Short Story Literary Terms

Plot

▪ Chain of related events that take place in a story; “framework” of the story

Parts of the Plot Chart

▪ Exposition–background information

Parts of the Plot Chart

Initiating Event Rising Actions (Complication)

▪ The first event in a story that triggers a conflict

▪ Develops the basic situation; the conflict grows

Parts of the Plot Chart

▪ Climax–The most tense or

exciting part of the story

– something happens to decide the outcome of the conflict.

Parts of the Plot

Falling Action Resolution

▪ Events which occur showing the effects of the climax

▪ Conflicts are often resolved; the end

Conflict

▪ Struggle between or within characters or forces

Flashback

▪ A scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point

▪ A memory

Setting

▪ When and where the story action take place–Time: time period, time of day, refers to

“when?”–Place: country, state, specific location, refers

to “where?”

Tone

▪ The emotional attitude an author take toward his subject or theme

Sarcastic

NaïveDepressedFunnyAngryRomanticDark Gloomy

Playful NostalgicOptimisticScarySuspensefulHeartbreaking

▪ Think about what the movie trailers for these movies sound like….

Mood

▪ The way a story makes the reader feel

Point of View - How a story is told

▪ First Person– Narrator– The speaker is “I”

▪ Third Person– Used “he,” “she,” “they”

– Omniscient▪ All-knowing; the narrator can

see all action and may be able to show multiple characters’ thoughts

– Limited▪ Focuses on a single character;

may or may not include that character’s thoughts

Theme

▪ idea about human life and human nature that gives meaning to a story; central message in a work of literature

Foreshadowing

▪ When the author hints at something that will come later