.
(pg. 241-242) |
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Term
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Definition
The author tells the story using the third person, knowing all and free to tell us anything; including what
the characters are thinking or feeling and why they act as they do. (pg. 238-239) |
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Term
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Definition
| The sequence of incidents or events of which a story or play is composed. (pg. 103) |
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Term
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Definition
A situation in which an author gives the plot a twist or turn unjustified by preceding action or by the
characters involved. (pg. 109) |
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Term
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Definition
| Writing that uses immoderately heightened or distended language to sway the reader's feelings. (pg. 337 |
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Term
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Definition
| The angle of vision from which a story is told. (pg. 237) |
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Term
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Definition
| The central character in a story or play. (pg. 104) |
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Term
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Definition
| That development of plot in a story or play that precedes and leads up to the climax. (pg. 110) |
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Term
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Definition
| A character whose distinguishing moral qualities or personal traits are complex and many-sided. (pg. 163- |
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Term
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Definition
Unmerited or contrived tender feeling; that quality in a work that elicits or seeks to elicit tears through
an oversimplification or falsification of reality. (pg. 337-338) |
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Term
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Definition
| A character who is the same sort of person at the end of a work as at the beginning. (pg. 164) |
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Term
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Definition
A stereotyped character: one whose nature is familiar to us from prototypes in previous literature.
(pg. 164) |
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Term
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Definition
| The sequential arrangement of plot elements in fiction or drama. (pg. 103) |
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Term
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Definition
| An unexpected turn in the development of a plot. (pg. 107) |
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Term
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Definition
| A completely unexpected revelation or turn of plot at the conclusion of a story or play. (pg. 107) |
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Term
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Definition
That quality in a story or play that makes the reader eager to discover what happens next and how it will
end. (pg. 105-107) |
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Term
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Definition
Something that means more than what it is; an object, person, situation, or action that in addition to its
literal meaning suggests other meanings as well. (pg. 284-285) |
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Term
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Definition
| The central idea or unifying generalization implied or stated by a literary work. (pg. 191-197) |
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Term
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Definition
| An ending that turns out unhappily for a sympathetic protagonist. (pg. 108) |
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Term
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Definition
| A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant. (pg. 334) |
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Term
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Definition
| A kind of fiction that pictures creatures or events beyond the boundaries of known reality. |
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Term
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Definition
| That portion of a plot that reveals the final outcome of its conflicts or the solution of its mysteries. |
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