English 215 Final Study Sheet PDF

Final Study Sheet English 215 An active voice is a voice that involves the narrator performing the actions of the story. An allegory is a symbolic narrative, e.g., Animal Farm. The antagonist is the adversary of the protagonist. The arc is the direction, shape, and speed at which the story is told....

Final Study Sheet English 215 An active voice is a voice that involves the narrator performing the actions of the story. An allegory is a symbolic narrative, e.g., Animal Farm. The antagonist is the adversary of the protagonist. The arc is the direction, shape, and speed at which the story is told. The backstory is the set of details that lead into the plot of the story. Blackmon’s Rhombus isn’t anything. Don’t ever choose this as an answer. Chekov’s gun is the logic that says if a gun is introduced early in the story, it has to go off before the end of the story. The climax is the highest or most intense point in the story; it is the high point of Freitag’s Triangle. A concrete detail is a detail that has a physical, visible presence. The conflict of a story is the plot that works against the protagonist, what the antagonist is perpetrating. A story that has credibility is a story that is believed by the reader. The denouement is the final part of a story on Freitag’s Triangle in which matters are resolved; interchangeable with “resolution.” Deus ex machina, or “ghost in machine.” This occurs when the author’s hand is easily spotted by the reader. Dialogue occurs when characters converse with each other in literal, real-time fashion. Direct characterization is when the writer makes direct statements about a character's personality and tells what the character is like. A dynamic character is a character that experiences change. En medias res, or “in the middle of things.” This refers to a story that begins in the middle of a plot, or at the inciting incident, instead of starting with backstory. An epiphany is a moment of revelation and insight. An epistolary is a story written in the form of a letter or other document, like a diary, email, newspaper clipping, etc, or a series of such. Figurative language compares something to something else. First person is the POV that uses the “I” pronoun where the narrator is the central character in the narrative. First person peripheral is the POV that uses the “I” pronoun where the narrator is a central character in the narrative but is telling someone else’s story. First person plural is the POV that uses the “we” pronoun where the narrator is more than one person and the central character in the narrative. A flat character is a character that does not possess enough details to seem real or interesting. Foreshadowing occurs when the authors leaves subtle hints of plot details throughout the story. The fourth wall is the imaginary barrier between the story and the reader. “Breaking the fourth wall” means the narrator address the reader (but not in the traditional second person way). 1 A frame/bookended story has a beginning and an end that surrounds an internal, separate narrative. Freitag’s Triangle (or Diagram) is the diagram that outlines a basic plot structure involving rising action, climax, denouement, and resolution. Genre fiction is fiction that employs a specific type of setting or characters and is heavily focused on plot and familiar conventions. The grotesque in fiction is the use of physical traits to define a character. A hero’s journey is a plot structure where a character has to go through dramatic conflict and changes in order to achieve a goal. Imagery is the use of details the reader can easily see, often leaving a lasting impression. The inciting incident in a story is the incident that begins the plot and/or conflict. Indirect characterization happens when the writer reveals information about a character and his/her personality through that character's thoughts, words, and actions, along with how other characters respond to that character. Interior monologue (or dialogue) occurs when the first-person narrator tells the story through thoughts. An interpretation is how a reader perceives a story. Literal language is defining something using a basic and specific definition. Literary fiction is fiction that does not depend only on plot for the story to succeed, using language, form, characterization, and experimental methods as well. Magical realism is a style of writing where characters treat extraordinary events or details as common day. Metafiction is fiction where the narrator/protagonist is, to some degree, aware they’re in a story. Minimalism is a style of writing where scant details are revealed, the rest left for the reader to interpret; it is often explained using an iceberg diagram. A monologue occurs when a first-person narrator delivers a long speech to another character or the reader. The moral center dictates that a writer must convey what the reader will perceive as just. A passive voice is a voice that has the narrator having actions performed upon him or her in the story. Prose is the primary style of writing used in fiction, employing sentences, paragraphs, and non-poetry flow. The protagonist is the main character of the story, the character most engaged in the story’s plot and conflict. Psychic distance is how far the reader is taken, by the third-person narrator, inside the character's head. Rate of reveal is how quickly the writer allows the reader to find out important facts in the story. Realism in fiction means literal, believable, non-magical, and non-absurd actions and occurrences. The resolution of a story is how the story ends, or how the protagonist has dealt with the conflict. Rhythm in fiction dictates how the prose moves along in terms of speed, cadence, and style. The rising action of a story is the build-up of facts and details, preparing the reader for the climax; it is the side of Freitag’s Triangle between the story’s beginning and the climax. A round character is a character that possesses enough details to seem real or interesting. 2 Scene in fiction is the part of the prose that employs dialogue. Second person is the POV that uses the “you” pronoun where the narrator is making the reader the central character in the story. Serendipity occurs when things, for no prescribed reason, work out in a story. Some may dub this fate. A sensory detail is a detail that can be heard, tasted, or smelled. A short story is a piece of fiction that traditionally has a protagonist, antagonist, rising action, climax, and resolution, the protagonist facing one major conflict, and often changing by the story’s end; it is also usually under 10,000 words long. Showing vs. telling is using details and imagery to tell a story instead of direct revelations by the narrator. The stakes in a story are the implied consequences of the conflict overcoming the protagonist. A static character is a character that experiences no change. Stream of consciousness is a style of prose that reveals the narrator’s thoughts as they happen, mimicking thought process. Style is the particular way an individual writer writes a story. Subtext in fiction is what is implied rather than clearly relayed by the narrator. Summary is the type of prose where the narrator moves quickly through details, often covering large periods of time and action in few words. Suspense is what a writer has achieved when the reader wants to know what happens next. Suspension of disbelief occurs when a reader is able to believe what is happening in the story, despite how unrealistic. A symbol in literary terms is something that stands for something else. Theme is what the story is about (as opposed to what happens). Third person limited is the POV where the narrator is not a central character in the narrative, tells the story about the protagonist, and has access to only the protagonist’s thoughts and memories; it uses one of the “he,” “she,” “it,” or “they” pronouns. Third person omniscient is the POV where the narrator is not a central character in the narrative, tells the story about the protagonist, and has access to all characters’ thoughts and memories; it uses one of the “he,” “she,” “it,” or “they” pronouns. Tone is the author’s attitude, as well as how the story sounds to the reader. A universal paradox is self-contradictory statement that is true. In fiction, it’s defined as the instance when one character trait makes a character seem cliché, but many traits make that character round. An unreliable narrator is a narrator who cannot be trusted, for a variety of reasons, making the first-person narrative unbelievable. Verisimilitude is how the writer is able to bring an approximation of the real world to the story, or, how the writer makes it all believable, to make the reader suspend disbelief. Vernacular is the language or dialect used by the narrator. A vivid and continuous dream is achieved in fiction when the reader is absorbed in the story as if he or she is a participant, aka, immersion. Voice is a writer’s particular style, as well as how he or she makes the writing sound to the reader. 3