Literary Terms
Plot:
The selection and arrangement of events in a story. Plot includes not just what happens, but why it happens (what causes what to happen). Often, literary works have the following structure:
Exposition → Rising Action → Crisis → Falling Action → Dénouement
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Background information about the characters and situations |
The series of events that lead to the crisis. Usually, something happens to complicate the protagonist’s conflict(s), and the tension increases. |
The turning point of the story. The crisis is associated with the climax, the point of greatest emotional tension. |
The series of events that follow the crisis and lead to the dénouement. |
The conclusion or resolution; the point at which the conflict is worked out. |
Many texts begin with the rising action and only give the exposition later or gradually. Some begin “in media res”, which means in the middle of the action.
Character and characterization:
A character is a person presented in a literary work. Characterization is the process by which the author makes the character seem real. The central character is called the protagonist. In some texts, there is an antagonist – a character who is directly opposed to the protagonist and who causes the central conflict in the narrative (think, for example, of a classic villain).
An author might present a character through direct exposition – in other words, the author might describe that person’s qualities and tendencies explicitly. Alternately, the author might present the character in action with little or no explicit commentary, leaving the reader to deduce the character’s attributes from his/her actions. In other texts, the author might present the character’s thoughts and emotions with no commentary on them.
A character can be static or dynamic.
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Static character ↓ Things happen to the character; the character does not undergo internal changes. |
Dynamic character ↓ The character undergoes some kind of development as the narrative progresses. |
A character can also be flat or round.
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Flat character ↓ The character has only one or two character traits. |
Round character ↓ The character has many character traits and often displays internal conflicts. |
Point of View:
The perspective from which the author tells the story.
Possible points of view include:
First person – There is an “I” who narrates the story. That person might be central to the story, or he/she might be a minor participant or a chance witness to the events.
Some texts have an unreliable narrator. An unreliable narrator may contradict himself/herself, deliberately tell the reader something untrue, or reveal perceptions and interpretations different from the implicit opinions of the author.
A text might be narrated by a naïve narrator – a narrator who doesn’t understand the implications of the story. Naïve narrators are often (but not always) children.
Third person omniscient – A third-person narrator is not a character in the story. An omniscient narrator knows everything: this narrator can tell the reader the actions, thoughts, and feelings of any character.
Third person limited omniscient – the narrator describes the actions of all characters, but the thoughts and emotions of only one character.
Third person objective – the narrator does not have access to the thoughts or emotions of any characters; the narrator only describes actions and events.
An intrusive narrator (in a text narrated from a third-person point of view) evaluates the actions and motives of characters and/or makes generalizations about life.
Second person – The narrator refers to “you”; for example, “You walked into class and no one was there.” This type of narration is rare.
Setting:
The physical and social context in which the story takes place. This includes time (e.g. period, season), place (e.g. topography, scenery, physical arrangement such as doors and windows), and social environment. Setting is often used to create a mood or atmosphere.
Theme:
The central idea of a literary text – an abstract concept made concrete through the actions, images, and characters of the text. A theme is a proposition -- in other words, you should need a full sentence to articulate a theme.
Tone:
The implied attitude of the narrator toward the story he or she is telling and toward the reader. The tone of a literary work might be playful, serious, formal, informal, intimate, solemn, somber, ironic, condescending, angry, affectionate, sad, happy, etc.
Image:
A word or phrase that evokes sensory impressions – sight, smell, touch, taste, or sound.
Symbol:
A person, object, image, word, or event that has a literal significance and suggests one or more additional meanings. There are conventional symbols, which have meanings that most people in a particular culture or society would recognize – for example, the cross as a symbol of Christianity; the American flag as a symbol of the U.S.A. A literary symbol often gains its meaning through its role in a particular text.