This document provides definitions and explanations of various literary terms that will be used in a short story unit. It defines terms like character, protagonist, antagonist, plot, conflict, setting, theme, point of view, imagery, tone, mood, style, foreshadowing, and figures of speech like metaphor, simile, oxymoron, personification and alliteration. Examples are provided for many of the terms. Students are instructed to take notes on the terms for use in analyzing literary works.

1. MULTICULTURAL
LITERATURE
Intro to Fiction
Mrs. H

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3. We will be using these literary
terms throughout the Short
Story Unit as well as
throughout the school year.
You will need to understand
and be able to identify these
terms as used in the context of
literary works.
SPOTLIGHT:
LITERARY TERMS

4. Use the guided notes available in
the OHS to take some notes for
yourselves
SPOTLIGHT:
LITERARY TERMS

5. WE WILL USE THE FOLLOWING TERMS:
Character Antagonist Protagonist
Diction Denotation
Connotation
Imagery Mood Plot
Conflict Oxymoron Alliteration
Foreshadowing Suspense Irony
Point of View Setting Style
Theme Tone Figures of
Speech
Metaphor Simile Personification

6. CHARACTER
A character is a person
or an animal that takes
part in the action of a
literary work.

7. PROTAGONIST
The Protagonist is the main
character in a literary work

8. ANTAGONIST
The Antagonist is a
character or force in
conflict with a main
character (or protagonist).

9. DO YOU KNOW YOUR
ANTAGONISTS???
On your paper take a few minutes to write down some
Antagonists that you can recall from movies, television shows,
and video games
Remember the Antagonist is in conflict with the Protagonist or
main character!
Helpful hint – you should now know why people use the saying
“Don’t antagonize me!”

10. CHARACTERS: STATIC
VS. DYNAMIC
Static – stereotype, only one or two characteristics
that never change (ex. wicked stepmother)
Dynamic – many personalities that change,
for better or worse by the end of the story
(ex. Shrek)

11. CHARACTERIZATION:
WAYS IN WHICH A CHARACTER
IS REVEALED
His/her physical appearance
What he/she says, thinks, feels and dreams
What he/she does or does not do
What others say about him/her
and how others react to him/her

12. SETTING
The setting of a literary work
is the time and place of the
action.
The setting includes all the
details of a place and time –
the year, the time of day,
even the weather. The place
may be a specific country,
state, region, community,
neighborhood, building,
institution, or home.
Details such as dialect,
clothing, customs, and
modes of transportation are
often used to establish
setting.
In most stories, the setting
serves as a backdrop – a
context in which the
characters interact. The
setting of a story often helps
to create a particular mood,

13. PLOT
Plot is the sequence of events. The first event
causes the second, the second causes the third,
and so forth.
In most novels, dramas, short stories, and
narrative poems, the plot involves both
characters and a central conflict.

14. CONFLICT
Conflict is the struggle
between opposing forces
in a story or play. There
are several types of
conflict that exist in
literature.
(See next slides for

16. INTERNAL CONFLICT:
MAN VS. SELF
Internal conflict exists within the mind of a
character who is torn between different
courses of action.
The leading character struggles with
himself/herself; with his/her own soul,
ideas of right or wrong, physical
limitations, choices, etc.

17. EXTERNAL CONFLICT
External conflict exists when a character struggles
against some outside force, such as another
character, nature, society, or fate.
Man vs. Man (physical) –
The leading character struggles
with his physical strength against other men,
forces of nature, or animals.
Man vs. Circumstances (classical) –
The leading character struggles
against fate, or the circumstances
of life facing him/her.
Man vs. Society (social) –
The leading character struggles
against ideas, practices,
or customs of other people.

18. THEME
The theme of a literary work is its central
message, concern, or purpose. A theme
can usually be expressed as a
generalization, or general statement,
about people or life.
The theme may be stated directly by the
writer although it is more often
presented indirectly.
When the theme is stated indirectly, the
reader must figure out the theme by
looking carefully at what the work
reveals about the people or about life.

19. POINT OF VIEWPoint of View is the perspective, or vantage point, from
which a story is told. It is the relationship of the narrator
to the story.
First-person is told by a character who
uses the first-person pronoun “I”.
Third-person limited point of view is the point of view
where the narrator uses third-person pronouns such as
“he” and “she” to refer to the characters.
Third person omniscient
The author can narrate the story
using the omniscient point of view.
He can move from character to character,
event to event, having free access
to the thoughts, feelings and motivations
of his characters and he introduces
information where and when he chooses.

20. IRONYSituational irony – contrast between what the reader expects to have
happen and what actually happens in the story.
(In Finding Nemo, you wouldn’t expect that sharks
would be in a “fish are friends, not food”
support group.)
Dramatic Irony – the reader knows something that a character does
not. (i.e. The audience knows that Clark Kent is Superman, though
characters in the story do not.)
Verbal Irony – saying one thing and meaning another.
(Sarcasm is a form of verbal irony.)

21. IMAGERY
Imagery is words
or phrases that
appeal to one or
more of the five
senses.
Writers use
imagery to
describe how
their subjects
look, sound, feel,
taste, and smell.

22. SUSPENSE
Suspense is the growing interest and excitement readers
experience while awaiting a climax or resolution in a
work of literature. It is a feeling of anxious uncertainty
about the outcome of events. Writers create suspense by
raising questions in the minds of their readers.

23. TONE
Tone is a reflection of a writer’s or speaker’s
attitude toward a subject of a poem, story, or
other literary work.
Tone may be communicated through words
and details that express particular emotions
and that evoke and emotional response from
the reader.
For example, word choice or phrasing may
seem to convey respect, anger, light-
heartedness, or sarcasm.

24. MOOD
Mood, or atmosphere, is the feeling
created in the reader by a literary
work or passage.
Writer’s use many devices to create
mood, including images, dialogue,
setting, and plot.
Often, a writer creates a mood at
the beginning of a work and then
sustains the mood throughout.
Sometimes, however, the mood of
the work changes dramatically.

25. TONE VS. MOOD
In short, TONE is how the
AUTHOR feels & MOOD is
how the piece of literature
makes THE READER feel

26. STYLE
Style is the distinctive way in which an author uses
language.
Word choice, phrasing, sentence length, tone,
dialogue, purpose, and attitude toward the
audience and subject can all contribute to an
author’s writing style.

27. FORESHADOWING
Foreshadowing is the author’s use of clues to hint at what
might happen later in the story. Writers use
foreshadowing to build their readers’ expectations and
to create suspense. This is used to help readers prepare
for what is to come.

28. FIGURES OF SPEECH
A figure of speech is a specific device or kind
of figurative language, such as hyperbole,
metaphor, personification, simile, or
understatement.
Figurative language is used for descriptive
effect, often to imply ideas indirectly. It is not
meant to be taken literally. Figurative
language is used to state ideas in vivid and
imaginative ways.

29. METAPHOR
A Metaphor is a type of speech that compares two or more unlike
things. A metaphor does NOT use like or as.

30. SIMILE
A Simile is another figure of speech that compares
seemingly unlike things. Simile’s DO use the words like
or as.

31. OXYMORON
An Oxymoron is a figure of speech that is a combination
of seemingly contradictory words.
Examples: Same difference
Pretty ugly
Roaring silence

32. PERSONIFICATION
Personification is a figure of
speech in which an animal,
object, force of nature, or idea
is given human qualities or
characteristics.

33. ALLITERATION
Alliteration is the repetition of sounds, most often
consonant sounds, at the beginning of words.
Alliteration gives emphasis to words.

34. IMAGE CREDITS
Mario: clipartpanda.com
Superman: haikudeck.com
Katniss: kimberlysteele.wordpress.com
Harry Potter:
monteroenglishclass.wordpress.com
Dr. Evil: blakesnow.com
Darth Vader:
topfoundfootagefilms.com
Scar: dukematthews22.wordpress.com
Voldemort:
uniquefunnyandstrange.blogspot.com
Evil Queen: notmom.com
Shrek: en.Wikipedia.org
Stewie Characterization: slideshare.net
Setting: papermasters.com
Conflict:
incidentalcomics.storenvy.com
Internal Conflict: wikis.engrade.com;
jenowenby.wordpress.com
External Conflict: haikudeck.com;
emaze.com; dmcme.blogspot.com
Irony: quotesgram.com;
brutallyhonest.org; hypable.com
Imagery: tobiasmastgrave.wordpress.com
Style: josephturkot.com; henryfuentes.com
Foreshadowing: infinitepathways.org
Metaphor: eksouth.weebly.com;
blog.udemy.com
Simile: educators.brainpop.com;
pinterest.com
Oxymoron: pinterest.com;
wordup411ng.com
Personification: tes.com
Alliteration: virtualspeechcoach.com;
snorgtees.com