Narrative Elements and Basic Figurative Language
PLOT TERMS
PLOT: The series of events that present and resolve a conflict. Many stories follow typical plot development, which can be traced using Freytag’s Pyramid, which helps us to remember the order in which the steps of plot usually occur.
a. EXPOSITION: The background information that introduces characters, setting, and situation
b. INCITING MOMENT: An event that occurs which initiates the main action and begins the primary conflict in the story
c. RISING ACTION: Presents complications that intensify the primary conflict; builds suspense as we wonder what the outcome will be
d. CLIMAX: The major turning point in the story; high point of greatest intensity/interest
e. FALLING ACTION: Events/actions following the climax, often as a result of the climax. Although these events follow the climax, they occur before the problem created in the inciting moment has been resolved
f. RESOLUTION: Moment when the primary conflict created by the inciting moment is resolved and the outcome is clear; the end
g. DENOUEMENT: The “where they are now.” The author ties up any loose ends and answers any remaining questions
LINEAR PLOT: Goes in chronological order – the events are told in the order in which they happened (In other words, the story goes in order of Freytag’s Pyramid.)
NON-LINEAR PLOT: Events are NOT revealed in the order that they occurred in time, but in some other order that the writer chooses. This is usually accomplished through one of the following two non-linear plot devices.
a. FORESHADOWING: The use of hints to give the reader insight about coming events
b. FLASHBACK: A narrative technique that allows a writer to present past events during current events in order to provide background for the current narration
c. SUBPLOT: A subordinate or minor plotline within the story that often has a direct relation to the main plot, contributing to it in interest and in complication
d. PARALLEL PLOT STRUCTURE: A structure in which two stories of equal importance are told simultaneously, and the story moves back and forth between the two plots
SETTING: The time and place in which the events occur
SUSPENSE: Excitement or tension created as readers wait to find out how a story ends or a conflict is resolve: created by raising questions about what might happen next, often through the use of foreshadowing
CONFLICT TERMS
CONFLICT: The struggle (internal or external) between two opposing forces
a. EXTERNAL CONFLICT: Clash between a character and an outside force – with another person, object, or entity
Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Fate, Man vs. Society, etc.
b. INTERNAL CONFLICT: A struggle within a character’s mind
Man vs. Self
CHARACTER TERMS
CHARACTERS: The people/actors in a story
a. PROTAGONIST: The main character of the story, around whom the plot revolves. While s/he is usually the reader empathizes with, s/he is not in all cases a likeable person.
b. ANTAGONIST: The person, place, or thing in conflict with the protagonist. The antagonist may take many forms including another person, a force of nature, fate, society, or the protagonist him/herself.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT/CHARACTERIZATION: The process by which writers reveal their characters’ traits (qualities)
a. DIRECT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: The author directly describes the character, taking away the reader’s option to visualize the character in the reader’s own terms.
b. INDIRECT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: The author allows the reader the freedom to create the character in the reader’s mind. This can be accomplished with any of the following:
a. Appearance: What the character looks like; How s/he carries her/himself
b. Speech: What the character says and how s/he says it
c. The Opinions of Others
d. The Character’s Thoughts
e. Actions: What the character does in certain situations
CHARACTER TYPES
a. FLAT CHARACTER: A one-dimensional character; one or two personality traits only
b. ROUND CHARACTER: A three-dimensional character with many sides to his/her personality
c. STOCK CHARACTER: A stereotypical character
d. STATIC CHARACTER: A character who does not undergo a change during the story
e. DYNAMIC CHARACTER: A character who does undergo an important change during the story
CHARACTER FOILS: A character who provides a striking contrast, calling attention to certain traits possessed by a main character or simply enhance a character by contrast
CHARACTER MOTIVATION: The reason for a character’s behavior. This requires you to make inferences based on characterization!
POINT-OF-VIEW TERMS
POINT-OF-VIEW: The vantage point from which a narrative is told. The point-of-view in a story affects how we perceive “reality” in the story and understand what happens in it.
a. FIRST-PERSON POINT-OF-VIEW: Told by one of the characters in the story; uses the pronoun “I”
b. THIRD-PERSON LIMITED POINT-OF-VIEW: The narrator, who is almost never a character in the story, zooms in on the thoughts of just one or a select few characters.
c. THIRD-PERSON OMNISCIENT POINT-OF-VIEW: The narrator is able to look into the hearts and minds of all characters at all times. The Greek prefix omni means “all,” and scient means “seeing.”
IRONY TERMS
IRONY: Occurs when the reader expects one thing, but the opposite occurs – the unexpected. It is the discrepancy between what is expected and what actually occurs.
THREE TYPES OF IRONY
a. SITUATIONAL IRONY: A discrepancy between the expected result and the actual result
b. VERBAL IRONY: When an individual says one thing but really means another (or, when a character says one thing, but the opposite is true)
c. DRAMATIC IRONY: When the audience/reader knows what is happening before the characters do. Horror movies and soap operas are known for their heavy use of dramatic irony.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
SYMBOLISM: The use of something concrete that stands for or represents something abstract.
SIMILE: A direct comparison between two dissimilar objects, often using “like” or “as” to make the comparison.
METAPHOR: An indirect comparison between two dissimilar objects without using “like” or “as” to make the comparison.
PERSONIFICATION: The give of human qualities or characteristics to non-human things.
IMAGERY: The use of words that appeal to one (or more) of the five senses.
OTHER IMPORTANT TERMS
THEME: The underlying meaning of a literary work. Theme may also be stated as “the author’s idea or what life is, should be, or could be.” In short, the theme is the statement or observation about life that the author is trying to make. A theme is NOT a one-word concept like “Revenge.” It is a full statement, such as “Revenge is not worthwhile unless the avenger makes him/herself known.”
MOTIF: a pattern of recurring objects, concepts, or structures in a work of literature
ALLUSION: A brief, indirect reference to a historical or literary figure, event, or object
a. MYTHOLOGICAL ALLUSION: an allusion to a character or event in mythology
b. LITERARY ALLUSION: an allusion to a work or literature or a part of that work of literature
c. HISTORICAL ALLUSION: an allusion to an historical event, person, place, or object
d. BIBLICAL ALLUSION: an allusion to something in the Bible
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