Literary Elements Flashcards
(44 cards)
Plot
The sequence of events in a story.
Exposition
Introduces the setting, main characters, and the basic situation.
Climax
The highest point of interest in a story.
Resolution
The end of the central conflict.
Denouement
Anything that takes place after the resolution.
Conflict
A struggle between two or more opposing forces.
Protagonist
The main character involved in the center of the action/central conflict.
Antagonist
The force that opposes the protagonist.
The Five Conflicts
Person vs. Person, Person vs. Nature, Person vs. Self (internal conflict), Person vs. Society, Person vs. Unknown (a.k.a Fate at times).
Dilemma
A situation where there is a choice to be made between two equal alternatives.
Irony
A surprising, interesting, or amusing contradiction in a story.
Verbal Irony
When words are used to suggest the opposite of their usual meaning.
Situational Irony
An unexpected outcome.
Dramatic Irony
When the reader knows something that a character or characters do not.
Setting
The time and place of the story’s action.
Foreshadowing
Hints or clues about events that have yet to occur.
Dynamic Character
A character that changes in either attitude, beliefs, or personality.
Static Character
A character that does not change/remains the same.
Characterization
Characterization
Direct Characterization
Used when specifically stating or describing a character’s traits.
Indirect Characterization
Showing a character’s personality through actions, thoughts, feelings, dialogue, or through another character’s observations and reactions.
Point of View
The perspective from which a story is told.
First Person
A character in the story tells the story.
Third Person
Someone outside the story tells the story.
