Plot The arrangement of events/ideas that make up a story.

Character Static: A character who remains the same. Dynamic: A character who changes in some important way.

Protagonist Major Character at center of the story.

Antagonist A Character or Force that opposes the Protagonist.

Conflict The Struggle between opposing forces Character vs. Character Character vs. God/Nature Character vs. Society Character vs. SELF

Indirect Characterization Clues given by the author that hint at what the character is like: Appearance Actions Reactions of Others Dialogue Attitude/Thoughts

Symbolism The use of any object, person, place, or action that not only has a meaning in itself, but also stands for something larger than itself.

Theme The central message of a literary work. It is not the same as a subject (big idea/thematic concept) which can be expressed in a word or two: courage, survival, war, pride, etc.  The theme is the idea the author wishes to convey about that subject.  It is expressed as a sentence or general statement about life or human nature.  A literary work can have more than one theme, and most themes are not directly stated but are implied.  The reader must think about all the elements of the work and use them to make inferences, or reasonable guesses, as to which themes seem to be implied. 

Allusion a reference to something famous in mythology, literature, history, or popular culture that acts as a shorthand: e.g., “He met his Waterloo.”

Metaphor/Simile A comparison of two unlike things in order to make something easier to understand. Ex. Metaphor: “Time is money.” Ex. Simile: “Time is like money.”

Irony Verbal irony (Sarcasm) occurs when a speaker or narrator says one thing while meaning the opposite.  EX: “It is easy to stop killing people.  I’ve done it many times.”  Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something the character does not & the character says or does something that has different meanings from what he or she thinks it means. Ex: Oedipus Rex/ Horror Films Situational irony occurs when the opposite of what you might expect happens and it is darkly humorous. EX: A deep sea diver drowning in a bathtub.  

Satire Attacking a problem with Humor. Ha Ha Ha…Oooooh...

Point of View 1st person: “I” 3rd person objective: He/She/It Security Camera 3rd person omniscient: He/She/It God’s-Eye View 3rd person limited omniscient: He/She/It Over the Shoulder (All of 1 Character)

Hyperbole/Understatement Hyperbole: Exaggeration of the truth for emphasis Understatement: Saying less than the truth for emphasis/humor.

Mood The predominating atmosphere or tone of a literary work created by the author’s Word Choice, Description, Setting, and Characterization. Most pieces of literature have a prevailing mood, but shifts in this prevailing mood may function as a counterpoint, provide comic relief, or echo the changing events in the plot.

Tone The writer’s or speaker’s attitude towards a subject, character, or audience conveyed through the author’s choice of words and details.  Tone can be serious, humorous, sarcastic, indignant, objective, etc.

Foreshadowing/ Flashback Foreshadowing: the use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest a future action. Flashback: a scene that interrupts the action of a work to show a previous event.