Literary Devices

The events following the climax, leading to the resolution

the reason why a character acts the way he/she does; why is the character doing this?

the underlying message or meaning of a story

the story is told by a character who uses pronouns such as: I, me, my, our, or we

descriptive adjectives used to describe a character's personality

author/poet's attitude toward his/her subject

introduces all of the main characters, the setting, and the conflict

a figure of speech where an object/situation has meaning other than its literal meaning

the point in the story when the conflict is either solved or coped with

the turning point in the story

the opposite of what you expect to happen actually happens

when a writer gives a hint of what is to come later in the story

the emotional quality or atmosphere of a story/poem

a conversation between two or more characters in a story; words spoken by a character

a struggle between a character and the expectations of society

a struggle that takes place within a character's mind/heart

language that appeals to the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch

the main character, who undergoes the conflict

the cause of the problem -- not always a character; can be an idea, object, or feelings

where and when a story takes place; setting includes: time, place, & environment

the way an author lets the reader know what a character is like

the author goes back to an earlier time to help the reader understand something better

a struggle that takes place between two (or more) characters