Literary Terminology

(Information directly from About.com, 9-10-09 with changes by Tina Heller)

Analyzing literature involves understanding

and accurately using a common vocabulary.
 Plot

Definition: The sequence of events told in a story, plot

is also known as narrative structure. There are usually
considered to be five elements in a plot line: exposition
or background information, rising action (that which
complicates the story), climax or crisis, falling action,
and resolution. The plot describes the structure of a
story. It shows arrangement of events and actions
within a story.
 Plot

Climax

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Exposition (Dénouement)
 Exposition

Definition: The part of the plot that provides the reader

with background information introducing the setting,
characters, and main conflicts. The exposition usually
occurs at the beginning of a novel or story and may be
short or long. the start of the story, the situation before
the action starts. It provides background information
about characters and circumstances or explains
relationships.
 Rising Action

Definition: The part of the plot where the round

characters are developed, the conflicts are increased and
acted out in many ways, motives are introduced, things
happen; generally, the major part of a novel or story.
Rising action includes the series of events (usually the
conflicts or struggles of the protagonist) that increase
tension, propel the plot forward, and lead to the climax
of the story.
 Climax

Definition: The part of the plot that is the point of

greatest tension in a work of literature and the turning
point in the action or plot; it is the most intense moment
– either mentally or in action. In a plot line, the climax
occurs after the rising action and before the falling
action.
 Falling Action

Definition: The part of the plot in a work of literature

that follows the climax and ends in the resolution. This
is in contrast to the rising action which leads up to the
plot's climax. The part of the plot which follows the
climax and diminishes tension before the resolution.
 Resolution
("De'nouement")

Definition: The conclusion of a plot’s conflicts and

complications. Events immediately following the climax – a
kind of “cleaning up.” Resolution is the part of the story's
plot line in which the problem of the story is resolved or
worked out. This occurs after the falling action and is
typically where the story ends. where everything ends; the
reader may have some sense of "closure.”
 Resolution

("De'nouement")
Definition: Dénouement is a French word meaning the
“unraveling” or “unknotting.” Sometimes referred to as the
part of the plot in which a resolution or clarification takes
place, but often truly containing no firm resolution to
tensions or conflicts.
 Conflict

Definition: Conflict is the struggle between the

opposing forces on which the action in a work of
literature depends. There are five basic forms of
conflict: person versus person (man vs. man), person
versus self (man vs. man), person versus nature (man
vs. nature), person versus society (man vs. society),
and person versus God.
 Protagonist

Definition: the central character, who propels the plot.

 Antagonist

Definition: the character or force that opposes the

protagonist.
 Setting

Definition: the context in which the action

occurs; includes time, place, and social
environment.
 Allusion

Definition: An allusion is a reference to a famous person,

place, thing or part of another work of literature, well-
known person, place, event, work of art, mythology, or
religion. It is assumed that the reader understands the
allusion.