Literary Terms
We will be using these literary terms
throughout the school year.
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
Diction
Imagery
Exposition
Falling Action
Flashback
Point of View
Theme
Metaphor
Alliteration
Irony
Round Character
Allusion
Antagonist
Denotation
Mood
Rising Action
Resolution
Foreshadowing
Setting
Tone
Simile
Onomatopoeia
Inference
Flat Character
Protagonist
Connotation
Poetry Devices
Climax
Conflict
Suspense
Mood
Personification
Oxymoron
Hyperbole
Haiku
Motif
Fiction
 Imaginary elements
 Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Horror / Adventure
 Can be based on real people and events
 Realistic fiction/historical fiction
Nonfiction
 Real events, people, and places
 Autobiography/biography
 Personal narrative/memoirs
 Newspapers
 Informative articles
Character
A character is a person or
an animal that takes part
in the action of a literary
work.
Edward Cullen from Twilight
Shakespeare’s Titatnia Queen of the
faeries in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Jace from The Mortal Instruments
Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web
Round vs Flat Character
Static vs Dynamic Character
 Round = diverse, well-developed
with several character traits
 Dynamic = undergoes a change of
 Flat = minor character we know little
about with limited characteristics—
2 dimensional
some kind (personality, thoughts, or  Static = character that never
beliefs) by the end of the story
changes personality, thoughts, or
beliefs
Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger
Games is a Round/Dynamic
Character that undergoes major
changes from saving her sister to
taking down the capitol.
President Snow is
an unwavering,
static character
who remained
steadfast in his
thoughts and
actions in The
Hunger Games
Round/Dynamic & Flat/Static
 Most major characters are round characters that
usually undergo a change which means they can
be round and dynamic
 However, some round characters can remain static or




unchanging
Most flat characters are also 1 dimensional and
unchanging which also makes them static.
Round/Dynamic protagonists are common
Characters that are flat are often static as well and are
often minor characters but some major characters are
static
Let's put it all together now--Check this out
Protagonist
 The Protagonist is the main
character in a literary work
 Comes from prefix pro meaning
for, to move forward
 Can you name some famous
Protagonists that are found in
literature?
 Protagonists also come in all shapes, sizes, species, etc.
Ender—from?
Ponyboy Curtis and the Greasers
Catherine & Heathcliff
Who is the
main protagonist?
Katniss Everdeen—
from?
Who is this?
The truth behind protagonists
 In the past, were fictional protagonists primarily
good or bad?
 Can protagonists of stories, novels, video games,
movies, etc. be considered immoral or bad?
 Can authors or directors manipulate the reader
to support , root for, or even like protagonists
that are bad?
 Can you think of any bad guys/gals that are
protagonists?
Protagonists that are “bad”
Amy
Dunn—
the wife
who
found
her
revenge
The story
of how
Elpha
became
the
Wicked
Witch—
novel to
Broadway
Good or Bad? From
Showtime’s series
Dexter
Appearances can
be deceiving
Comic book to Big Screen
Antagonist
 The Antagonist is a character or force
in conflict with a main character, or
protagonist.
 Does not have to be human
 Comes from prefix anti—meaning
opposing/opposite
Do you know your Antagonists???
 On your paper take a few minutes to write down
some Antagonists that you can recall from short
stories, novels, 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!”
NAME THAT ANTAGONIST
Antagonists can be anyone or
anything that poses as an obstacle
for the protagonist
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.
IMAGERY IN THE OLDEN DAYS
“I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud”
by William Wadsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and
hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly
dance.

The waves beside them danced; but
they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed---and gazed---but little
thought
What wealth the show to me had
brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
EXAMPLES OF IMAGERY in Musical Poetry





If you're tired and hopeless, how can you show someone this instead of just
telling them?
I took a walk around the world to
Ease my troubled mind
I left my body laying somewhere
In the sands of time
I watched the world float to the dark
Side of the moon
I feel there is nothing I can do
--"Kryptonite" by Three Doors Down

If you're a rapper, instead of telling someone to let your freestyles come
naturally, how can you show them with your words?
From the family tree of old school hip hop
Kick off your shoes and relax your socks
The rhymes will spread just like a pox
Cause the music is live like an electric shock
--Beastie Boys "Intergalactic" From Hello Nasty

You Have to Show Me What You Are Saying--Check This Out

Figurative Language
A figure of speech is a specific device or kind of
figurative language, such as hyperbole, metaphor,
personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, simile,
oxymoron or understatement.
Figurative language is used for descriptive effect,
often to imply ideas indirectly. It is not meant to be
taken literally. Figurative language is used to state
ideas in vivid and imaginative ways.
Metaphor
A Metaphor is a type of speech that compares or
equates two or more things that have
something in common. A metaphor does NOT
use like or as.
Example: Life is a bowl
of cherries.
Simile
A Simile is another figure of speech that
compares seemingly unlike things. Simile’s
DO use the words like, as, than, or resembles.
Example: Her voice was like nails on a
chalkboard.
Cover Your Ears
Example: She laughed like a hyena
Personification
Personification is a figure
of speech in which an
animal, object, force of
nature, or idea is given
human qualities or
characteristics.
Example: The chair held
to me and rocked back
and forth.
Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at
the beginning of words. Alliteration gives
emphasis to words.
--True alliteration is either 3 or more words with the
same consonant sounds together or close by.
--2 words can be alliteration but it is better when
the 2 words are names such as Mickey Mouse
Example: Take Tommy to
the train station today.
Alliterative Fun
Caring Cats

Caring cats cascade off
Laughing llamas
Lounging.
Underneath yelling yaks
Yelling at roaming
Rats
Rain
Rain races,
Ripping like wind.
Its restless rage
Rattles like
Rocks ripping through
The air.
Onomatopoeia
 The sound that is being
described
 A word given to the
sound something
makes
Hyperbole
 An exaggeration
 Often an extreme
exaggeration
 This can be used to add
humor or for dramatic effect
 This is also used to
emphasize a point
 Examples: That cracks me up
 Examples: I laughed my
head off.
Oxymoron
An Oxymoron is a figure of speech that is a
combination of seemingly contradictory
words.
Examples: Same difference
Pretty ugly
Roaring silence
Allusion
 An Allusion is a figure of
speech that makes a
reference to people,
places, events, or literary
works directly or by
implying them.
 Mythology and The Bible are
often mentioned or alluded
to in literary works
Irony
 Special contrast between reality and
appearance
 Usually one in which reality is the opposite
from what it seems
Irony
 Situational-contrast between what
would seem appropriate and what
really happens or what we expect to
happen is in fact quite opposite to
what really does take place
 This is like a surprise ending or a twist
in the plot that you didn’t expect.
 Irony in Animated Films
 When you think have a mystery or
“whodunit” figured out and you are
shocked at the end.
Isn't It Ironic Don't You Think
Irony
 Verbal-someone knowingly
exaggerates or says one thing
and means another
 Sarcasm is often verbal irony—We
use this in our every day lives
 Example: “We try to be civilized
here,” said General Zaroff. “The
Most Dangerous Game”
Irony
 Dramatic-When the reader or viewer knows
something that a character does not know.
 The writer wants the reader/audience to
know. It is NOT A CLUE/HINT. It is direct.
 Romeo and Juliet example
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.
**Edgar Alan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” emits a mood of terror
based on the insanity of the murderous protagonist
Tone
Tone is a reflection of a writer’s or speaker’s attitude
toward a subject of a poem, story, or other literary
work. Tone may be communicated through words
and details that express particular emotions and
that evoke and emotional response from the reader.
For example, word choice or phrasing may seem to
convey respect, anger, lightheartedness, or
sarcasm.
What mood do you feel after watching this?
Style
Style is the distinctive way in which an
author uses language.
Word choice, phrasing, sentence length,
tone, dialogue, purpose, and attitude
toward the audience and subject can
all contribute to an author’s writing
style.
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
Resolution
Exposition
Conflict Introduced=
Inciting Incident
Exposition
The Exposition is the introduction. It is the part of
the work that introduces the characters, setting,
and basic situation.
***In Harry Potter & the Sorcerer Stone, we quickly learn
that Harry was turning 11, had a mysterious scar on his
forehead, was living with his very disgruntled and
burdened aunt, uncle, and bullying cousin due to the
death of his parents when he was a baby. At the end of
the exposition, we learn that he was the product of two
wizard parents and on his way to entering Hogwarts.
Rising Action
Rising Action is the part
of the plot that begins
to occur as soon as the
primary 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.
On a plot diagram, it is the highest point due to how intense
it is and immediately after the climax, there is a drastic
drop in events leading to the resolution.
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.
Conflict
Conflict is the struggle between opposing
forces in a story or play. There are two
types of conflict that exist in literature.
External Conflict
External conflict exists when a character struggles
against some outside force, such as another
character, nature, society, or fate.
Person vs. Person
These are the primary 4
and the ones we will
Person vs. Society
focus on this year
Person vs. Nature (environment)
Person vs. Machine (Technology)
Person vs. Time
Person vs. Supernatural
Person vs. Fate (more currently accepted)
NAME THAT EXTERNAL CONFLICT
Internal Conflict
Internal conflict exists within the mind of a
character who is torn between different courses
of action.
Questioning
Having a Dilemma
In a predicament
What to Do?
Example: Person vs. Self
Man Versus Self
Flashback
A flashback is a literary device in which an
earlier episode, conversation, or event is
inserted into the sequence of events.
Often flashbacks are presented as a memory of
the narrator or of another character.
Flashback continued…
The movie Titanic is told almost entirely in a
flashback.
What are some other films that contain flashback
to help tell stories?
Holes
Willy Wonka
Think of some more…
Flashback in Literature brought to life
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is the author’s use of clues to
hint at what might happen later in the story.
Writers use foreshadowing to build their
readers’ expectations and to create suspense.
This is used to help readers prepare for what
is to come.
Can you think of an element of
foreshadowing?
Examples:
-- The transformation of Anakin Skywalker
to Darth Vader
-- Horror movies and psychological
thrillers often use foreshadowing
Suspense
Suspense is the growing interest and
excitement readers experience while awaiting
a climax or resolution in a work of literature.
It is a feeling of anxious uncertainty about the
outcome of events. Writers create suspense
by raising questions in the minds of their
readers.
Stonitsch fun time—
What are your reactions during suspenseful
parts? Horror Movie Hilarities
Point of View
Point of View is the perspective, or vantage point,
from which a story is told. It is the relationship
of the narrator to the story.
First-person is told by a character who uses the
first-person pronoun “I”. Narrator is in the story.
Third-person limited point of view is the point of
view where the narrator uses third-person
pronouns such as “he” and “she” to refer to the
characters. Narrator is not a character in the
story.
Types of Third Person
 3rd Person Limited: storyteller lets us know
thoughts and feelings of main character
(protagonist) only
 3rd Person Omniscent: storyteller lets us
know thoughts and feeling of all characters.
Omni = everywhere scient = to know
Setting
The setting of a literary work is the time and place of
the action.
The setting includes all the details of a place and
time – the year, the time of day, even the weather.
The place may be a specific country, state, region,
community, neighborhood, building, institution,
or home.
Details such as dialect, clothing, customs, and modes
of transportation are often used to establish
setting.
In most stories, the setting serves as a backdrop – a
context in which the characters interact. The
setting of a story often helps to create a particular
mood, or feeling.
Theme
The theme of a literary work is its central message, concern, or
purpose. A theme can usually be expressed as a
generalization, or general statement, about people or life.
The theme may be stated directly by the writer although it is
more often presented indirectly.
When the theme is stated indirectly, the reader must figure out
the theme by looking carefully at what the work reveals about
the people or about life.
A true theme in literature is a complete sentence. A thematic
idea is one or 2 words but not a true theme until turned into a
complete thought.
Motif
 A Motif is a recurring symbol throughout
literature that helps develop them.
 A motif can be a word, image, sound,
character, archetype, etc.
 Examples:
 The repetition of light and dark in Romeo and
Juliet help develop the beauty of their love
being pulled down by the darkness of hate.
 The Wicked Stepmother is a motif in Disney
Films
Inference
 A conclusion derived from facts/evidence
 Making an educated guess based on what
you have read, learned, or know
 While reading a story, you may be able to
infer something about the character based on
what you have read in regards to his action,
thoughts, viewpoints of others, etc.
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’
*Now, it’s your turn to provide some enunciation errors or
slurs
Denotation
The denotation of a word is its
dictionary meaning, independent
of other associations that the word
may have.
Mad is defined as insane or crazy
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
Mad is insane, mentally detached from reality
(denotation) but being angry or upset are
now connotations of mad which changes the
true meaning
 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.
Yay!!!! We Are Finished