Literary Terms We will be using these literary terms throughout the school year. There WILL be literary terms used on your FINAL EXAMS!! You need to keep up with your notes. Don t lose your terms! You might be able to use them be RESPONSIBLE!!
We will use the following terms: Character Antagonist Protagonist Diction Denotation Connotation Imagery Mood Plot Exposition Rising Action Climax Falling Action Resolution Conflict Flashback Foreshadowing Suspense Point of View Setting Style Theme Tone Figures of Speech Metaphor Simile Oxymoron Personification Alliteration
Character A character is a person or an animal that takes part in the action of a literary work.
Antagonist The Antagonist is a character or force in conflict with a main character, or protagonist.
Do you know your Antagonists??? On your paper take a few minutes to write down some Antagonists that you can recall from movies, television shows, and video games Remember the Antagonist is in conflict with the Protagonist or, main character! Helpful hint you should now know why people use the saying Don t antagonize me!
Protagonist The Protagonist is the main character in a literary work Can you name some famous Protagonists that are found in literature?
Diction Diction is the manner in which we express words; the wording used. Diction = enunciation Some easy examples are: Don t say goin say going, Don t say wanna say want to
Denotation The denotation of a word is its dictionary meaning, independent of other associations that the word may have.
Connotation The connotation of a word is the set of ideas associated with it in addition to its explicit meaning. The connotation of a word can be personal, based on individual experiences. More often, cultural connotations those recognizable by most people in a group determine a writer s word choices.
Denotation versus Connotation Some examples Cheap is low in cost (denotation) but stingy or poorly made are the connotations of cheap
Let s use the word HOT The denotation (or dictionary definition remember d in denotation = dictionary) of HOT is: having a temperature higher than that of a human body. However, when you say Man! He/She is hot!, are you saying Man! He is having a temperature higher than that of a human body!? No!! You are saying the CONNOTATION of HOT which could mean a variety of things man he/she is cute, attractive, beautiful, and many other meanings those come from personal experiences and cultural meanings, etc.
Imagery Imagery is words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses. Writers use imagery to describe how their subjects look, sound, feel, taste, and smell.
MOOD Mood, or atmosphere, is the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage. Writer s use many devices to create mood, including images, dialogue, setting, and plot. Often, a writer creates a mood at the beginning of a work and then sustains the mood throughout. Sometimes, however, the mood of the work changes dramatically.
Plot Plot is the sequence of events. The first event causes the second, the second causes the third, and so forth. In most novels, dramas, short stories, and narrative poems, the plot involves both characters and a central conflict. The plot usually begins with an exposition that introduces the setting, the characters, and the basic situation. This is introduced and developed. The conflict then increases until it reaches a high point of interest or suspense, the climax. The climax is followed by the falling action, or end, of the central conflict. Any events that occur during the falling action make up the resolution.
PLOTLINE Climax Exposition Resolution Conflict Introduced
Exposition The Exposition is the introduction. It is the part of the work that introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation.
Rising Action Rising Action is the part of the plot that begins to occur as soon as the conflict is introduced. The rising action adds complications to the conflict and increases reader interest.
Climax The Climax is the point of greatest emotional intensity, interest, or suspense in the plot of a narrative. The climax typically comes at the turning point in a story or drama.
Falling Action Falling Action is the action that typically follows the climax and reveals its results.
Resolution The Resolution is the part of the plot that concludes the falling action by revealing or suggesting the outcome of the conflict.