Short Story Literary Terms

M s . T a nE n g l i s h 9

Objectives

Learn/Review important Literary Terms and meanings

Be able to identify them in stories we read

Be able to explain why an author might use a term

PlotA series of related events that make up a story or drama

Plot PyramidExposition: The beginning of a story where setting and characters are introduced

Rising action: The middle of the story where conflicts are built and complicated

Climax: Moment of great emotional intensity or suspense in a plot

Falling action: Winding down of the story

Denouement: Resolution that concludes the story

Setting

The time and place of a story or play

The setting of “A Sound of Thunder” is in the US in the year 2055.

What are some settings of movies you know?

Narrator

The voice telling a story

Points of View

First Person - One of the characters telling a story, and uses the pronoun “I”

Third Person Limited - The narrator zooms in on the thoughts and feelings of just one character.

Third Person Omniscient - Narrator knows everything there is to know about the characters and their problems

“all-knowing”

Tone vs. Mood

Tone - Attitude a writer takes toward a subject or character

Humorous, mocking, sarcastic, serious

Mood - Atmosphere of a story felt by an audience

Terror, tense, peaceful, dramatic

Dialogue

The conversation between characters in a story or play

The stuff between quotation marks

ConflictStruggle or clash between two opposing characters or forces

Internal External

Man vs. Himself Man vs. Man

Man vs. Nature

Give an example of each...

ThemeCentral idea of a work of literature

Even tiny actions can have large consequences.

The theme is not the same as the subject, which can be expressed in one word: love, war, death, childhood

Most often, the reader has to think about the theme, as it is not directly stated

Character

Person in a story, poem, or play

Major and minor

Characterization is the process of revealing the personality of a character

Indirect vs. Direct

Characterization1.How the characters speaks

2.How the character looks or dresses

3.What the character thinks and feels

4.What other characters say about the character

5.What the character does

6.Directly telling us the character’s personality

Indirect

Direct

Indirect Characterization

We use our own judgment to decide what the character is like, based on what the writer gives us

Infer what a character is like...

Direct Characterization

We are told directly what a character is like

Protagonist - The main character of the story

Antagonist - Character who stands in protagonist’s way

The protagonist is not always the “good guy,” and the antagonist is not always the “bad guy” of the story.

Change?A static character is one who doesn’t change much in a story

A dynamic character changes as a result of the story’s events

Traits?A flat character has only one or two traits

A round character has many, sometimes contradictory

Foil

Two characters who are opposites of one another, shown to highlight the other’s traits.

Foil Genre

Type of fiction

Novel, short story, poetry, drama

Classification

Drama, comedy, suspense, mystery, historical, romance, thriller, horror

Irony

Contrast between expectation and reality

Verbal, Situational, Dramatic

Verbal Irony

A writer or speaker says one thing but means something different

Sarcasm

Situational Irony

Contradiction between what we expect and what really happens

You buy ice cream on a really hot day...

... but it’s so hot, it melts

Dramatic Irony

The audience knows something the characters don’t know

Horror movies?

Foreshadowing

The use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in a plot

Someone gives an ominous warning...

Symbol

An object or person that stands for itself, but represents a greater idea