Literary Terms and Devices PDF

Literary Terms and Devices 1. Protagonist: the main character in a literary work, movie or play 2. Antagonist: a character or force who opposes the main character 3. Character: a person or an animal that takes part in the action of a literary work 4. Setting: the time and place in which a story...

Literary Terms and Devices 1. Protagonist: the main character in a literary work, movie or play 2. Antagonist: a character or force who opposes the main character 3. Character: a person or an animal that takes part in the action of a literary work 4. Setting: the time and place in which a story takes place 5. Point of view: refers to how a story is told 6. First-person point of view: is told by a character who uses the first person pronouns I, me, mine, we, and our 7. Second-person point of view: the narrator tells the story to another character or audience using the word ‘you’ or ‘your.’ 8. Third-person limited: the narrator relates the inner thoughts and feelings of only one character, and everything is viewed from this character’s perspective 9. Third-person omniscient: the narrator knows and tells about what every character thinks and feels 10. Flashback: a scene within a story that interrupts the action to show an event that happened earlier 11. Foreshadowing: the use of hints or clues that suggest what might happen later 12. Dialogue: words spoken by characters in a story 13. Theme: the message about life or nature in a story, play, or poem that is revealed to the reader 14. Tone: the writer’s attitude toward the subject and audience (one adjective) 15. Mood: the atmosphere or feeling created by a literary work 16. Genre: a literary type or form 17. Satire: ridicule of a subject, eg: The Simpsons make fun of people/situations 18. Characterization: the way an author reveals a character’s personality 19. Author’s purpose: what the author is trying to accomplish through writing: PIE (persuade, inform, entertain) 20. Symbol: an object used in a story to mean something else 21. Imagery: words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) 22. Plot: series of events that happen in a story, the storyline 23. Exposition: beginning of a story that states the setting, characters, and background information 24. Rising Action: series of main events that builds up to the climax 25. Falling Action: where all the loose ends and problems of the story are being solved 26. Resolution: the moment the conflicts ends, and the outcome is clear when the story ends 27. Conflict: struggle between opposing forces 28. Irony: use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning; Verbal irony: use of words to mean something different than what they mean Situational irony: the difference between what is expected, and what actually happens Dramatic irony: the audience is more aware of what is happening than a character 29. Paradox: a statement that is logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory, or silly. eg: “Nobody goes to the restaurant because it’s too crowded.”