Literary Term Definitions

1. Mood-​ Is the feeling created in the reader by a literary

work or passage
Ex. A feeling of fright or suspense in The Most
Dangerous Game

2. Tone​- The attitude of the speaker to his subject matter

and/or audience.
EX: Formal, Intimate, Solemn, Humorous, Satirical,

3. ​Conflict-​ The struggle between two opposing forces.

There are four basic kinds of conflicts.
a. Man vs man Ex: Montressor vs. Fortunado
b. Man vs nature Ex: Man vs a tornado
c. Man vs self Ex: Man vs inner demons,
this conflict is also called an internal conflict
d. Man vs society Ex: Man vs government rules

4. C​ limax-​ The high point or turning point of a story.

This is where the story is going in one direction then
something major happens that changes the direction of
the story.

5. Resolution​- The place in the story where the conflict is

resolved.
6. Foreshadow-​ A hint given to the reader of what is to
come later in the story.

7. Irony-​ The difference between what appears to be and

what really is.

8. Situational Irony​- Irony involving a situation in which

actions have an effect that is opposite from what was
intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was
expected.

9. Verbal Irony-​ Verbal irony is when a person says or

writes one thing and means another, or uses words to
convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal
meaning.

10. Theme-​ The lesson the author is trying to teach the

audience through his writing.

11. Unreliable narrator-​ A narrator you cannot trust.

a. He may not understand fully what is going on in
the story
b. He may not tell us the whole truth
c. He may exaggerate or toy with the facts
12. Setting​-The time (both time of day or season and
period in history) and place in which a story takes
place.

13. Characterization​- The means by which the author

creates life-like people in his or her writing. Accurate
and believable characterizations are developed through
the manner in which characters speak and act and
through the way in which others act towards them.

14. Dramatic Irony​- When the audience knows

something that the characters in the story do not.

15. Point of view-​ The relationship assumed between

the teller of the story and the characters in it.
a. 1st person (I)
b. 2​nd​ person (YOU)
c. 3​rd​ person observing, or limited point of view
(narrator only speaks of events that he can see,
also only speaks of the thoughts and feelings of
one character)
d. 3​rd​ person omniscient (narrator is all knowing and
can speak of anything even if they do not witness
it, also they can speak about the thoughts and
feelings of many different characters
16. Protagonist​- The character in the center of the action
who is usually dealing with some type of crisis

17. Antagonist-​ The character or force that is in conflict

with the protagonist.

18. Round character-​ is a major character in a work of

fiction who encounters conflict and is changed by it.
Round characters tend to be more fully developed and
described than ​flat​, characters.

19. Flat character​- is a minor character in a work of

fiction who does not undergo substantial change or
growth in the course of a story.

20. Dynamic character​- someone who undergoes an

important, internal change because of the action in the
plot.

21. Static Character- ​one whose personality doesn't

change throughout the events in the story's plot.
22. Simile-​ Making a comparison using “like or as”
Ex. He runs like a deer.
Ex. She is as pretty as a rose

23. Metaphor-​ An implied comparison not using like or

as
Ex. She is a rose

24. Prose-​ The ordinary language of people in speaking

or writing.

25. Plot-​ Refers to the action as it is organized around a

conflict, climax and resolution.

26. Autobiography-​ The story of a person’s life written

by that person.

27. Cliché​- a saying, expression, or idea, which has

been overused to the point of losing its original
meaning or effect.
Ex[ 1. Fall head over heels
2. Cat got your tongue
3. sick and tired
4. the elephant in the room
28. Denotative meaning-​ the dictionary definition of
the “literal” meaning of a word

29. Connotative meaning-​ a (+) or (-) idea a word

suggests or implies

30. Symbolism- When an object, person, animal, or

event stands for something more than itself.