Literary Terms

Secondary 1

Term 1• Protagonist: the main character in a

story.

• Antagonist: a character or force against which a main character struggles. – The conflict between these characters

makes up the action, or plot, of the story. It is usually resolved in some way.

• Setting: the time, place, and circumstances that form the background of a story.

• Exposition: information essential to understanding the background of a story.

• Point of view: the angle from which the story is told.

• 1st person point of view: the “I” vantage point in which the narrator of a story may be the main character or an observer.

• Omniscient Point of View: a third person point of view in which the narrator is an all- knowing observer who knows what all the characters can see, hear, think, and feel.

• Image (imagery): words or groups of words that help the reader picture or sense what is being described. – Makes use of the reader’s five

senses. Can create images by using metaphors, similes, and personification.

• Metaphor: A direct comparison of unlike things that is short and vivid. I.e. The man was a bear.

• Personification: Giving human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract ideas.– A type of metaphor.

• Simile: an indirect comparison of unlike things using like or as. I.e. He was as hungry as a bear.

• Narrator: the person who tells

the story.

Term 2• Climax: the point of greatest

excitement or intensity in a story.

• Conflict: a problem or a struggle of some kind. Conflict may be external or internal.

• Internal Conflict: psychological conflicts within a character, involves choices facing a character.

• External Conflict: circumstances outside a character’s control.

• Foreshadowing: the method of building in clues or hints about what is to come in a story.

• Plot: the sequence of related events or actions in a story.

• Resolution: the final part of a story that makes clear the outcome of the conflict.

• Character: a person, animal, or thing presented as a person. In order to be believable, a character must have credibility, consistency, and motivation.

• Dynamic character: a character who undergoes an important change.

• Static Character: a character who does not change in any significant way.

• Direct characterization: a writer tells what a character is like by means of direct comment.

• Indirect characterization: a writer shows what a character is like by 1) giving a physical description of the character; 2) relating the character’s actions and words; 3) revealing the character’s thoughts and feelings; and 4) making clear what other in the story think about the character.

• Theme: the central idea or underlying meaning about human nature that is developed in the story. A theme may be expressed directly or indirectly.

• Climax: the point of greatest excitement or intensity in a story.

• Tone: the attitude the writer takes towards the subject, characters, and readers of a work.

– This shows the writer’s mood. For example, serious, humorous, comic, mocking, satirical, compassionate, touching, bitter, angry, etc. The choice of words is how a writer expresses the tone. It is important to understand the story’s tone, otherwise, you might misunderstand the author’s intentions. For example, if the tone is satirical, and you think it is a tragedy, you will have missed the point.

Term 3• Alliteration: the repetition of

consonant sounds at the beginning of words or within words. Alliteration is used for unity, emphasis, and musical effect. I.e. the slimy snake slithered.

• Rhyme: the similarity of sound between two words. I.e. old/cold and take/lake

• Rhythm: the patterned flow of sounds in poetry and prose.