Allusion

A reference to a statement, person, place, event, or thing that is known from li

terature, history, religion, myth, etc.
Catharsis
when a character experiences an emotional cleansing
Characterization
The process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character. This can
be done by describing the character's thoughts, feelings, speech and actions, r
evealing the reactions of other characters.
dynamic character
changes in an important way as a result of the conflict.
static character
remains the same.
Protagonist
The main character (hero) who opposes one or more forces in a story.
Antagonist
The character or force that comes into conflict with the protagonist.
Conflict
A struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces or emotions.
External conflict
occurs when a character struggles against some outside force.
Internal conflict
occurs when a character struggles with emotions, needs or desires within himself
.
Flashback
When the author interrupts the action of the story in order to recreate a scene
from an earlier time.
Foreshadowing
The use of clues to hint at what is going to happen later in the plot.
Imagery
Language that appeals to the senses.
Irony
A contrast between expectation and reality - between what is said and what is re
ally meant, between what is expected and what really happens, or between what ap
pears to be true and what really is true.
Dramatic Irony
when the audience knows something a character does not know
Metaphor
A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike things.
Mood
The overall atmosphere or feeling of a story.
Personification
A kind of metaphor in which a nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as if it
were human.
Plot
The series of events that make up a story.
Exposition
introduces the characters, setting, and background information
Narrative Hook
the conflict that drives the plot forward
Rising Action
the events that occur as the result of the narrative hook
Climax
the turning point
Falling Action
the events that occur as the result of the climax
Resolution
is the final outcome
Point of view
The position from which the events in a story are presented/observed.
First Person
restricted to his or her partial knowledge or experience, will not give access t
o other character's hidden thoughts.
Third Person Limited
confines our knowledge of events to whatever is observed by a single character o
r small group of characters.
Third Person Omniscient
shows an unrestricted knowledge of a story's events from outside or "above" them
.
Setting
The time and place in which the action occurs in a story.
Simile
A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike things b
y using a connective word such as like or as.
Symbolism
A person, place, thing or event that stands both for itself and for something be
yond itself. (Universal symbols: dove=peace, heart=love)
Theme
The central idea or insight or a work of literature.
Tone
The attitude a writer takes toward the reader, a subject, or a character. (ironi
c, serious, humorous, tender, angry, etc.)
Allegory: An event or story that is supposed to be representative of another eve
nt or story.
Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds in a passage to create a dramat
ic effect in that passage.
Allusion: An event or portrayal that constitutes an indirect or subtle reference
to a person, event, thing, or idea.
Antagonist: A character that constitutes the primary opposition to a story's prota
gonist.
Anticlimax: When a series of dramatic events in a story are followed by a partic
ularly non-dramatic one.
Antihero: A protagonist who gains or wields power through nontraditional, imperf
ect, or undesirable means. An anti-hero may have imperfections (physical, emotio
nal, mental, etc), a lack of positive qualities or an abundance of negative ones, or
may simply justify his bad action by saying that he had good intentions for takin
g them.
Aside: A side conversation by an actor intended for the audience and not heard b
y other characters on stage at the time the aside is given. This is different fr
om a soliloquy in that the character giving the aside is surrounded by other cha
racters (while those characters do not hear him/her), whereas a character giving
a soliloquy is completely alone on stage.
Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds in a passage to create a dramatic effe
ct in that passage.
Catharsis: The release of emotional tension of a character through that characte
r's (relatively) dramatic action.
Character: A person portrayed within a story.
Characterization: How a character is portrayed by a story's narrator and/or author
.
Comic Relief: A comedic event or character that breaks up the dramatic tension o
f a story or, else sets up a comedic event that contrasts the drama of a story t
o dramatic effect.
Conflict: The dramatic obstacle that a story's protagonist must overcome.
Context: The set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, sit
uation, etc. In order for a reader/audience member to understand what he/she is
reading, he/she must have a context for that play or story.
Contrast: To set in opposition to show difference.
Dialogue: Spoken or unspoken (i.e.: body language) communication between charact
ers.
Dynamic Character: A character that changes/grows throughout the course of a sto
ry. Such change may be physical, psychological, emotional, and/or spiritual, but
is, in any case, significant to cause a major change in the way the character i
nteracts with other characters in the story.
Entendre: A figure of speech; specifically, a piece of text that has a double me
aning.
Figure of Speech: An expressive use of language in which words take on more than
their usual meaning.
Foil: In literature, a character or event that prevents a character from accompl
ishing a necessary task.
Foreshadowing: An event or character interaction that strongly suggests the occu
rrence of another event.
Hyperbole: An exaggerated expression meant to make a point about something.
Imagery: Descriptive language used to paint a verbal picture of a scene and set
that scene's mood.
Innuendo: An indirect or subtle, usually derogatory implication in expression; a
form of entendre in which the underlying meaning of a piece of text is gotten by
those in on the joke while others only understand that text's literal meaning and ar
e usually the but of that joke.
In Medias Res: Latin for in the middle of things; refers literally to a literary t
echnique in which the reader of a story seems to be dropped into the middle of t
he action of that story (as if he/she missed the beginning sequence of that stor
y and started reading it from the middle of the story's action).
Irony: An outcome of an event that is either the opposite of or mocks (makes fun
of) what is appropriate or is expected in the outcome of that event.
Metaphor: A linguistic comparison in which a subject is said to be something els
e (i.e.: The video game was a soothing balm for all emotional pain).
Mood: The emotional atmosphere of a story that is recreated in the story's audienc
e.
Motif: An important reoccurring image or theme in a story.
Onomatopoeia: A figure of speech in which a word sounds like its contextual mean
ing (e.g.: Bang: sounds like a short, violent explosion; Gasp sounds like a short, v
iolent intake of breath, etc.).
Oxymoron: A contradiction in terms usually created by an adjective describing a
noun in an unusual manner (e.g.: jumbo shrimp or brilliant idiot).
Personification: The description of an inanimate object, event, or idea as using
human actions (e.g.: The sea roared as it pounded against the shore).
Perspective/Point-of-View: That viewpoint from which the story is told (usually
the narrator). As such, the events in the story may be colored by the narrator's p
ersonal history, beliefs, identity, etc. and may not occur objectively as the na
rrator relates them.
Plot: The description or unfolding of events within a story.
Plot Points (within a story)
Exposition: Where a story's characters and conflict(s) are described.
Rising Action: The events of a story leading up to its climax.
Climax: The point in a story in which its protagonist confronts the story's confli
ct.
Turning Point: The decision(s) the story's protagonist makes with regard to the st
ory's conflict.
Falling Action: Events in the story that proceed from the decision the protagoni
st made at the story's turning point.
Resolution: Where any loose ends occurring at the story's climax and/or turning poin
t are tied up and the story comes to its natural end.
Protagonist: The main character of the story to whom we, as audience members, ca
n relate. The protagonist usually has the most face time in the story, is the pers
on who confronts the story's conflict, and who comes into conflict with the story's
antagonist.
Reversal: A type of plot twist, reversals reverse the action of the story's plot (
especially with regard to the fortunes of the story's protagonist) and are unexpec
ted by the story's characters or its audience, yet make sense within the context o
f the story when it occurs.
Satire: A form of literature or literary criticism in which an author points out
human flaws or failings by means of humor, sarcasm, or irony.
Setting: The time and/or place in which a story takes place.
Simile: A linguistic comparison using the words like or as (i.e.: The wind howled li
ke a wolf or The man was as big as a tree).
Soliloquy: A speech given by a solitary character on stage. A soliloquy reveals
that character's mindset to the audience in the same way an aside does, yet is abs
ent the distraction of other characters on stage.
Static Character: A character that does not change (particularly with regard to
his or her mentality or emotional state) throughout the course of a story.
Circular: The action/events of a story end up much like they begin.
Linear: The action/events of a story end up very differently from where they beg
an.
Gyric: While certain events within a story tend to repeat themselves, the overal
l action within the story itself progresses in a distinct, changing fashion.
Stream-of-Consciousness (narrative): Where the events of a story are told from t
he perspective of the protagonist in an unedited, direct-from-thinking fashion,
as if the audience was directly within the mind of the protagonist and can hear
his/her thoughts at that point of the story.
Suspense: Where suspected outcomes of a story create dramatic tension within tha
t story until they occur. This differs from Surprise in that surprise outcomes a
re totally unexpected by audience members or characters until they happen and ar
e usually intended for shock value, rather than dramatic buildup.
Symbolism: The use of particular images to represent specific people, places, th
ings, events, or ideas. The physical image of the symbol constitutes a concrete
image of whatever abstract concept it is representing or vice versa (i.e.: The A
merican Flag = Freedom; The X-in-Ball logo represents the Xbox 360 Console, etc.
).
Theme: The main idea, moral, or lesson of a story. Usually can be broken down in
to wise sayings such as Cheaters never prosper or Home is where the heart is.
Tone: The emotional quality of a character's speech within a story.
Tragic Flaw: That which causes a story's protagonist's destruction, defeat, or downf
all (usually personality traits such as greed, ambition, arrogance, etc.).
Tragic Hero: A protagonist that is destroyed, defeated, or whose downfall is cau
sed by his/her tragic flaw.