Objectives Short Story Literary Terms Ms. Tan English 9 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 Plot A series of related events that make up a story or drama Plot Pyramid Exposition: 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. Narrator The voice telling a story What are some settings of movies you know? 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. all-knowing Third Person Omniscient - Narrator knows everything there is to know about the characters and their problems 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 Conflict Struggle or clash between two opposing characters or forces The conversation between characters in a story or play The stuff between quotation marks Internal Man vs. Himself External Man vs. Man Man vs. Nature Give an example of each... Theme Central 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
Characterization 1.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 Protagonist - The main character of the story Antagonist - Character who stands in protagonist s way We are told directly what a character is like
The protagonist is not always the good guy, and the antagonist is not always the bad guy of the story. Traits? A flat character has only one or two traits A round character has many, sometimes contradictory 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 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 Verbal Irony Contrast between expectation and reality Verbal, Situational, Dramatic A writer or speaker says one thing but means something different Sarcasm
Situational Irony Dramatic 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 The audience knows something the characters don t know Horror movies? Foreshadowing Symbol The use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in a plot Someone gives an ominous warning... An object or person that stands for itself, but represents a greater idea