Literary Devices Vocab Terms

The reader is told exactly what a character is like. For example, “She is a very caring person.”

A phrase that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.

A device based on contrast.

The feeling or emotion created by the story.

Specialized vocabulary of a particular group or activity.

The order of a literary work based on time – on what happened first, second, etc.

The big idea or life lesson that a writer wishes to express in the story.

The words in a conversation.

The introduction; background information regarding the setting, characters, and plot.

Occurs after the climax and is where conflicts are resolved and loose ends are tied up.

A scene in a story that interrupts the action to show an event that happened earlier.

Makes a reader anxious or tense about what will happen next in the story.

The writer portrays a character indirectly, and the reader must interpret the character’s thoughts, feelings, traits

The person or force opposing the protagonist.

Fully developed character w/ the complexities of a real person & is therefore difficult to describe in 1 or 2 sentences.

The story is told by one of the characters in his or her own words, using I.

The sequence of events in a story.

story in third person but avoids including any thoughts or feelings and focuses only on what the characters say or do.

The reader gets a hint or clue to what might happen next in the story.

A struggle between two opposing characters or forces in a story.

A character with little depth or complexity and so can easily be described in a single phrase or sentence

One who tells a story.

A character that does not change or develop over the course of a story.

The most exciting (or suspenseful) point in a story.

A character that changes or develops during the course of a story.

The events of a story plot that occur before the climax.

The use of verbal irony to mock or convey contempt.

An imaginary person or anything presented as a person created by the writer.

The story is told from a third person point of view but limited to the thoughts and feelings of a single character

An everyday type of character that appears so often in stories that their nature is immediately familiar to the reader.

story is written in third person point of view, and the thoughts and feelings of more than one character are revealed.

The central character of a story.

The action in a story that occurs after the climax.

The vantage point from which a story is told.

A particular way of speaking or writing.

A category within a literary form. For example, science- fiction, comedy, historical fiction etc.

The dominant mood or emotional tone of a work of literature.

writing that exposes the failings of people, institutions or ridicule or scorn in order to correct or expose some evil