Name_____________________Block____________Date___________
PLOT NOTES
PLOT DIAGRAM
Climax
Rising Action
&
Main Conflict
Falling Action
Initiating Event
Exposition:
Setting
Character
Basic Situation
Resolution
1. Plot: The _______________________ in the story. In most novels,
dramas, short stories, and narrative poems, the plot involves both
characters and a central conflict.
2. Exposition: The ____________________ of a work of fiction.
___________________ setting, characters, and basic plot situation. May
provide background information.
3. Setting: The time(s) and place(s) of the action. In some stories, setting
serves merely as a ___________________ for the action; in others, it is
a crucial element.
4. Character: A ____________, _____________, or _____________ who
takes part in the action of a literary work.
5. Initiating Event: The __________________ which introduces the
central conflict in a story; it may have occurred before the story opens.
6. Rising Action: The series of events that ___________ to the climax of
the story.
7. Conflict: A _______________ between two opposing forces.
8. Climax: The main conflict is resolved. Often the _________________
event or turning point in the plot.
9. Falling Action: The events that _____________ to the resolution.
10. Resolution: The ______________ of the story. Loose ends may be
tied up. Some stories, especially science fiction, may not have a
resolution.
11. Main Characters: The ______________________ characters in the
story, poem, or play.
12.
Minor (Supporting) Characters: May take part in the action, but
they are _____________________ of attention.
13. Protagonists: The _____________ character of a work of fiction.
Often grows or changes as a result of his/her experiences; the good guy.
14.
Antagonists: The character of force which ______________ the main
character in a work of fiction; the bad guy.
15. Hero/Heroine: A character whose actions are _______________ or
noble.
16. Villian: A dramatic or a fictional character who is typically
_______________ with the hero or heroine.
Name_____________________Block____________Date___________
LITERARY TERM NOTES
1. Internal Conflict: A character struggles with a ______________ or
choice.
2. External Conflict: A character struggles with a force _____________
him/herself.
3. Five Categories of Conflict:
●Person against Nature
●Person against ____________
●Person against Society
●Person against Person
●Person against Supernatural (technology, God, UFO…)
4. Narrator (Point of View): The person ______________ the story.
The narrator may or may not be a character within the story.
5. 1st Person Narrator(Point of View) : A character in the story tells
the story (uses “I”; story is told from __________________________
only).
6. 3rd Person Limited Narrator (Point of View): A
_____________________ the story narrates; sees only one
perspective (view) of the story.
7. 3rd Person Omniscient Narrator(Point of View) : An
__________________________ knows what all character think and
fee.
8. Theme: The central (main) ______________ of the story or insight into
life. The theme may be directly stated or only implied. There is often no
single correct statement of a work’s theme.
9. Foreshadowing: The use of ___________ to ___________ at coming
events in the story. This technique helps to create suspense.
10. Flashback: A section of a literary work that interrupts the sequence of
events (plot) to tell about an event from an ____________________.
11. Irony: Literary technique which involves surprising, interesting, or
amusing ____________________.
12. Dramatic Irony: The audience or the reader is aware of something
that a character does not know. For example, when Romeo believes
Juliet is dead, but the audience knows that she has only been given a
potion to sleep.
13. Verbal Irony: When a speaker or writer says one thing but actually
means the _______________. For example, when your mom walks
into your
filthy bedroom and says, “I see you’ve cleaned your room!” Sarcasm
is one type of verbal irony.
14. Situational Irony: When the outcome of a situation is inconsistent
with what we expect would logically or normally occur. It is the
reverse of what we expect will be or happen. An example of
situational irony would be if a thief’s house was broken into at the
same time he was robbing someone’s house.
15. Tone: Expresses the writer’s _____________ toward the subject.
(This can be described in one word—serious, humorous, sarcastic,
objective,enthusiastic, hostile, etc.)
16. Voice: Shows an author’s personality, awareness of audience, and
passion for his or her subject.
17. Mood/Atmosphere: The _____________ evoked in the reader by a
literary work or passage. Often developed thorough descriptive details
and wording (lighthearted, frightening, spooky, hopeless, depressing).
18. Symbol: Something which stands for or represents something else.
(heart = love; dove = peace)
19. Allusion: A _______________ to a well known person, place, event,
literary work, or work of art (the Bible, Shakespeare, Myths).
Understanding a writer’s meaning often depends upon recognizing
allusions.
20. Connotation: The suggested meaning of a word beyond the explicit
meaning. Example: The connotations of comfort that surround the
old, worn chiar.
21. Denotation: The most specific or direct meaning of a word; the
__________________ definition.
Name_____________________Block____________Date___________
CHARACTERIZATION NOTES
1. Characterization: The art of creating and developing a character in a
story. The author develops the characters by the way they look, act,
talk, and think (also by the other characters reactions to him/her).
2. Direct Characterization: The author directly states the character’s
traits.
3. Indirect Characterization: The reader must figure out what the
character is like from his/her actions, dialogue and the comments of
others.
4. Dialogue: A conversation between characters. Reveals character and
advances action; appears between quotation marks.
5. Dynamic Character: A character who grows or changes as a result of
the experiences in the work of fiction.
6. Static Character: A character who remains the same throughout the
work of literature (does not change).
7. Round Character: A character who is fully developed and exhibits
multiple traits, often both faults and virtues.
8. Flat Character: A character who comes across as one-sided or
stereotypical; not well developed.
9. Stereotype: An oversimplified conception, opinion, or image of a
large group; frequently negative.