LITERARY TERMS

PLOT

• Exposition – the beginning of the story where the characters and setting are introduced

• Rising Action – the bulk of the story (where most events take place) events leading up to the climax

• Climax – The turning point of the story. If this event did NOT happen, we would NOT have an interesting story.

PLOT Continued

• Falling Action – the events that come directly after the climax

• Denouement/Resolution – the last part of a story; this is where all conflict is resolved. It is usually only the last or last TWO events in a story.

THEME

• A truth about life or people that we discover as we share the characters’ experiences

• EX – don’t judge a book by its cover, power of words, quest for power, etc

Symbol

• Persons, places, or things that function as themselves but also stand for larger ideas.

• EX – Harry Potter: phoenix; The Hunger Games: mockingjay

Motif

• Common features in a piece of literature

• EX – The Hunger Games: fire; Harry Potter: darkness

point of view – who’s telling the story

• 1st person – someone in the story is telling the story (uses I/me/we/us)

• 3rd person – someone who is NOT in the story is telling the story (uses he/she/them)

Main Idea

• Most important information showing the overall understanding

Motivation of character

• “Why does the character do _______?”

• EX – why does Katniss volunteer for the hunger games?

Summarize

• Telling the most important information in a text or piece of literature

• EX – summarize Frozen

Foreshadowing

• Clues hinting at what will happen next

• Can you think of your own example?

Irony

• Convey (or show) a meaning that is opposite of the literal meaning.

Tone

• The feeling the AUTHOR presents with his/her words

• EX – solemn, sad, enthusiastic, sarcasm

Mood

• The feeling that YOU, THE READER, gets after reading

• EX – Are you happy? Anxious?

• CONFUSED IS NOT A MOOD

Simile

• Comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’

• EX - You are as beautiful as a sunset.

Metaphor

• Comparison not using ‘like’ or ‘as’

• EX – Your eyes are the ocean.

Suspense

• Makes listeners wonder what will happen next (Anxious, curious, scared)

• Suspense can occur in stories that are not scary.

Anachronism

• When a person, thing, or idea from a different historical period is used in a story

• Can you think of any on your own?

Allusion

• Making a reference to another person, place, event or literary work.

Inference

• Educated guessed based on information you already have.

• EX - If someone has a Lamborghini or a Porsche, you might make an inference that they have a lot of money.

Flashback

• When the narrator goes back to an earlier time to tell a story that relates to the main story.