Transcript Elements of Fiction Vocabulary Word Review

Elements of Fiction
Vocabulary Word Review
characters

actors in the plot
Setting:

Where and when the story takes place
Plot:

the action of the story, the events
Conflict:

The struggle between opposing forces;
man vs. man, himself, nature, society, or
God
Climax:

The turning point in the plot; a moment
where the tension is at its peak
Denouement:

The untangling of the conflict; the resolution
Epiphany:

moment of truth
Round Characters:

Developed completely and we have a
complete picture of the character
described
Flat Character:

Underdeveloped and the reader knows
very little about their personality. We see
only one side; a minor character
Protagonist:

The central or main character who is the
center of most of the action; often the
hero
Antagonist:

A character representing the force which
is opposed to the hero; usually the villain
Foil Character

A character designed to a mirror opposite
of another character
Theme:

the author’s central message or purpose in
writing
Style:

the characteristic way authors express
themselves in language
Foreshadowing:

The writer drops hints at the outcome of
the plot
Image

Mental pictures that writers create by
using sensory details
Point of View

The manner in which the author narrates
the story; who is telling the story and how
much they know
All Knowing Narrator

Omniscient narrator; like a god looking
down from above; this narrator knows
everything
Limited All-Knowing

only knows about ONE character ONLY
observer

Tells the story as if that individual were
seeing it on the stage
Symbolism:

A character, object, or event which stands
for something else and has a deeper or
wider meaning
Public symbols:

Everybody recognizes this object that
stands for something
private symbols:

Symbols not easily recognized because it
is specific to the story

dust = poverty
metaphor:


A comparison of two unlike objects not
using the words like or as
Rock Solid
Simile


A comparison between unlike objects
using like or as
as sly as a fox
Hyperbole:


Involves extensive exaggeration and is
chiefly used for effect (usually humor)
Dave was so conceited that he developed a head as big as a barn.
personification:

To give inanimate objects life-like
characteristics
Irony

Opposite of what expects
verbal irony:

The speaker actually means the exact
opposite of what is said
Situational irony:

The situation or action is opposite of what
one would expect
Tone:


The attitude the writers have toward the
subject matter they have written about
(bitter, honest, realistic, ironic, etc.)
M*A*S*H
mood

The emotional response of readers
toward what they have read