Literary Elements Definitions – Middle School – Flashcards
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A person or animal who takes part in the action of a story, play, or other literary work
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character
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one who does not change much in the coarse of a work
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static character
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changes as a result of the story's events
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dynamic character
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the main character in a work of literature
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protagonist
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the character in a work of literature that opposes the protagonist
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antagonist
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revealing the personality of a character by words of a character, description of the character's thoughts and feelings
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indirect characterization
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when the writer directly tells the reader a description of a character's looks and clothing, or that the character is amusing brave, or lonesome, or specifically the build or height or age of a character
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direct characterization
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any force that drives or moves the character to behave in a particular way
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motivation
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a struggle or clash between opposing characters or forces
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conflict
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takes place within a character's mind
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internal conflict
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character struggles against some outside force
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external conflict
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one character is in conflict with another character; external
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character vs character
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character in conflict with a natural force; external
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character vs nature
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character has to make a decision; internal
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character vs self
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the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot
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foreshadowing
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Person, place, thing, or event that stands for itself and for something beyond itself as well.
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symbol
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an imaginative comparison between two unlike things in which one thing is said to be another thing
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metaphor
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a comparison between two unlike things using a word such as like, as, then, or resembles
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simile
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the truth about life revealed in a work of literature
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theme
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a figure of speech in which a nonhuman or nonliving thing or quality is talked about as if it were human or alive
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personification
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an interruption in the action of a plot to tell what happened at an earlier time
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flashback
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the use of words whose sounds echo their sense (boom pow zap)
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onomatopoeia
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a reference to a statement, person, place, or an event from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, or science
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allusion
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a way of speaking that is characteristic of a particular region or group of people
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dialect
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the repetition of the same or very similar consonant sounds in words that are close together
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alliteration
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the uncertainty or anxiety you feel about what will happen next in a story
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suspense
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language that appeals to the senses
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imagery
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the series of related events that make up a story
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plot
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the time and place in which the events of a work of literature take place
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setting
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the most emotional or suspenseful moment in the story
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climax
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when the characters problems are solved and the story ends
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resolution
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the vantage point at which a story is told
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point of veiw
