Transcript Narrative Terms

Narrative Terms
English 11 Reading SOL Review
Short Story
• a short piece of fiction with characters, plot, setting and so
forth
Anecdote
• very brief story used to make a point
Character Sketch
• a short story that focuses on one character and often has no
discernable plot
Fable
• a short story that usually features animals as characters and
always has a moral at the end
Legend
• a story about a real person that may or may not be true
Myth
• a story told by a culture that has religious significance and is
about gods and heroes
Tall Tale
• a story that features a larger than life protagonist and often
explains natural phenomena
Allegory
• a piece of fiction where the characters, settings and or actions
are symbolic of something else
Biography
• the story of someone’s life as told by another person
Autobiography
• the story of someone’s life as told by the person himself or
herself
Novel
• a book length work of fiction that has a main plot and often
includes subplots
Characters
• the people in stories
Plot
• the series of causally related events in a story
Setting
• the time, place and conditions of a story (the setting can
include cultural elements, historical elements, political
elements, natural elements and so forth)
Point of View
• the narrator of a story
• first person point of view is told by a character in the story
• second person is told as if the reader is a character
• third person is told by someone outside of the story
Theme
• the idea or message that an author is illustrating in a piece of
writing
Literary Effect
• the effect produced in a piece of writing by the use of a
literary device
Sensory Details
• details used in writing to paint pictures in the reader’s mind
via description relating to the five senses
Tone
• the attitude the author takes toward his or her subject as
displayed in diction
Diction
• word choice
Symbolism
• the technique whereby something represents more than itself
literally—something stands for something else
Allusion
• a reference to another work of art, music, or piece of writing
in a work
Imagery
• details relating to the five senses that are meant to paint a
picture in the mind of the reader
Dialect
• a variety of a language spoken in an area
Foreshadowing
• details that suggest something that will occur later in a piece
of writing
Flashback
• a scene that takes place before the time of the piece of fiction
usually used as exposition
Protagonist
• the main character of a story
Antagonist
• the person or force that blocks the desire of the protagonist
Foil
• a character who has opposite characteristics to the
protagonist, usually meant to call attention to a specific trait
or set of traits
Narrator
• person telling a story
Direct Exposition
• also known as exposition
• the information necessary to understand a conflict in a story
• also know as basic situation
Complication
• the introduction of conflict into a story
Climax
• the event or realization that decides the outcome of a conflict
Resolution/Denouement
• the outcome of a conflict, the tying up of loose ends
Methods of Characterization
Readers find out about characters through their actions,
thoughts, reactions, and the reactions of other characters to
them.
Dynamic
• a character who changes during the course of a story
Flat Character
• a character of one (or very few) characteristics usually used as
a function in a story
Static Character
• a character who does not change during the course of a story
Round Character
• a character with many characteristics, seems like a real person
Caricature
• a portrayal of a character that exaggerates one or more
characteristics usually meant as humor
Stereotype
• a character based on an assumption about a group of people
Rhetorical Question
• a question that is asked without the expectation of an answer,
usually used to make someone think
Sarcasm
• the use of verbal irony to mock or upset someone
Satire
• a story, usually humorous, meant to cause social or political
change through criticism
Parallelism
• details in a piece of writing are such that they are patterned in
the same manner
Irony
There are three types of irony:
dramatic irony—the audience or readers knows more than the
characters, often used to create suspense
situational irony—something occurs that is opposite of what
one would expect
verbal irony—saying one thing while meaning the opposite
Figurative Language
• language that is not meant to be taken literally—metaphor,
simile, symbolism, hyperbole and so forth
Hero/Heroine
• a character who embodies positive cultural characteristics
Antihero
• a protagonist who goes against what is considered to be
positive by the society in which he or she is portrayed
Trickster
• a character who breaks rules or causes mischief with an
ultimate positive end
Faithful Companion
• a character who follows a main character, a sidekick
Outsider/Outcast
• a character who is outside the norms of the society in which
he or she is portrayed
Rugged Individualist
• a character who is able to accomplish anything due to his or
her strength
Shrew
• a female character (usually a wife) who nags a male character
Innocent
• a character who is pure, not corrupted
Villain
• a character who embodies negative traits and is often the
antagonist
Caretaker
• a character who tends to others, often to the detriment of
himself or herself
Earth Mother
• a character who embodies the ideals of motherhood and
plenty
Rebel
• a character who goes against the norms of a culture
Misfit
• a character whose quirks cause him or her to be outside the
mainstream of a society
Misogynist
• a male character who hates women