Do Now:
Read the following sentences and identify the literary devices in each
“His beard was as rough as sandpaper.”
“The sun was a copper penny.”
“She has ice water in her veins.”
Literary Terms
English 8 Ms. Musynske
September 2012
Atmosphere The general mood or feeling established in a piece of literature.Examples: gloomy, peaceful, tense
Characterization
The methods used to present the personality of a character in a story. Direct-writer tells what the character is
like Indirect-writer shows what a character is
like by describing what the character looks like, says or does, or what other characters say about him/her
Characters are created by:
Giving a physical description of the character
Showing the character ’s actions and letting the characters speak.
Revealing the characters thoughts
Revealing what others think of the character
Commenting directly on the character
Conflict
The struggle between two opposing forces.
Types of Conflicts:
Man vs. Man Example Man Vs. Nature Example
Man Vs. Self Example
**Remember that conflict may be either internal or external.
Dialogue
Talk or Conversation between two or more characters.
Flashback
An interruption of the action in a story to tell about something that happened earlier in time.
Foreshadowing
The use of hints or clues in a story to suggest future action.
Irony
A contrast between what is stated and what is really meant or between what is expected to happen and what actually happened.
Types of Irony:
Verbal irony Situational irony Dramatic irony (in a play the audience knows something the actors do not)
Plot The sequence of events in a story. Parts of a plot
Inciting incident-event that gives rise to conflict (opening situation)
Development-events that occur as result of central conflict (rising action)
•Climax-highest point or suspense or interest of the story•Resolution-when conflict ends•Denouement-when characters go back to their life before the conflict
Point of View
The vantage point from which a story is told.
Types of point of view: Third person point of view ( **most common)
1) all knowing2) limited – tells
us only what one character feels.
First person point of view
( “I”)
Setting
The time and place in which a story takes place.
Tall Tale
A highly improbable, humorous story.
Theme
The main idea expressed in a story.
Symbol
A symbol is anything that stands for or represents something else.
Tone
The attitude the writer takes toward his subject.
For example: comic, serious
Characters Types of characters
Major Characters that are vital to the development
and resolution of the conflict Minor
Compliment the major characters and help the plot events move forward
Types of Character Cont’d Round
Complex in temperament and motivation; capable of growth and change during the course of the narrative
Flat Built around a single idea or quality and
unchanging over the course of the narrative
Types of Characters Cont’d Static
Referring to a character who doesn’t change over the course of a story
Dynamic Opposite of static characters;
dynamic characters undergo a change in the course of the story