Transcript Document

Literary Terms
We will be using these literary terms
throughout the school year.
You need to keep up with your notes.
Don’t lose your terms! You might be
able to use them on a test–
be RESPONSIBLE!!!
We will use the following terms:
Character
Diction
Imagery
Exposition
Falling Action
Flashback
Point of View
Theme
Metaphor
Personification
Antagonist
Denotation
Mood
Rising Action
Resolution
Foreshadowing
Setting
Tone
Simile
Alliteration
Protagonist
Connotation
Plot
Climax
Conflict
Suspense
Style
Figures of Speech
Oxymoron
Plot
Plot is the sequence of events. The first
event causes the second, the second
causes the third, and so forth.
In most novels, dramas, short stories,
and narrative poems, the plot involves
both characters and a central conflict.
PLOTLINE
Climax
Resolution
Exposition
Conflict Introduced
Exposition
The Exposition is the
introduction. It is the part of
the work that introduces the
characters, setting, and
basic situation.
Rising Action
Rising Action is the part of the
plot that begins to occur as
soon as the conflict is
introduced. The rising action
adds complications to the
conflict and increases reader
interest.
Climax
The Climax is the point of
greatest emotional intensity,
interest, or suspense in the
plot of a narrative. The climax
typically comes at the turning
point in a story or drama.
Falling Action
Falling Action is the action that
typically follows the climax and
reveals its results.
Resolution
The Resolution is the part of
the plot that concludes the
falling action by revealing or
suggesting the outcome of
the conflict.
Conflict
Conflict is the struggle between
opposing forces in a story or
play.
There are two types of conflict
that exist in literature.
External Conflict
External conflict exists when a character
struggles against some outside force,
such as another character, nature,
society, or fate.
Character vs. Character
Character vs. Nature
Character vs. Society
Internal Conflict
Internal conflict exists within the mind
of a character who is torn between
different courses of action.
Character vs. Him- or herself
Plot: Character vs. Character
Conflict
This type of conflict finds the main character in conflict with another
character, human or not human.
“The new one is the most beautiful of all; he is so young and pretty.” And
the old swans bowed their heads before him.
Then he felt quite ashamed, and hid his head under his wing; for he did not
know what to do, he was so happy, and yet not at all proud. He had been
persecuted and despised for his ugliness, and now he heard them say he
was the most beautiful of all the birds.
The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson
Plot: Character vs. Nature
Conflict
This type of conflict finds the main character in conflict with the forces of
nature, which serve as the antagonist.
It´s a Truffula Seed.
It´s the last one of all!
You´re in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds.
And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs.
Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care.
Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air.
Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack.
Then the Lorax
and all of his friends
may come back.
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Plot: Character vs. Society
Conflict
This type of conflict has the main character in conflict with a larger
group: a community, society, culture, etc.
“I’m tired of living in a hole,” said Jenny.
“Let’s fight for freedom!” cried Bouncer. “We’ll be soldiers! Rough-riding
Rowdies! I’ll be the general and commander-in-chief!”
The Island of the Skog by Steven Kellogg
Plot: Character vs. Self Conflict
In this type of conflict, the main character experiences some kind of
inner conflict.
Finally, Sam’s father said, “Go to bed now. But before you go to sleep, Sam, tell
yourself the difference between REAL and MOONSHINE.”
Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness
Character
A character is a person or an
animal that takes part in the
action of a literary work.
Antagonist
 The Antagonist is a character or
force in conflict with a main
character, or protagonist.
Do you know your Antagonists???
 On your paper take a few minutes to write down
some Antagonists that you can recall from
movies, television shows, and video games
 Remember the Antagonist is in conflict with the
Protagonist or, main character!
 Helpful hint – you should now know why people
use the saying “Don’t antagonize me!”
Protagonist
 The Protagonist is the main
character in a literary work
 Can you name some famous
Protagonists that are found in
literature?
Diction
 Diction is the manner in which
we express words; the wording
used.
 Diction = enunciation
 Some easy examples are:
Don’t say ‘goin’ – say ‘going’, Don’t say ‘wanna’ – say ‘want to’
Denotation
The denotation of a word
is its dictionary meaning,
independent of other
associations that the
word may have or
“feeling”
Connotation
The connotation of a word is the set of
ideas associated with it in addition to its
explicit meaning.
Some examples –
Cheap is “low in cost” (denotation) but
“stingy” or “poorly made” are the
connotations of cheap
Imagery
Imagery is words or phrases that
appeal to one or more of the
five senses. Writers use
imagery to describe how their
subjects look, sound, feel,
taste, and smell.
MOOD
Mood, or atmosphere, is the feeling created
in the reader by a literary work or passage.
 Writer’s use many devices to create mood,
including images, dialogue, setting, and
plot. Often, a writer creates a mood at the
beginning of a work and keeps it the same
throughout.
 Sometimes, however, the mood of the
work changes.
Flashback
A flashback is a literary device in
which an earlier episode,
conversation, or event is inserted
into the sequence of events.
Often flashbacks are presented as
a memory of the narrator or of
another character.
Flashback continued…
The movie Titanic is told almost entirely in a
flashback.
What are some other films that contain flashback
to help tell stories?
Holes
Willy Wonka
Think of some more…
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is the author’s use of
clues to hint at what might happen
later in the story. Writers use
foreshadowing to build their readers’
expectations and to create suspense.
This is used to help readers prepare
for what is to come.
Can you think of
an element of
foreshadowing?
Suspense
Suspense is the growing interest and
excitement readers experience while awaiting
a climax or resolution in a work of literature.
It is a feeling of anxious uncertainty about the
outcome of events. Writers create suspense
by raising questions in the minds of their
readers.
Point of View
Point of View is the perspective, or vantage
point, from which a story is told. It is the
relationship of the narrator to the story.
First-person is told by a character who uses the
first-person pronoun “I”.
Third-person limited point of view is the point
of view where the narrator uses third-person
pronouns such as “he” and “she” to refer to
the characters.
Setting
The setting of a literary work is the time and place of
the action.
The setting includes all the details of a place and
time – the year, the time of day, even the weather.
The place may be a specific country, state, region,
community, neighborhood, building, institution,
or home.
Details such as dialect, clothing, customs, and modes
of transportation are often used to establish
setting.
The setting of a story often helps to create a
particular mood, or feeling.
Theme
The theme of a literary work is its central message,
concern, or purpose.
A theme can usually be expressed as a
generalization, or general statement, about
people or life. The theme may be stated directly
by the writer although it is more often presented
indirectly. When the theme is stated indirectly,
the reader must figure out the theme by looking
carefully at what the work reveals about the
people or about life.
Figures of Speech
A figure of speech is a specific device or kind of
figurative language, such as hyperbole, metaphor,
personification, simile, or understatement.
Figurative language is used for descriptive effect,
often to imply ideas indirectly. It is not meant to be
taken literally. Figurative language is used to state
ideas in vivid and imaginative ways.
Oxymoron
An Oxymoron is a figure of speech that is a
combination of seemingly contradictory
words.
Examples: Same difference
Pretty ugly
Roaring silence