Literary Terms

What is Genre?
Genre is a type of form
of literature. For
instance, someone
might say, “What
genre of literature do
you like to read.
Challenge: Come up
with at least five
genres.
 Protagonist
Main character of the story who changes
– the most important character
– makes a realization about self or the world
around him/her
Challenge: Provide the name of a protagonist
and the book, movie, play… he or she is in.
 Antagonist
• A major character who opposes the
protagonist
– the antagonist does not change
• Types of antagonists:
– people
– nature
– Society
Challenge: Provide name of an antagonist
and where he/she appears.
 Character
• Character – a person in a story, poem or play
• Types of Characters
– Round – fully developed, has many different
character traits
– Flat- stereotyped, one-dimensional, few traits

– Static – does not change

– Dynamic – changes as a result of the story's
events, or plot
Challenge: ID your protagonist and antagonist.
 Characterization
How the author develops the characters,
especially the main character
 Characterization
• Direct characterization
– The author directly states what the character’s
personality is like.
– Example: “He is a cruel person.”

• Indirect characterization
– A character’s personality is shown through
his/her actions, thoughts, feelings, words,
appearance or other character’s observations or
reactions. (We, as readers, make inferences.)
 What is the Plot?
Plot: Series of events that make up a story – in
other words, plot = story

Climax – most exciting part

Falling Action
(excitement falls)
Rising Action –
(excitement is rising)
Resolution
Exposition – think “expose”
 Exposition
• Part of the story that introduces characters,
setting, and conflicts

Challenge: Think of a book, movie…. and list

three details you learned in the exposition.
 Setting
• The time and place of the story’s action
• Setting is part of the Exposition

Challenge: Describe the setting of a book,

movie… - be specific and descriptive.
 Rising Action
• Consists of a series of complications.
• These occur when the main characters take
action to resolve their problems and are met
with further problems:
– Fear
– Hostility
– Threatening situation
Challenge : Describe one scene in a book…
that is part of the rising action.
 Climax
The turning point in the story: the high point
of interest and suspense
Climax

Rising Action or
Complications Falling Action

Challenge: Describe the climax in a book….

 Falling Action
All events following the climax or turning point
in the story. These events are a result of the
action taken at the climax.

Challenge : Describe the falling action in a

book…
 Resolution
• (Dénouement) – the ultra fancy word for this
• The end of the central conflict: it shows how
the situation turns out and ties up loose ends

Challenge: Describe the resolution in a

book…
 Flashback
The present scene in the story is interrupted
to flash backward and tell what happened
in an earlier time

Challenge: Provide an example

from a book, movie…
 Foreshadowing
Clues the writer puts in the story to give the
reader a hint of what is to come

Challenge: Provide an example of

foreshadowing.
 Irony
A contrast between expectation and reality
Examples:
The high school student with the highest grades drops out
of school.
The traffic officer is arrested because
of a backlog of unpaid parking tickets.

Challenge: Provide an example from a book,

movie, …. Or create one of your own.
 Types of Irony
• Verbal – saying one thing but meaning something
completely different.
Example: Calling a clumsy basketball player “Lebron James”

• Situational – A contradiction between what is

expected and what really does happen
Example: The Titanic sinking.

• Dramatic – occurs when the reader knows

something important that the characters in the story
do not know.
Example: We know who the murderer is, but the character does not 
creates suspense

Challenge : Think of an example of at least one type.

Extra challenge: Go for the big three.
 Point of View
Perspective from which writer tells the story
– 1st person- One of the characters is actually
telling the story using the pronoun “I”
– 3rd person limited- Centers on one character’s
thoughts and actions.
– Omniscient- All-knowing narrator. May center
on the thoughts and actions of any and all
characters.
Challenge: Why do you think authors use 1st POV?
 Symbol
An object, person, or event that functions as
itself, but also stands for something more
than itself.
Example: Scales function is to weigh things,
but they are also a symbol
of our justice system.

Challenge: Provide examples of

three symbols and their meaning.
 Theme
• The central message or insight into life
revealed through a literary work.
• The “main idea” of the story
• What the author wants us to take away from the
story.

Challenge: What is a theme from

your favorite book, movie…?
 Conflict
• A struggle between two opposing forces
• Types
– Internal – takes place in a character’s own mind (i.e.,
decision or choice)
• Man vs. Self
– External – a character struggles against an outside force
• Man vs. Man
• Man vs. Nature
• Man vs. Society
Challenge: Think of an example
of each type of conflict (4).
 Suspense
Uncertainty or anxiety the reader feels about
what is going to happen next in a story
 Tone
• The speaker’s or narrator’s attitude
towards the subject
• Authors create tone through word choice
and imagery.
• May be formal, informal, somber, playful,
etc.
 Mood
The general feeling a piece of writing creates
within the reader
Example: You may feel saddened by what you read, or you
may be roaring with laughter.

Challenge: List five different kinds of “mood”

 Figurative Language
Involves some imaginative comparison
between two unlike things
– Simile – compares two unlike things using like
or as
Example: “I wandered lonely as a cloud”
– Metaphor – compares two unlike things (not
using like or as)
Example: Life is a roller coaster; it has lots of ups
and downs.
 Figurative Language
Personification – Gives human qualities to
non-human things
– “The wind screamed.”
– “The fog crept in quietly.”
 Figurative Language
Allusion: Reference to a statement, person, a
place, or events from:
– Literature
– History
– Religion
– Mythology
– Politics
– Sports
Example: “I am surprised his nose was not growing
like Pinocchio’s.”
 Imagery
Language that appeals to the senses.
– Touch
– Taste Creating a picture in the
– Sight reader’s mind through
description
– Sound
– Smell Example: A seven-foot giant with rat-like
teeth, greasy hair, hands like mitts, and
musty, loose clothing
Challenge: Write a sentence with all 5
senses included