Fiction/Non-Fiction Terms
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Transcript of Fiction/Non-Fiction Terms
Fiction/Non-Fiction Terms
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Allusion
• A quick reference in a literary work to something that is well known in the society
• Eg.: referring to the Bible, Shakespeare, Lady Gaga, etc.
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Antagonist
• The characters or forces arrayed against the protagonist(s)
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Anti-Climax
• An effect which works against the climax• Often acts to bring a lofty tone “down to
earth”
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Aside
• A short dramatic speech, said by a character to him/herself, but out loud, so the audience can overhear
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Audience
• Obviously, the person/people experiencing the play/book/song/film, etc., but also the “type” of person the author had in mind when creating the work
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Conflict
• General term for negative interactions between characters
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Conflict: Internal
• Internal – struggle inside a character’s mind or self – person vs. self
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Conflict: External
• Person vs. Person – conflict between 2 or more characters
• Person vs. Environment – conflicts between a person and their situation – Nature, society, group, etc.
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Character• General name for someone in a story• Can also refer to a person’s overall personality
and sense of morality
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Characterization• The way in which a character is “drawn” by
the author – the way in which we are introduced to the character’s traits
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Characterization
• Presentation – how the author tells the reader about a character:– Direct – the author actually tells the reader
about a character’s traits, motivations, etc.– Indirect – the author has other characters tell the
reader about another a particular character, or shows us through the character’s actions
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Character - Traits
• Round – character has many traits• Flat – character has few traits
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Character - Traits
• Dynamic – character’s traits change over time• Static – character’s traits do not change over
time
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Character - Types
• Stereotype/Stock – character with clichéd or familiar traits which appears often in especially escapist-type literature– Eg. James Bond, Robin Hood, Wicked Stepmother,
etc.• Realistic – A character who is NOT based on a
stereotypical cliché, but on “real life”
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Character - Types
• Foil – a secondary character whose traits or actions contrast with those of the main character in order to draw attention to them
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Cliché
• An idea or part of a artistic work which has been used so much that it has lost its original meaning or effect
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Climax
• The point at which the action and/or tension is at its height
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Colloquial Language
• Words and phrases that are used in informal settings, but are not appropriate for formal ones; “everyday” language
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Comedy
• A literary or dramatic work that is not serious, and usually has a happy ending
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Compare
• Looking at how 2 things are similar
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Complication
• A challenge or hurdle placed in the way of the protagonist
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Connotation
• The ideas, thoughts, or feelings associated with a particular word or phrase
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Contrast
• Looking at how 2 things are different
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Crisis
• The main problem or troubling event that sets the action going
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Denotation
• The thing or situation that a word refers to, its definition, or actual meaning
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Denouement
• French for “unknotting”• Loose ends of the plot tied up, either after the
climax, or (more commonly) in the very final scenes of the story
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Dialogue
• The words spoken, usually in conversation, by characters in a story or play
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Dilemma
• A choice that a character must make between 2 unpleasant outcomes, in response to a plot challenge
• Dilemmas are often hard choices that involve moral or ethical issues
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Drama
• A work meant to be represented onstage by actors speaking dialogue, but also refers to any plot that has many ups and downs
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Epiphany
• A term for a character’s sudden realization about something
• Think “lightbulb moment” – a thought or idea that occurs to a character that changes his or her outlook
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Episode
• A particular incident or event within the main plot of a story
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Exposition
• Tells background information• Sets up plot events
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Falling Action
• Events following the climax• Crisis resolved; character conflicts dealt with• Aka: the Resolution
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Figurative Language
• Language which uses various sorts of comparisons to talk about multiple layers of meaning at once, often using similes, metaphors, etc.
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Flashback
• A scene inserted into the plot that shows events that occurred at an earlier time
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Foreshadowing
• Hints given in the plot as to its outcome
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Genre
• A particular category of literature, such as Drama, Romance, Comedy, Tragedy, etc.
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Hyperbole
• “hy-PER-bo-lee”• When something is emphasized using
deliberate exaggeration
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Image
• A visual picture, described in words
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Imagery
• The use of visual pictures to add meaning to literature
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Indeterminate Ending
• An ending in which the reader cannot be certain of the outcome
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Irony
• A literary device in which the writer expresses a meaning that is different than the words used
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Jargon
• Specific words or language used by a certain technical or professional group
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Metaphor
• A direct comparison of one thing to another
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Mood
• Also called atmosphere or ambience• The “feeling” presented in the story through
the way the author describes scenes or plot events
• Eg.: It was a dark and stormy night…
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Moral
• A message the author is trying to give through the story
• Also, a term that indicates whether or not the actions of the characters are good or just, from a societal perspective
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Narration
• Story as told by a narrator
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Narrative
• A story told by a narrator
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Narrator
• The person telling a story
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Oxymoron
• A figure of speech that puts 2 things which puts 2 opposite things together
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Paradox
• A statement which seems to contradict itself, but does in fact work
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Personification
• Giving inanimate objects human-like qualities or characteristics
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Persuasion
• Attempting to prove a position and convince an audience of that position, using logic and emotion
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Plot
• What happens in a story
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Point of View
• The viewpoint through which a story is told• Types:– First Person – • “I” – solely the POV of the narrator• reader only knows as much as narrator
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Point of View
• Types Cont’d:– Third Person Omniscient – “God Mode” –
narrator knows characters’ thoughts and feelings– Third Person Limited Omniscient – narrator
knows thoughts and feelings of one character, but not necessarily others
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Point of View
• Types Cont’d:– Objective/Dramatic – “fly on the wall” – narrator
is completely outside the action, and simply relates it as he/she sees it happening.• Eg. Reality TV/DVD extras footage, etc.
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Propaganda
• Literature made and distributed in order to put forth a particular argument or point of view
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Protagonist
• The main character(s) in a story
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Rising Action
• The series of events leading to the climax
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Sarcasm
• An ironic verbal device, in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant
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Satire
• The ridiculing of any subject in order to demean it and make it laughable
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Setting
• The place and time in which a story occurs
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Simile
• A direct comparison using “like” or “as”
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Slang
• Informal, everyday-type language that takes the place of more usual, or more serious terms
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Style
• The particular way an author writes – his or her word choice, sentence structure, rhythms of language, etc.
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Subplot
• A secondary plot or story woven in-between the events in the main plot
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Surprise Ending
• An ending which does not naturally follow on from the main points in the plot
• Most effective when foreshadowed information is revealed to mean something completely different from the reader’s expectations
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Suspense
• A feeling of tension that builds throughout the plot
• Usually linked to what will happen at the climax
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Symbolism
• When an important person, place or thing in a story represents both itself, and something else
• The secondary representation is generally figurative = not a literal one
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Theme
• The central idea or thesis of a story• Can be stated directly by the author, or
indirectly through the outcome of the plot
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Tone
• The author’s attitudes and/or biases that come through in the story, whether in character descriptions, or in their dialogue
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Tragedy
• A serious literary or dramatic work that usually ends with the death or downfall of the protagonist(s)
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Understatement
• The deliberate downplaying of something to make it seem less than it really is
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