English Terms & Definitions
Plot
Series of interrelated events a story
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Conflict – External
Conflict – Internal
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Person vs. Person
Person vs. Nature
Person vs. Society
Person vs. Technology
Person vs. Self
“The greatest battle lies within”
Exposition
Rising Action
Climax/Turning Point
Falling Action
Gives the background information needed to
understand the story including
• Setting
• Characters
• Inciting/Trigger incident
• Conflict
Events that bring the story towards the climax
Highest point of action in the story –
the protagonist makes the decision that defines
the outcome of the story
Events following the climax of the story
Resolution/Denouement End of the story in which all
conflict is resolved
Protagonist
Main character in a story
Antagonist
Force which opposes the main character
Direct Presentation
Character revealed by
• The narrator’s direct words
Indirect Presentation
Character revealed by
• What the character says
• What the character thinks
• The character’s actions
• The character’s appearance
• The way other characters treat him/her and what they say
• Complex many-sided
personality
• Often the major
character in a story
Round Character
Flat Character
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Minor character in a story
Few personality traits
Dynamic Character
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Static Character
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Undergoes change over
the course of the story
Experiences permanent
change in some aspect
of character, personality
or outlook
No change in character
over course of the story
Same sort of person at
the end as the beginning
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Stereotyped/Stock Character
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Character Foil
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Setting
Atmosphere/Mood
Embodies conceptions or
misconceptions about certain
groups of people
For example: dumb blonde, evil
stepmother, bratty younger
sibling
Contrasting character who by behaviour, attitude,
and opinions differs from the protagonist
Emphasizes these
same aspects in the
protagonist
For example: Han
Solo is a foil to Luke
Skywalker / Gollum to
Frodo / Draco Malfoy
to Harry Potter
Time and place where the events occur in a
story
The emotional mood or feeling created
through specific details – e.g. suspenseful,
depressing, humorous, happy
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Point of View
1st Person POV
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The perspective the story is told
from
Character tells the story
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2nd Person POV
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3rd Person POV
Objective
3rd Person POV
Omniscient
3rd Person POV
Limited Omniscient
Addresses the reader directly
with words like you, your, and
yours
Found in step-by-step
instructions and advice books
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Narrator becomes a kind of reporter
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Can only record what is seen and heard
Cannot enter a character’s mind
Forces the reader to make his own interpretation
• Narrator’s knowledge of the
characters and events is
limitless
• Can see into the minds of the
characters, reporting their
innermost thoughts and
feelings
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Narrator tell the story from the
viewpoint of one character
Tells us what this character sees, hears,
thinks, and feels
Shows no knowledge of what other
characters think or feel
Theme
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The central meaning or main idea in a literary work
Provides a unifying point around which the plot,
characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and
other elements of a work are organized.
Tone
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The author’s attitude toward the reader or the
people, places, and events in a work
Revealed by the elements of the author’s style
Tone may be described as any attitude or feeling
that human beings experience
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Foreshadowing
Flashback
Suspense
Hints at what may happen later in the story
A scene in the story that took place
before the story began
The quality in a story that makes the
reader ask, “What will happen
next?”