Rise of the Novel - Key Terms

Where readers know more about the dramatic situation than the characters do.

The speaker who tells the story.

The attitude or mood of a text.

The moment when the action comes to its highest point of dramatic conflict.

The environment in which the story takes place.

The central character of a story.

The way that an individual writer uses language.

Also known as the 'denouement' (the unknotting), this is the conclusion of a story.

A tone created when the speaker intends a meaning that is the opposite to the words he says.

The use of selected details to describe one thing in terms of another. E.g. simile, metaphor

An object, character or place that represents an idea beyond its literal meaning.

The methods a writer uses to communicate information about characters to readers.

The story's main ideas - the message that the author intends to communicate.

Any obstacle that increases the tension of the story.

The framework that determines how a story is put together.

Background material about the characters, setting and dramatic situation.

What word is used to describe a 3rd person narrator who knows everything about the story?

Techniques use by the author to keep readers interested in the story.

A writing technique that gives readers clues about events that will happen later in the story.

The part of the story in which the tension rises towards the climax.

The actual words that characters speak.