STORY ELEMENTS
The essential background information at the beginning of a literary work
Exposition
word choice to create a specific effect
Diction
language that represents one thing in terms of something dissimilar (non-literal language). Includes simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, symbol)
Figurative Language
hint of what is to come in a literary work
Foreshadowing
type or category to which a literary work belongs
Genre
the development of conflict and complications in a literary work
Rising action
a dramatic device in which a character makes a short speech intended for the audience but not heard by the other characters on stage
Aside
extreme exaggeration to add meaning
Hyperbole
the method of returning to an earlier point in time for the purpose of making the present clearer
Flashback
direct speech between characters in a literary work
Dialogue
results or effects of the climax of a literary work
Falling action
The manner in which an author develops characters and their personalities
Characterization
is an author’s exploitation of a single metaphor or analogy at length through multiple linked tenors, vehicles, and grounds throughout a poem or story. Using the same metaphor throughout that same body of work.
language that appeals to the five senses
Imagery
a very typical example of a certain person or thing.
Archetype
the turning point in a literary work
Climax
the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests:
Denotation
Substitution of an agreeable or less offensive expression for one that may offend the reader, (ex. Not “they died” but “they passed away”)
Euphemism
Dramatic… when the reader or audience knows something a character does not
Situational… when there is a disparity between what is expected and what actually occurs
Verbal… when the speaker says one thing but means the opposite
Irony
the use of a word referring to or replacing a word used earlier in a sentence, to avoid repetition. Example: I like it, and They like it. Change to: I like it, and so do they.
Anaphora
end of a literary work when loose ends are tied up and questions are answered
Resolution/denouement
struggle between two or more opposing forces (person vs. person; nature; society; self; fate/God.
Conflict
a reference to something well-known that exists outside the literary work
Allusion
repetition of the initial consonant sounds of words: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”
Alliteration
repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds: “Anna’s apples,” “the pond is long gone”
Assonance
character that is the source of conflict in a literary work
Antagonist
an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning. Ex: "the word “discipline” has unhappy connotations of punishment and repression"
Connotation
a figure of repetition that occurs when the last word or terms in one sentence is repeated near the beginning (ex. I am Sam. Sam I am)
Anadiplosis
a figure of speech in which someone absent, dead, nonhuman, or nonexistent is addressed as if they were present.
Apostrophe
a phrase or expression whose meaning can’t be understood from the ordinary meaning. Ex. “Break a Leg” which means “Good Luck” or “Call it a day” which means stop working
Idioms