Literary Terms Review English 3

Protagonist The main character that plays the prominent role in the literary work.

Antagonist The person or thing working against the protagonist.

Plot Line- The graphic display of the action or events in a story.

Exposition The opening of a short story up to the point that the conflict is introduced to the reader.

Rising Action The series of conflicts or struggles that builds a story toward a climax.

Climax The high point, or turning point, in a story- usually the most intense point.

Falling Action Takes place after the climax when the actions begin to wind down or conflicts begin to lessen.

Resolution The final solution or outcome of the story/play.

Conflict The problem or struggle in a story that triggers the action. (Person v. person, self, nature, society, supernatural).

Setting The time and place in which the action of a literary work occurs.

Theme The statement about life a particular work is trying to get across to the reader.

Mood The feeling created in the reader.

Tone The overall feeling, or effect, created by the writer’s use of words

Personification A literary device in which the something non-human is given human characteristics.

Imagery The words or phrases a writer selects to create a certain picture in the readers mind.

Foreshadowing Giving hints and clues of what is to come later in the story.

Flashback An account of a conversation, episode, or event that happened before the beginning of the story told for the purpose of clarifying something in the present; often interrupts the chronological flow of the story.