Literary Devices
a brief work of fiction
What is a Short story?
a comparison of two things using the words like or as
• The moon is like a big flashlight in the sky.
What is Simile?
Now, this is the last part of the story when the problem is solved, and the story is brought to a satisfactory end
What is the Resolution?
The lesson about life that an author tries to convey through his/her literary piece.
What is Theme?
Three things found in the Exposition.
What is Setting, Characters, Conflict?
This is the problem in the story.
What is Conflict?
a commonly used expression that means something totally different than what
it says
• The teacher knew about the surprise because Jayne let the cat out of the bag.
What is an Idiom?
This is the part of the plot when the author describes the conflict or problem that the characters must face. In most stories, the characters don’t solve the problem on their first try. As they struggle, tensions rise...
What is the Rising Action?
This is when the character struggles against a problem within him/herself (person vs. self)
What is Internal Conflict?
This is when “I” am telling the story. The character is in the story, relating his or her experiences directly.
What is first-person POV?
This is the person or thing that works against the protagonist, or hero, or the story.
What is an Antagonist?
gives a nonhuman object human traits
• The lightning scribbled in the sky.
What is Personification?
This part of the story is when the author describes the events after the climax, leading to how the problem was solved
What is the Falling Action?
This is the main character of the story who has a problem that needs to be solved. The protagonist always wants something.
What is the Protagonist?
The story is about “he” or “she.” This is the most common point of view in commercial fiction. The narrator is outside of the story and relating the experiences of a character.
What is third-person limited?
the time and place of a story and mood
What is the setting?
an extreme exaggeration
• I ate a mile high ice cream cone.
What is Hyperbole?
This is the first part of the plot. The author describes the setting, introduces the characters, and gives background information.
What is the Exposition?
This is what the reader should feel created by a literary work and passage
What is Mood?
The story is told to “you.” This POV is not common in fiction, but it’s still good to know (it is common in nonfiction).
What is the second person POV?
This is when a character struggles against some outside force: another character (person vs. person), society as a whole (person vs. society), some natural force (person vs. nature), or destiny (person vs. fate).
What is an External Conflict?
This calls one thing another
• Her hair is silk.
What is a Metaphor?
This is the turning part of the story - the problem is at its worst! -
Where the character changes the most.
What is the Climax?
This refers to who is telling or narrating a story. A story can be told from the first person, second person, or third-person point of view
What is Point of View?
The story is still about “he” or “she,” but the narrator has full access to the thoughts and experiences of all characters in the story.
What is third-person omniscient?